World Championship 2022 Top 16 Player Interviews (Part One) | Goat Format
World Championship 2022 Top 16 Player Interviews (Part One)
Interviews with the Top 16 players of the 2022 World Championship reveal insights into their deck choices, preparation strategies, and memorable moments from the tournament.
Goat Format
·13 min read
Out of almost 80 of the world's best players, we now have sixteen left to duke it out for cash, glory, and the heart of the cards! Read on to learn more about the best of the best of Goat Format!
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Shoutouts to my team Oversweep, I practiced with them and discussed stuff.What deck did you play in this event and why?Goat Control. As far as why, you can read about it in the deck tech article about it.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I prepared for Turbo and Warrior the most.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I was not looking forward to playing against control (as I don't play any Book of Moon), and also not against Decree decks (as I was on eleven traps without MST)What card had been overperforming for you during the event?DMoC was very strong this event, but I think it's was more of an abnormality than the power of the card.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?You can also read this in the deck tech article.What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?Everything is possible, I guess. Its still a card game :)If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I don't see any.What would winning the world championship mean to you?I have no idea.Any shout outs you would like to make?Shoutouts to my team Oversweep again. They do (and did) a great job in supporting me.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?519 goats. What deck did you play in this event and why?No Solemn Chaos Turbo. I played it because it’s the best deck, and when you cut the Solemn you get a lot more room for other utility cards which I thought would be advantageous for this event.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Mirror match, Burn, James Arc.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?RGT - Matt Uber
What card had been overperforming for you during the event?
Trap Dustshoot and PWWB
What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?
Setting a Night Assailant into a lvl2 hoping for greed.
What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?
The title stays in NA
If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?
None
What would winning the world championship mean to you?
Everything
Any shout outs you would like to make?
519 goats, Chris Pittao, Dale Bellido and my supportive family
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I've tested with my teammates from Goat Format LatinaWhat deck did you play in this event and why?I play Goat Control because it's the deck that I feel most confident withWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I expected a lot of Chaos Turbo decksWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I try my best to cover all matchupsWhat card had been overperforming for you during the event?Injection Fairy LilyWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?When I swapped Spirit Reaper and pushed with all my monsters on it for the gameWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?I'll try my best to make it as far as possibleIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?NothingWhat would winning the world championship mean to you?A dream come trueAny shout outs you would like to make?I wanna make a shoutout to all my mates supporting me during the tournament
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?Chaos KingsWhat deck did you play in this event and why?Chaos (Turbo siding Control) because PtranXP and IAMZ1 told me toWhat decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Anything Goat legalWhat decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Anything not Goat legalWhat card had been overperforming for you during the event?Card DestructionWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?Job's not done yetWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?Canadian ChampionIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?So far nothing missedWhat would winning the world championship mean to you?Just another day in the officeAny shout outs you would like to make?Shout out to my brothers the CHAOS KINGS
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I practiced a bit more than usual just to stay fresh. I tested against Turbo, Warrior, and Burn. I reached out to a few individuals for advice and card choices. Shoutout to Birds of Prey for the talks and the time. Shoutout to Bobby Buckets for the late night games. What deck did you play in this event and why?I played Chaos Control. It is my bread and butter and the deck I've been playing for the past three to four years. I like what it offers in terms of backup plans. Whether it be set/beater, then a Meta fusion, then a chaos boss. I'm able to exhaust my opponent's answers while still having something in my sleeve. I don't think it's the best deck, but I do feel that I can play it well enough to compete among the top. I also saw the amount of disrespect the deck was getting leading up to the event so I had the motivation to prove a point as well.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I was looking forward to playing against the known top players. I like being the underdog in those matchups and breaking hearts. I wouldn't hate facing Warriors, but even then it's probably a 60/40 advantage to me. What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I did not want to see Panda Burn. Even though I side ten cards for it, I know that sometimes that's not enough. Chain Energy scared me and game ones were usually a lost cause. What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Raigeki Break. I'm glad I went back to running two of it. Book of Moon is another card I'm glad I went back to two. I was looking for consistency and those cards allowed me to play more comfortably. Leading up to the event, Ring of Destruction has been ruining me and I wasn't going to let that happen in Worlds.