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On the 16th and 17th of December 2023, a Treasure Cup tournament took place in Créteil, France (near Paris), organized by Goupiya, bringing together no less than 438 players. The tournament featured the first major event in Europe after the release of the OP05 set, and it marked the end of the banlist that had a significant impact on red decks, especially Edward Newgate.
During the tournament, players engaged in 8 preliminary rounds with Best-of-1 (BO1) format, where the winner of a game earned a victory point, and each round had a time limit of 35 minutes. Following these rounds, the top 16 players with the most points entered into elimination rounds with Best-of-3 (BO3) format until the final. From the TOP16 onwards, the time limit increased to 60 minutes.
The ultimate winner was the French player Trec, who achieved an almost perfect record (11-01), facing off against the Italian player Gianluca Grillo in the final. Both competitors utilized decks featuring the Sakazuki leader.
This tournament held significance as it provided insights into the evolving meta at the beginning of the OP05 set, especially with the emergence of two dominant leaders in Japan, Sakazuki (blue/black) and Luffy (purple).
Tournament Metagame
During the event, 25 different leaders were represented, and it's noteworthy that Sakazuki (blue/black) made a very strong showing with 139 players (out of 438) and a win rate percentage of 56%. Following closely is Charlotte Katakuri (yellow), whose popularity hasn't waned since OP04, with 63 players. Right behind is Enel (yellow) with 61 players. Luffy (purple), with 48 players, narrowly misses the podium.
This indicates that Sakazuki had a strong presence and achieved a high win rate, showcasing his significant impact at the event. The continued popularity of Charlotte Katakuri is also notable, while Enel and Luffy also garnered attention, albeit to a lesser extent. The statistics reflect the diversity of leaders represented and the competitiveness within the tournament.
Leaders in Top 16
- Sakazuki (OP05): 9
- Katakuri (OP04): 3
- Newgate (OP01): 1
- Luffy (ST10): 1
- Law (ST10): 1
- Zoro (OP01):1
It seems evident from the tournament statistics that the results of the Sakazuki leader in Japan had a direct impact on its popularity in Europe, with over half of the top 16 participants using it. More than just its popularity, its formidable effectiveness and consistency stand out, as 3 out of the 4 finalists were Sakazuki players, with the remaining player using Newgate, the former emperor of the OP02 and OP03 metas.
Katakuri confirms his status as a popular leader, being the second most represented leader in the top 16 but falling short of reaching the top 4. In this top 16, we observe the presence of 3 recently introduced leaders, such as Law and Luffy, both introduced with the ST10 structure deck (red/purple), as well as Enel, the new yellow leader from OP05. Additionally, albeit a bit more quietly but still present since OP01, Zoro (red) made an appearance.
A notable absence from this top 16 is Law (red/green), despite being very present and dominant until the end of OP04, as well as Luffy (purple), a leader popular within the community and successful in Japan.
It is also interesting to note that some leaders, despite being significant outsiders in OP04, such as Rebecca (black/blue) and Doflamingo (green/purple), seem to have simply disappeared from the meta.
Top 4 Decklists
1st - Trec (Sakazuki OP05)
2nd - Gianluca Grillo (Sakazuki OP05)
3rd - Rémi Tallier (Newgate OP02)
4th - Tanguy Resmond (Sakazuki OP05)
While 3 players used Sakazuki as their leader, it can be noted that their decklists, although broadly similar, are not exactly the same. First, Trec is the only one of the three not to have included the card Kaido (OP05-118). In fact, he only uses 2 blue cards: Borsalino (OP05-051) and Hound Blaze (OP05-057). It's as if he's trying to get to the essentials: "I can handle any board, I have effects to fill my hand, I don't need to draw unnecessarily."
Apart from this difference, the lists are quite similar, including the new black powerhouse cards from the latest extension (Rebecca (OP05-091), Rob Lucci (OP05-093)), not forgetting those that have already proven themselves in the past (Tashigi (ST06-006), Kuzan (OP02-096), Borsalino (OP02-114), Sabo (OP04-083)). Additionally, they add the two new blue cards that wipe out the opponent's board, Borsalino (OP05-051) and Hound Blaze (OP05-057).
We could conclude the paragraph on the top 4 with this, but it would be forgetting something important. Yes, Daddy is back! In the third place on the podium, a certain Edward Newgate proudly stands, returning after a brief absence due to a certain banlist. But he is not alone. He is accompanied by certain cards that were also banned, such as Nami (OP01-016), or other cards that were previously limited to 1 per deck, like Marco (OP02-018), Radical Beam!! (OP01-029), but especially Edward Newgate (OP02-004).
We also note the arrival of Nico Robin (OP05-010), probably there to manage the opponent's board by combining with cards like Otama (OP01-006) or Portgas.D.Ace (OP02-013). Here, the strategy is to search for Straw Hat Crew and Whitebeard’s Pirates cards with Nami and Izo, then hit hard before the opponent has time to counterattack.
Conclusion
For this first tournament of the OP05 set, the influence of previous results for certain leaders in Japan is undeniable. Indeed, Sakazuki (blue/black) has greatly dominated the Asian meta overall, and it's not surprising that the most dedicated players, those with the strongest desire to win, have kept themselves informed about what was happening where the meta had advanced.
However, the event still had its share of surprises, including a third-place finish for Newgate (red), the absence of Luffy (purple) in the top 16 despite a significant number of players using him, and also the absence of Law (red/green), who was very present in previous tournaments.
While some are delighted that the color red is less prevalent than before (with an overrepresentation of Law, Zoro, and Newgate decks), others are concerned about the strong presence of the Sakazuki leader, widely played and with a very high win rate. In the previous banlist, it seemed evident that Bandai wanted to increase the diversity of leaders played in various tournaments (which is probably why this banlist was lifted with the release of OP05). However, it appears that the presence of the Admiral is having the opposite effect.
Personally, I believe that even though Sakazuki is very good, we can soon count on the pride of certain players to find decks and strategies to face him.
