I wanted to take a moment to recap our first season, and also acknowledge the standout players and collaborators who made it possible.
The series saw over 500 players participate, and I actually had the pleasure of communicating with over 100 of you over the course of the season! Some players were just discovering the game or venturing into the competitive space for the first time. We also had many of the TCG's smartest players (including former World Champions) competing alongside PTCGO League regulars. It was a thrill to see! I was grateful to organize these events, and also proud of all the players who kept the competition fun & friendly!
I would like to specifically give a shout out to the following players who attended five of the six tournaments offered during the main series. It was a pleasure to have you playing with us!
bujijia1105
Gammasite
Kashvinder Singh
KenshinX
Leonardo Martins
bujijia1105
Gammasite
Kashvinder Singh
KenshinX
Leonardo Martins
Tournament #1
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Date: May 29
Format: TEU-BST We began the series at the tail end of the Battle Styles metagame. This first event had 93 competitors.
The tournament was hot! The two most popular decks were fire and when combined represented about one-quarter of the total field. Pachi would go on to win first prize with Victini VMAX.
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Pachi's Winning Deck
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Tournament #2
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Date: June 12
Format: TEU-BST This was the most attended event of the series, with 168 active participants.
Jonah won the event with a cool hybrid: his Dragapult/Urshifu combo allowed him to cut through the competition by hitting most of the popular decks for weakness and applying pressure to the bench.
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Jonathan Patricio Ch.'s Winning Deck
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Tournament #3
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Date: June 26
Format: TEU-CRE Our first event following the release of Chilling Reign was dominated by Shadow Rider Calyrex, which took the top 3 spots in the Standings.
Our league's long-time member (and doctor) PanZerD managed to win this one, becoming the first in a string of players to end with a match record of 10-1.
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Leonardo Martins's Winning Deck
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Tournament #4
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Date: July 10
Format: TEU-CRE As expected, the metagame here was very heavy on Shadow Rider. But players were ready to counter it, and so we saw more ADP Moltres and the return of Eternatus!
In the end, it was Matthew Vrede and his Decidueye deck that triumphed!
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MatthewVrede's Winning Deck
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Tournament #5
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Date: July 24
Format: TEU-CRE Jonah won his second event of the series, having once again prevailed over a field of 160+ players - that's no small feat!
This event's Top Cut represented 8 distinctly different decks. Particularly notable was thejacobhoward's decklist of single-prize Pokemon which he successfully piloted into second place!
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Jonathan Patricio Ch.'s Winning Deck
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Tournament #6
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Date: August 7
Format: TEU-CRE Yet another event where the top four were using completely different decks, continuing the trend of a diverse and seemingly healthy metagame.
Leu was victorious with an Eggrow Rillaboom build, which managed to win over Nicksick's LMZZ deck.
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Leu's Winning Deck
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Season 1 Grand Finals
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Date: August 21
Format: TEU-CRE Season 1 concluded with the Grand Finals, an invitation-only tournament reserved for the strongest players across the main season events. 20 qualifying players battled it out, and in the end Nakashige won the top prize: a Tropical Beach!
With the imminent release of Evolving Skies, this event also put a cap on a Chilling Reign meta which yielded a variety of winning decks and was a satisfying format to play/watch.
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Nakashige's Winning Deck
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PTCGO League was proud to be able to organize this series of free events and offer great prizing to our top players!
This series was made possible by Card Cavern Trading Cards - the premier store to buy, sell, and trade PTCGO codes. Card Cavern offers the widest selection of codes delivered directly to your inbox just seconds after you purchase!
I'd like to thank Steve for his sponsorship of our league, as well as OU7C4ST & TheFilthyGoat for their support of the series. Special thanks to my fellow PTCGO League judges Valkyria & McSun213 for their willingness to jump in and provide assistance. And let's not forget Robin, whose work on the Limitless platform makes organizing these events a breeze. I'm grateful for all of you and I appreciate the help and advice along the way!
I hope to see everyone back for Season Two! - rabidragon