Top Table Update: Round 5
Four Rounds are in the record books here in Day 1, and with eight Rounds of Swiss competition today plus two more tomorrow, our Saturday’s officially half over!
As the tournament continues the players with the best records are sorted closer and closer to lower table numbers, with undefeated Duelists creeping toward the coveted seats at Table 1; the higher your ranking, the lower your table. With just a few rounds remaining it’s a great time to look at those top tables and see what the competitors with the best records are playing – it’s like a snapshot of YCS success, and it’s a great way to get a feel for the shape of the tournament.
Here’s a table by table breakdown of what’s going on here in Round 5…
Table 1:
Patrick Hoban with Shaddolls
Versus
Alexander Reynolds with Shaddolls
Table 2:
Mohammad Chughtal with Satellarknights
Versus
Daniel Nguyen with Burning Abyss
Table 3:
Tej Trivedi with Shaddolls
Versus
Tahmid Zaman with Shaddolls
Table 4:
Mathieu Lortie Parent with Shaddolls
Versus
Aaron Noel with Burning Abyss
Table 5:
Sean Coovert with Burning Abyss
Versus
Yannick Lafontaine with Burning Abyss
Table 6:
Mario Angelo De Micco with Shaddolls
Versus
Robert Ludwig with Bujins
Table 7:
Aaron Chase Furman with Satellarknights
Versus
Ali Yassine with Shaddolls
Table 8:
Shoaib Ikram with Hieratics
Versus
Tom Morran with Burning Abyss
Table 9:
Claude Stevens Doiron with Shaddolls
Versus
Richard Adam Piper with Satellarknights
Table 10:
Robert Martin with Shaddolls
Versus
Yuhang Li with Fire Kings
Shaddolls are clearly the most popular and successful strategy in the tournament thus far, but Burning Abyss is following hot on their heels – no pun intended. Here’s the breakdown.
Shaddolls: 9
Burning Abyss: 5
Satellarknights: 3
Bujins: 1
Hieratics: 1
Fire Kings: 1
Shaddolls, Burning Abyss, and Satellarknights were certainly the top three most-expected strategies headed into this event, but with big Regional Qualifier showings from Satellarknights in the first round of North American Regionals two weeks ago, it’s a bit of a surprise that Burning Abyss seems to be outpacing them here in Day 1. It’s not just a small discrepancy in numbers, either: all over this tournament we’ve watched Satellarknights taking losses and Burning Abyss taking wins. It’s still early in the tournament, but we could see Satellarknights take a serious backseat if this trend continues.
Meanwhile a number of somewhat surprising rogue Decks are hanging tough too! Fire Kings, Bujins, and Hieratics are all undefeated, powered along by a strong surprise factor and a lack of Side Decked silver bullets. Can those decks keep scoring results? It’s a tough call, and we’ll have to see our next Top Table Update to find out.
