The launch weekend of Pokémon TCG Pocket saw an impressive turnout, with over a thousand players joining community tournaments to compete for both glory and rewards. In this article, we will analyze the results of the three most biggest tournaments held this weekend.
Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly #1
Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #1 was the very first tournament of the weekend and also the biggest one, with a massive 511 players competing for a $300 prize pool, thanks to XPCollect’s sponsorship. Dominated by Mewtwo ex and Pikachu ex, the latter achieved absurd results, accounting for 5 decks in the top 8 after 9 intense Swiss rounds.
Deck | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|
Pikachu ex | 5 |
Mewtwo ex | 1 |
Charizard ex | 1 |
Marowak ex | 1 |
Fresh off his top 4 finish in last week’s Pocket Legend League, iLoveQueijo won the tournament with a Pikachu ex deck running the Zebstrika line and swapping out the 1 Potion for a 2nd Pincurchin. Is Paralysis the game-changer in a field filled with mirror matches at the highest level of competition?
Pikachu ex Zebstrika - iLoveQueijo
Pocket Legends League #5
Pocket Legends League reached its 5th edition, breaking yet another record with 240 players joining the competition. This series stands out as the only tournament to run over two days, mirroring the structure of official Pokémon TCG events. After 9 rounds of Swiss, all players who earned 21 points (7 wins) battled for a shot at the top 8 and a share of the $80 prize pool. A total of 19 players secured a spot for day 2.
Deck | Number in day 2 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Pikachu ex | 10 | 6 |
Mewtwo ex | 4 | 1 |
Starmie ex | 2 | 0 |
Blaine | 1 | 1 |
Charizard ex | 1 | 0 |
Arbok Weezing | 1 | 0 |
A true testament to the high competitive level of this community, the tournament showcased a good number of Marowak ex and Blaine decks, both considered good picks in a field full of Pikachu ex decks. Unfortunately, despite the diverse metagame on day 2, Pikachu ex trusted 6 spots in the top 8.
SungDae won with a Pikachu ex deck running 6 Basic Pokémon and no evolutions, including 2 Pincurchin as well. This points to a trend: leveraging the 50% chance to render the opponent’s Pokémon ineffective—unless it evolves—might currently be the optimal strategy for building this deck.
Pikachu ex Pincurchin - SundDae
PTCGP League Presents: Genetic Apex #1
The Sunday tournament from the PTCGP League did not disappoint in terms of participation, drawing 470 players into the competition. The event featured 9 Swiss rounds, followed by a single-elimination phase for the top 16 players.
Deck | Top 16 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Pikachu ex | 9 | 5 |
Starmie ex | 2 | 1 |
Charizard ex | 2 | 1 |
Mewtwo ex | 1 | 1 |
Blaine | 1 | 0 |
Wigglytuff Weezing | 1 | 0 |
This tournament showed the highest diversity in deck representation, with many generally underrepresented decks being played in fair amounts. The most fascinating example was the Wigglytuff Weezing deck that Zkrekeler piloted all the way to the top 16.
Wigglytuff ex Weezing - Zkrekeler
This deck uses Weezing’s durability and low upkeep to support Wigglytuff in the backrow. With Sleep and Poison able to stack, damage can quickly get out of control for the opponent.
These efforts weren’t enough to prevent Pikachu ex from claiming more than half of the top 8 spots once again, but in the end, R1nneganTCG was victorious with a Mewtwo ex deck.
In Pokémon TCG Pocket, the common strategy is to minimize the number of Basic Pokémon to increase the chances of getting to them with a Poké Ball. R1nneganTCG defied the conventions by including 1 Jynx and 1 Kangaskhan. Jynx is an additional, one-point attacker with a reasonably priced Psychic attack that’s powerful enough to act as a pseudo-third Mewtwo ex. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan provides solid bulk, holding the front line while you charge up the Pokémon on your Bench.
This weekend also held the Pocket Invitational Tournament organized by spragels and Dekkster, inviting many streamers in a Conquest format tournament. More on that soon!
To keep in touch with the upcoming tournaments, visit our tournament page.
