Paul Chua won the Pokémon Video Game Masters Division at the 2019 Regional Championships in Madison, Wisconsin on June 2. It is his second year in a row winning the Pokémon Madison Regionals for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. It is also his fifth regional championship win overall.
Competition at the Madison Regional Championship was stacked, with four players who had already won regionals being present in the top 8 bracket. Even so, Paul Chua came out on top just as he did last year.
Chua entered into the Top Cut of the bracket with a 7-0 record from pools. He made his way into Finals by defeating Hector Vargas and Collin Heier. Paul Chua then overcame Michael Lanzano in the final set of the tournament with a 2-0 victory. He did not drop a single set at the entire tournament, finishing his run with 10 wins and zero losses.
Paul Chua’s winning team made use of the restricted duo of Xerneas and Primal Groudon. He also brought along Incineroar and Salamence to offer support to these Legendary Pokémon. His full team included an Amoonguss and Tapu Lele as well, though these did not get to battle in the final fight against Lanzano.
Other results from the Pokémon Madison Regional
Michael Lanzano was a bit of an underdog at this event, entering the Top Cut of the bracket as the No. 7 seed with a 6-1 record from pools. Even so, he managed to score upsets over No. 2 seed Alyssa Smith and No. 3 seed Wolfe “Wolfey” Glick.
These upsets allowed him to finish in second behind Paul Chua. In the final match, Lanzano utilized the restricted duo of Mega Rayquaza and Primal Kyogre, with Whimsicott and Stakataka rounding out his team. His Tapu Koko and Incineroar sat out on the bench.
Wolfey is one of the most well-known Pokémon players on account of his victory at the 2016 VGC World Championships. However, the Pokémon Madison Regional Championship actually marks his first regional top 8 in over a year. Wolfey entered top 8 with a 6-1 record and advanced to top 4 by defeating Cedric Derouchie.
Wolfey brought along several strong Pokémon like Primal Groudon, Mega Gengar, Incineroar, Yveltal, and Tapu Lele. However, Wolfey’s team for this event is perhaps most noteworthy because of his use of the unorthodox glass cannon Shedinja. Shedinja is a Pokémon that has only one HP but is immune to non-super effective moves. As a result, Shedinja is either impossible to kill or a free kill depending on the opponent’s moveset.
