The headlines
- Louis Fontvieille (France) champion with Mega Raichu X, Mega Golisopod, Sneasler, Archaludon, Pelipper and female Basculegion: in the final he beats Portugal's Eduardo Cunha.
- Italy in the spotlight: Simone Sanvito (3rd), Francesco Pio Pero (4th), Riccardo Stellini (6th), Giovanni Piscitelli (7th) and Giuseppe Musicco (8th) take five of the eight Top 8 spots.
- Mirror-match semifinal: Fontvieille and Pero play exactly the same six creatures; Fontvieille goes through.
- Italians right after the Top 8, too: Nicolò Lazzerini Denchi, 11-1 in Swiss, finishes 10th; Stefano De Maria is 13th and Luca Lussignoli 14th.
The story
Good evening, trainers. In Nice, at the Palais des Expositions, 862 Masters showed up, plus 21 Seniors and 18 Juniors, with eight plus four Swiss rounds and an asymmetrical Top Cut with open team sheets. The final phase was played mostly around Incineroar, Sneasler, Garchomp and Rillaboom, but the winner was a less obvious team: the Mega Raichu X and Mega Golisopod tandem, backed by Pelipper and Archaludon in the rain.
The Top 8 tells the story of a tournament with two souls. On one side, the sun teams, with Mega Charizard Y and Garchomp, piloted by Ko Tsukide (5th, the only one of the eight at 11-1) and Piscitelli (7th), who play the same list with Sneasler, Kingambit, male Basculegion and Whimsicott. On the other, the rain teams, with Pelipper, Archaludon and Mega Raichu. In between, the less common picks: Mega Staraptor and Mega Tyranitar for Sanvito, Mega Camerupt with Mega Raichu Y for Stellini, Mega Dragonite with Mega Floette for Musicco.
The final
In the Top 16 Fontvieille beats Stefano De Maria 2-0, Cunha gets past Fran Martínez Pérez 2-0 and Pero knocks out Samuel Pereira 2-0. In the quarterfinals Cunha beats Tsukide 2-0, Fontvieille comes back against Piscitelli 2-1, Pero beats Musicco 2-0 and Sanvito wins the Italian derby with Stellini 2-1. In the semifinals Fontvieille beats Pero 2-0 in the mirror match with the same team, and Cunha beats Sanvito 2-0.
In the final Fontvieille beats Cunha 2-1 and takes home $6,000, 350 Championship Points and an invitation to the 2027 World Championships. Cunha, identified by Victory Road as the 2022 world champion, plays a very different team: Mega Gengar, Mega Garchomp Z, Incineroar, Vivillon, Primarina and Rillaboom.
Top 8 and teams
1. Louis Fontvieille (FRA): Mega Raichu X, Mega Golisopod, Sneasler, Archaludon, Pelipper, Basculegion F.
2. Eduardo Cunha (PRT): Mega Gengar, Mega Garchomp Z, Incineroar, Vivillon, Primarina, Rillaboom.
3. Simone Sanvito (ITA): Mega Staraptor, Mega Tyranitar, Excadrill, Gholdengo, Milotic, Sinistcha.
4. Francesco Pio Pero (ITA): same team as the champion.
5. Ko Tsukide (GBR): Mega Charizard Y, Garchomp, Sneasler, Kingambit, Basculegion, Whimsicott.
6. Riccardo Stellini (ITA): Mega Camerupt, Mega Raichu Y, Incineroar, Farigiraf, Sylveon, Rillaboom.
7. Giovanni Piscitelli (ITA): same team as Tsukide.
8. Giuseppe Musicco (ITA): Mega Dragonite, Mega Floette, Incineroar, Gholdengo, Sneasler, Rillaboom. Lussignoli, 14th, has an identical team.
The meta
In the Top Cut of 17 players the most common Pokémon is Incineroar (9 teams), followed by Sneasler and Garchomp (8) and Rillaboom (7). Among the Megas, Charizard Y dominates (6 teams out of 17), then Gengar (4) and a trio at 3: Golisopod, Garchomp and Floette. In the Top 8 alone the most used is Sneasler (5 teams), with Basculegion on four.
The Top Cut counts are ours, based on the teams published by Victory Road. Across the whole field, a Pokémon Zone excerpt shows Rillaboom on 401 of the 862 Masters teams (46.5%, win rate 49.4%) and Incineroar on 373 (43.3%, win rate 52.0%): percentages calculated by us, provisional and from a single source.
The Italians
Eight Italians out of 17 in the Top Cut, five out of eight in the Top 8. In places 18th to 92nd of the Victory Road list, all at 9-3 or 8-4, about 29 more Italians appear (our count, provisional): in the upper part of the standings almost one player in three speaks Italian.
Among the eight in the Top Cut, Sanvito and Pero reach the podium, while Stellini beats his compatriot Lussignoli 2-1 and finishes 6th. Piscitelli knocks out Lazzerini Denchi 2-0, Musicco beats Jude Lee 2-1.
Junior and Senior
Senior: Matteo B. (Belgium) wins with Mega Charizard Y and Mega Mawile, ahead of Jeremi A. (Switzerland) and Ismael H. (France). Two Italians in the Senior Top 8: Diego E. (6th) and Carlo M. (7th).
Junior: Ziyu G. (China) wins with Mega Gardevoir, Talonflame and Armarouge, ahead of Patryk S. (Poland) and Èric A. (Spain). No Italians in the Junior Top 8.
The bracket
Winners and records from the official RK9 pairings, match scores from Liquipedia. Our counts of the Italians beyond the Top Cut and the whole-field percentages from Pokémon Zone remain our own and provisional.
Sources. victoryroad.pro/2027-nice (standings, teams, bracket, entrants, prizes; read on October 31, 2026); metavgc.com (Top 8); limitlessvgc.com (862 players); dittobase.com and rk9.gg (venue and dates); bulbagarden.net; limitlessvgc.com/0042 (official standings: Fontvieille 15-2, Cunha 14-3); x.com/playpokemon (Nice winners, post of October 19, 2026); pokemon-zone.com (usage of Rillaboom and Incineroar, search excerpt); rk9.gg/pairings/NC002-zBMwK69ABS7RRV (official pairings and Top Cut records); liquipedia.net (Top Cut scores, read on November 3, 2026)