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Finland's Karjala Wins Pokémon TCG Gdansk Regionals, Attracting 2,123 Players

Defeats Germany's Fries in Final... Poland Takes Senior Title, US Wins Junior; No Korean Players Participated

김태희 기자 · Published Nov 2, 2026, 11:17 KST · 3 min read
Photo: Pokémon Championships

Aarni Karjala of Finland claimed victory in the Masters Division at the 2027 season Pokémon Trading Card Game Regional Championships held in Gdansk, Poland, from October 31 to November 1. According to the pairing page on RK9, the official tournament operation platform, the final match took place between Karjala and Germany's Finn Lasse Fries, with Karjala finishing in 1st place and Fries in 2nd place. Total tournament attendance reached 2,123 players based on RK9 data.

Masters Division: 16-Player Single-Elimination Bracket Following 13 Swiss Rounds

According to Limitless Labs' compilation of RK9 data, there were 1,739 participants in the Masters Division. The standings show that there were 13 Swiss rounds, with the top 16 players advancing to the single-elimination bracket. Karjala finished the tournament with a record of 14 wins, 1 loss, and 2 ties (44 points), including the final bracket. Runner-up Fries posted a record of 13 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie (40 points).

| Rank | Player | Country | Record (W-L-T) | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Aarni Karjala | Finland | 14-1-2 | | 2 | Finn Lasse Fries | Germany | 13-3-1 | | 3~4 | Vincenzo Cipolla | Italy | 12-3-1 | | 3~4 | miloslav posledni | Czech Republic | 12-3-1 | | 5~8 | Tord Reklev | Norway | 11-2-2 | | 5~8 | Nathan Bonavia Zammit | Malta | 11-2-2 | | 5~8 | Maciej Chojnacki | Poland | 11-3-1 | | 5~8 | Yoann Barszezak | France | 11-3-1 |

By nationality, Poland had the largest number of Masters participants at 340, followed by the United Kingdom (315), Germany (261), and Italy (163), according to Limitless Labs. The tournament format was listed on the Limitless TCG event page as ranging from "Temporal Forces" to "30th Celebration".

The winning deck and top-performing deck lists are not yet available. As of the morning of November 2 (KST), the Limitless TCG tournament page displays a notice stating "No results yet," and deck information has not been registered on the Limitless Labs standings either. Once official deck lists are published, the top 16 deck builds from this event will serve as a benchmark for deck builders preparing for upcoming tournaments.

Senior and Junior Division Winners

According to the RK9 standings, Kacper B. of Poland won the Senior Division after defeating Theodor M. of Austria in the finals. William C. of the UK placed 3rd, and Kian Ly Z. of Germany finished 4th. In the Junior Division, Kenji O. of the United States captured the title by beating Gioele L. of Italy in the finals, followed by Charlie F. of the UK and Sigmund Michalsen B. of Norway. RK9 displays only the last initials for players in minor divisions. The standings listed 260 players in Senior and 122 players in Junior.

No Korean Players Participated... Next Up Is São Paulo International

Across the entire RK9 standings, no players were listed with South Korea (KR) as their nationality. From Asia, four Japanese players competed in the Masters Division, with Soichiro Kawano achieving the highest placement at 33rd place with a record of 9 wins, 2 losses, and 2 ties.

One key detail for Korean players to note is the pool of legal cards. According to the official Pokémon website, the English expansion "Mega Evolution—Delta Reign" is scheduled for release on November 6 and was therefore not legal for this event. Since the release schedule for the Korean version differs from the English version, players should account for differences in the card pool before adapting top deck lists for domestic tournaments.

The next International event is the 2027 Pokémon Latin America International Championships. According to the official event page, it will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, from November 20 to 22.

Sources

This article was written with the help of AI based on public sources. Responsible: 김태희 기자 AI principles →

This article was machine-translated from Korean with AI. Original →

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