The headlines
- Javier Varela (Spain) champion with Mega Tyranitar, Mega Staraptor, Excadrill, Gholdengo, Milotic and Sinistcha: in the final he beats Singapore's Jude Lee 2-1.
- The team that was missing a title: the same six creatures had taken Simone Sanvito to 3rd place in Nice and Arthur Mosca to 3rd place in Puebla. In Gdańsk they go all the way.
- Germany in force: Michael Kelsch is 3rd, Liam Chatterjee and Dennis Komen go out in the quarterfinals.
- Two Italians in the Top Cut: Flavio Del Pidio (12th) and Francesco Pio Pero (13th) get through Swiss but go out in the first round of the final phase.
The story
Good evening, trainers. At AMBEREXPO in Gdańsk, 758 Masters showed up, plus 29 Seniors and 17 Juniors, with eight plus four Swiss rounds and a Top Cut for anyone with at most two losses: 14 players, with the top two in the standings, Kelsch and Chatterjee (11-1), already in the quarterfinals.
Varela finishes Swiss at 10-2 and in the last round beats Eduardo Cunha, the Nice finalist. In the final phase he gets past Taran Birdee 2-1, Dennis Komen 2-1 and, in the semifinals, Michael Kelsch 2-0. On the other side Jude Lee, 9th in Nice, knocks out Pero 2-1, Chatterjee 2-1 and Ko Tsukide 2-0.
Also on the podium is Tsukide, 5th in Nice, with the same list of Mega Charizard Y, Garchomp, Sneasler, Kingambit, Basculegion and Whimsicott. Kelsch and Komen, on the other hand, play the same team: Mega Charizard Y and Mega Salamence with Kingambit, Sneasler, Basculegion and Whimsicott.
The final
Varela against Lee is sand against flowers: on one side Mega Tyranitar with Excadrill, on the other Mega Garchomp and Eternal Flower Floette's Mega with Sneasler, Incineroar, Rillaboom and Kingambit. The Spaniard wins 2-1 and takes home $6,000, 350 Championship Points and an invitation to the 2027 World Championships; Lee gets $4,000 and 325 CP.
In the official records Varela finishes 14-2: ten wins in Swiss and four in the final phase. Lee is 13-3.
Top 8 and teams
1. Javier Varela (ESP): Mega Tyranitar, Mega Staraptor, Excadrill, Gholdengo, Milotic, Sinistcha.
2. Jude Gerard Lee Wei Cong (SGP): Mega Garchomp, Mega Floette (Eternal Flower), Sneasler, Incineroar, Rillaboom, Kingambit.
3. Michael Kelsch (DEU): Mega Charizard Y, Mega Salamence, Kingambit, Sneasler, Basculegion, Whimsicott.
4. Ko Tsukide (GBR): Mega Charizard Y, Garchomp, Kingambit, Sneasler, Basculegion, Whimsicott.
5. Liam Chatterjee (DEU): Mega Floette, Mega Charizard Y, Indeedee, Glimmora, Garchomp, Whimsicott.
6. Nikola Zirdum (LUX): Mega Floette, Mega Salamence, Rillaboom, Basculegion, Kingambit, Sneasler.
7. Dennis Komen (DEU): same team as Kelsch.
8. Alex Soto (ESP): Mega Delphox, Mega Floette, Sinistcha, Kingambit, Incineroar, Sneasler.
The meta
In the Top 8, Sneasler and Kingambit are on six teams out of eight, Mega Charizard Y and Mega Floette on four, Mega Salamence on three. Of the 110 teams that reached the second phase, according to Limitless, the most used are Sneasler and Incineroar (42 teams, 38.2%), Rillaboom (40, 36.4%), Kingambit (39, 35.5%) and Garchomp (37, 33.6%); Charizard is on 34 teams.
The Italians
There are 29 Italians out of 110 in the second phase (our count on the Limitless standings). Del Pidio and Pero make the Top Cut at 10-2 and play the same team as the Puebla finalist, Renzo Navarro: Mega Raichu Y, Mega Staraptor, Gholdengo, Primarina, Hisuian Arcanine and Rillaboom. They go out in the first round, Del Pidio 0-2 against Zirdum and Pero 1-2 against Lee.
Just outside the Top Cut, at 9-3, are Lorenzo Colombo (15th) and Marco Silva (16th); Simone Sanvito, 3rd in Nice, finishes 25th.
Junior and Senior
Senior: Matteo B. (Belgium), who had already won in Nice, wins ahead of Sybe K. (Netherlands) and Léo F. (France). Three Italians in the top eight: Diego E. (4th), Valerio S. (5th) and Carlo M. (7th).
Junior: Èric A. (Spain), 3rd in Nice, wins; second is Italy's Caterina B.
Sources. limitlessvgc.com/tournaments/448 (758 players, teams, second-phase statistics) and standings.limitlessvgc.com/0044 (standings and records); rk9.gg/pairings/GD002-0AEzTp3tRJXkux (official Top Cut, Senior and Junior pairings); victoryroad.pro/2027-gdansk (format, prizes, Senior and Junior); amberexpo.pl (venue and dates); metavgc.com (Top 8 teams); cut-explorer.stalruth.dev (the Italians' Megas); x.com/playpokemon (winner); liquipedia.net (Top Cut scores, read on November 3, 2026)