Winners of PokeBeach’s August 2018 PTCGO Tournament!

PokeBeach’s August 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 our last played in the Standard format of BREAKthrough through Celestial Storm.

Interview with the Champion

This month’s victory went to Vaskemaskinen! Since he is a premium member, he will be shipped 72 booster packs, courtesy of TCGplayer.com!

Here’s our interview with him:

What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Adrian Fjell and I’m from Oslo, Norway!

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

Well, this season I was eligible for Worlds and participated as a day-one player. I was 5-2 with the same deck I used here on PokeBeach: [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]! For the new season I’ve earned 27 points, but I guess that’s not too much. We don’t know what the Championship Point qualification is yet, so I’ve been really looking forward to that “late July” announcement!

[cardimg name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

What about our monthly PTCGO tournament interested you enough to play in it?

The monthly tournaments are nice for practice. The prize pool is good, too!

I see you’re a fan of Zygarde-GX and Lycanroc-GX! What do you enjoy about them?

I chose Zygarde-GX since it made for a really fun deck. It doesn’t lose in a lot of match-ups — except against Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card]. Verdict GX can prove to be really troublesome for some decks that only run GX/EX attackers (notably [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and Zoroark-GX). Lycanroc-GX is so busted from my perspective! The Ability Bloodthirsty Eyes combined with Dangerous Rouge GX really makes it worth having, though. Using [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] is also a must as it makes it so much easier to use Claw Slash to OHKO Zoroark-GX, as well as baby [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] when combined with [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]’s Princess’s Cheers.

Zygarde’s Cell Connector is a force to be reckoned with as it Knocks Out a lot of Basic Pokemon with the help of Diancie. You also get two basic Fighting Energy from your discard pile to power up for Land’s Wrath and Verdict GX. That was my plan for Sheffield, but I got scared of all the [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks that were out there!

Buzzwole had been seeing a lot of action these past few months — both the GX and Baby variants. Did you play with it in the other events that you participated in?

I had played [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in a League Cup once, but I really disliked the inconsistency I had with it. Personally I find [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] to be more consistent!

Now that the format has changed, a lot of those staple cards just went bye-bye! What do you believe will be good replacements for some of them?

Good replacements? Well, [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] will be the alpha and omega of every deck.  It really has the best draw power of any card out there, so everyone should be running four copies if they can. [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] is also a good card to play. It adds really good value on turn one as well as gives you a good chance of netting some [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]! Nothing can replace [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] as of now. I really don’t like that N is out of the format! It was so good for comebacks!

What was your most exciting game or set?

I had two games against Zoro Control decks. After Tord Reklev’s success in NAIC I was expecting people to pick up on the deck that he used. The matchup sounds really good for Zygarde-GX but it’s really dependent on how my opponent plays. Those two people using Zoro Control were playing their decks very well. [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] gave me a hard time! I was very fortunate to win those matches. I was victorious thanks to my MVP [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”name”][/card]!

Congratulations, Adrian (Vaskemaskinen)!

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

[decklist name=”Zygarde-GX  / Lycanroc-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Steam Siege” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Fates Collide” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]10x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Other Top Finishers

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

• 1st: Adrian Fjell (Vaskemaskinen) with [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
• 2nd: Shane Guan (ShinyZard) with [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
• 3rd: Erik Bladh (MrSodaKing) with [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]
• 4th: William Plut (SquirtleRules) with [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
• 5th: DaLoc with [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
• 6th: Greg Minklei (Gengar Master) with [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]
• 7th: Kalinin Iliya Konstantinovich (Pokebait) with [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card]
• 8th: Trent Piland with [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]

William, DaLoc, and Greg 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:

ShinyZard, Second Place

[decklist name=”Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”RC24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]3x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ 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=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Evosoda” set=”Generations” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Multi Switch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

SquirtleRules, Fourth Place

[decklist name=”Zygarde-GX / Lycanroc-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″][pokemon amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Zygarde-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”73″ 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=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bonnie” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Energy Loto” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Scorched Earth” set=”Fates Collide” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”15″]9x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”XY” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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.

Jacob Marshall, JumpluffTCG, Johnathan Salazar, Shikageru, and Nirvandalo each walked away with five booster packs or a recent Pokemon promo product from TCGplayer.com. The decks they played were [card name=”Alakazam-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Celesteela-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM67″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM102″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pheromosa-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM66″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM102″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] respectively.

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

Want to Become a Premium Member?

September’s tournament is currently wrapping up. 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 October are currently scheduled to be posted Saturday, Septmeber 27th. 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.)