Winners of PokeBeach’s May 2018 PTCGO Tournament!

By: PMJ · Posted Jun 16, 2018 at 2:24 PM · 0 Comments

PokeBeach’s May 2018 PTCGO Tournament is over and the winners have been crowned!

Ninety-six players competed for the title in this exciting monthly event, with the top eight players facing off in a top cut. The tournament was played in the Standard format at the time the tournament began — BREAKthrough through Ultra Prism.

Interview with the Champion

This month’s tournament was Pengwon by Pengwin! He will be shipped two booster boxes because he was a premium subscriber, courtesy of TCGplayer.com!

Here’s our interview with him:

What is your real name, and where do you live?

My name is Olen Hulsebus and I live in Chugiak, Alaska.

How are you doing this season in Play! Pokemon tournaments?

I’ve won both of the League Cups that I’ve attended up here, and have made it to Top 8 in three out of the four PokeBeach tournaments I’ve competed in. I would love to go to some Regionals, but being from Alaska traveling is very expensive.

Why did you decide to participate in this tournament?

I’m a very competitive person and like to play as many tournaments as possible for any game.

[cardimg name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”140″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Why did you play stall? Were you considering any other decks?

I believe that pre-Forbidden Light, [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the strongest decks in the game. I think because of its strange play style and how the community kind of frowns upon stall decks, people stay away from it when it’s actually really strong. If I didn’t play Sylveon I would’ve played [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card].

Your list seems pretty straightforward. Did you not feel the need to run techs like Hoopa or Gardevoir-GX?

After all my games in previous PokeBeach tournaments I only used [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] once, I found that a lot of the match ups that Gardevoir was supposed to be very helpful in, it wasn’t needed, and I could get by with just attacking with Sylveon instead. I really don’t like [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] in Sylveon, it’s a card that causes more trouble than it solves. It can put you into very awkward situations and isn’t as helpful as many may think.

What was your most exciting game or set?

My games against uncleyuri, he mopped me up 2-0 with Zoroark / [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] (which is a very favorable match up for Sylveon). He played the games perfectly and is one of the best Zoroark players I have ever played against.

Would you make any other changes to your list?

I would remove one [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] and add one Fairy Energy in its place, but for Sylveon to work in the Forbidden Light meta the deck would need an entire revamp, the new [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks are just too hard.

Sylveon is one of the decks hit hardest by the rotation, losing several key cards. Do you think it can ever recover? Does it have a home in Expanded?

Post rotation Sylveon doesn’t look like it has a bright future for a while with all the Malamars running around, Sylveon thrives in metas where there’s a lot of Special Energy or minimal Energy acceleration. Going into post rotation Sylveon has enough base tools to make it work, but the deck is all about slowing your opponent down and stealing tempo from them, not so much as milling them. So if the meta’s right it can do well in the future. As for Expanded, 1-2 Sylveons keep popping up into Top 32 every Regionals, so once again it’s more about what other people are playing, but most of its match ups are favorable.

Congratulations, Olen!

Here is the deck list he used to win the tournament:

[decklist name=”pengwin 1st” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″][pokemon amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bodybuilding Dumbbells” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]10x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”XY” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]2x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Generations” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Other Top Finishers

Below are the top eight players and the decks they used:

1st: Olen Hulsebus (Pengwin) — Sylveon-GX
2nd: Greg Minklei (Gengar master) — [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
3rd: Ilya Kornilov (Fou-Link) — Zoroark-GX / Lucario-GX
4th: Vince Hardy (AwwVince) — [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card]
5th: Kazuki Kanehira (JumpluffTCG) — [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / Lycanroc-GX
6th: Jake_Silberman — [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]
7th: Adrian Fjell (Vaskemaskinen) — [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]
8th: Anselm Sim Kheng How — Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX

Olen, Greg, Kazuki, Adrian, and Anselm will all be seeing a huge increase in prizes because they are premium subscribers. You can see how many packs each of them earned at the top of this page. The deck lists of second, third, and fourth place can be seen below:

Greg Minklei, Second Place

[decklist name=”gengar master 2nd” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM06″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]2x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Ilya Kornilov, Third Place

[decklist name=”fou link 3rd” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Riolu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Regirock-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Vince Hardy, Fourth Place

[decklist name=”awwvince 4th” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″][pokemon amt=”14″]3x [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Grubbin” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”13″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Skyla” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]7x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]5x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

In addition to all 8 top finishers above, everyone in the Top 32 also earned Prize Wall points on TCGplayer.com, which allows them to exchange their points for even more products like booster packs and promo boxes. Points are received via e-mail. If you won points, be sure to check your inboxes!

Please also note that your PokeBeach account email address must match your TCGplayer account email address. If they don’t, you won’t receive your points!

Creative Deck Winners

As part of every tournament, PokeBeach’s article writers voted for the five premium members that didn’t make Top 16 whom they felt used the most creative deck lists. Each of them earned 5 booster packs or a promo product.

danimal01, SquirtleRules, Nirvandalo, dmode15, and Holden Sheeks each walked away with five booster packs or a recent Pokemon promo product from TCGplayer.com. The decks they played were [card name=”Heatmor” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Raichu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] Spread, [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Alolan Golem-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark-GX, respectively.

You can find each of their deck lists in the forum thread below.

Want to Become a Premium Member?

June’s tournament is currently underway. Each tournament awards up to 7 booster boxes of product to top finishers plus promo products and additional booster packs to premium members. The prizes for premium members are bigger than ever before, so don’t miss your chance to play in the next tournament! Signups for July are currently scheduled to be posted Thursday, June 28th. Mark your calendars!

If you’re interested in becoming a premium member, be sure to check out this link. All premium members get reserved slots in the tournaments, a huge increase in prizes, double the amount of Prize Wall points, a chance to win even more product for using creative decks, and of course all the other benefits that go along with having a premium membership, including weekly articles from the game’s top players and deck help from said players. A premium membership is extremely diverse!

Thanks, TCGplayer!

All of these prizes are brought to you by TCGplayer.com. Their online store offers the cheapest Pokemon cards on the Internet from thousands of different sellers — you will find no better deals! Be sure to check them out any time you want to purchase or sell Pokemon cards!

You can always check the “Sets” tab at the top of our website to access their store.

(Note: The Pokémon Company International is not a sponsor or endorser of PokeBeach’s tournaments, contests, or prizes, nor does the company or its affiliates have any formal association with PokeBeach. Our activities are by fans, for fans, and are not sanctioned or approved by TPCi.)