The headlines
- Dylan Kasturi is the first champion of the season with a Basic Box built around Mega Kangaskhan ex and Ogerpon ex.
- Ben Dobberstein falls in the final, along with his Hydrapple with Meganium.
- The most played dragon does not win: Dragapult ex is the choice of 558 players, but only two make the Top 8.
- Three Basic Box among the last eight: the box of Basic Pokémon is the real surprise of the weekend.
The story
Welcome, trainers. Baltimore opens the 2027 season with a huge field: 3,122 players in Masters. Everyone expects the dragon, and indeed Dragapult ex is the most played deck, almost one in five. With its variants the Dragapult family exceeds 30% of the tournament.
But the best-performing deck among the ten most played is a different one: the Basic Box, Basic Pokémon only, wins 53% of its matches. Kasturi takes it all the way to the title. At Louisville the commentators recall its signature attack, the Mega Kangaskhan combo, and the famous “three heads” at just the right moment.
Seventh place for Liam Halliburton with Dragapult. At Louisville he will lose the last Swiss round against Evan Campbell's Mega Sharpedo.
The Top 8
- 1. Dylan Kasturi, Basic Box · 2. Ben Dobberstein, Hydrapple/Meganium
- 3. Rohit Potti, Dragapult ex · 4. Mark Dreitzler, Slowking
- 5. Joshua Frink, Alakazam/Dudunsparce · 6. Cali White (Canada), Basic Box
- 7. Liam Halliburton, Dragapult ex · 8. Nicholas Cucinelli, Basic Box
Sources. gamertagmythras.com (Limitless data), bisafans.de, rk9.gg; research of October 11, 2026, uncertain data flagged.