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?My play against Puy and her RGT deck. She got back a Dimension Fusion with the DMoC. I needed to get her to under 2000 life fast. I summon Breaker to pop her last set. Switch DDWL to attack. Meta a goat for a TER, take the DMoC, Smashing Ground the AKP, swing with TER, then Book the TER to get an additional 3100. It dropped her to 500, making the DiFu dead. Got a nice "whoa" out of her. What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?First I get my revenge against Arvind after he beat me in GGP CT two weeks ago. Then I make a run into top four before someone who's having a better weekend than me knocks me out. If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I would bring the Asura Priest into the side deck like I kept telling myself to do. I settled for Hysteric Fairy, but only ten Panda Burn decks played. Asura would have been better.What would winning the world championship mean to you?It would be one of my life accomplishments. I've been playing this format since 2014 and pushing it on my local players and online for a long time. It would also prove a lot of doubters wrong about chaos control, at least on the big stage.Any shout outs you would like to make?Shoutout to my team Birds of Prey. Shoutout to my former team Damage Step for turning me from a Detox random to someone competent at the game. Shoutout to the friends I made throughout my goat career, you know who you are. Shoutout to Dale for keeping me interested in Chaos Control. If he could do it, then it was always possible.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I didn't play a lot last week because Duelingbook was down, but I constantly discussed and theory crafted with my teammate Jase. He's a great mind and a great player. What deck did you play in this event and why?I chose to play Chaos Turbo because I thought was the safest pick for me. The value of the deck is known and I've played a lot with it, even if not in this exact configuration. I was feeling confident with it. I did have also a Control build but it wasn't properly tested.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I've built the deck mostly for play mirror matches.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I don't wanna play Biglamma because he's my teammate. Also, I think his deck is scary, especially for a a couple of choices that I've made building my main deck.What card had been overperforming for you during the event?Triple PWWB and double Dusthoot were my bet for the field and they worked out.What has been your favorite moment of the event so far?After I've won against Shaggy and I secured a spot into the top cut!What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?The heart of cards will decide. I'm ready to play at my best.If you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?I think the deck is fine. There are some flex spots that will always be in doubt and they depend on the expected meta. In this case, I feel I predicted well what I was going to face.What would winning the world championship mean to you?It would be like closing a circle that opened when I was a kid.Any shout outs you would like to make?Thanks to all my team "Enraged Pandas", your support it's all for me.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I played a few games with Lucas Gustafsson in the weeks before the event. I also played both LCQ to get back into tournaments with a stronger mindset. Discussions with my team (LRG) also helped me to figure out some last minute stuff.What deck did you play in this event and why?Angel Chaos Return. This is what I'm most comfortable with and I think it has a good matchup vs the most played decks: Turbo and Warrior.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?Turbo or Warrior player, whoever they are.What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?Goat Control, Chaos Control and Burn playersWhat card had been overperforming for you during the event?Dekoichi, Spy, Zaborg, SolemnWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?When I realized I made it to top16What predictions do you have for the rest of the event?My prediction is I get first place. I'm convinced believing in it makes me stronger so I'll go with thatIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Maybe a third Book of Moon in the side deck for controlWhat would winning the world championship mean to you?It would mean a lot to me. It's basically a dream ever since I became a competitive player.Any shout outs you would like to make?Shout out to every LRG members. The support I'm having is incredible. Leaving that team was probably the biggest mistake I ever made as a Yu-Gi-Oh! player.
How did you prepare for today's event? Did you practice with a specific person or team?I haven't trained much in the last week due to lack of time, but I already had some ideas on which deck to bring. I played with some members of my team and in particular against Mayberry: A very strong player on our team.What deck did you play in this event and why?I played Chaos Turbo. It is the deck with which I have more experience in competitive play and I thought that in the revealed lists it would be the most stable one. It also tends to close games quickly so I wasn't afraid of time.What decks or players were you looking forward to playing against?I feel comfortable playing mirror matches, but the deck composition was also leaning towards Warrior matchup. What decks or players were you NOT looking forward to playing against?I didn't want to play many alt-win decks and I didn't want to meet players who could shark meWhat card had been overperforming for you during the event?I really like defensive monsters and monsters that give pluses like Spies, Sentries, Reaper, etc.During a match against Burn I solved a Needle Ceiling by destroying three of his monsters in a decisive moment, so I think that's the card that helped me. And the trinities, those are never enoughWhat has been your favorite moment of the event so far?When I realized I had a good chance of getting into the top I felt truly honoredWhat predictions do you have for the rest of the event?I'm not sure if I can win this but whatever happens I'm happy to have been here and have scored this resultsIf you could go back, what (if any) changes would you would make to your deck today?Maybe. I would definitely have tested more. Some cards I use because I like the effect but I'm not sure if they are optimal for the meta call. I used the deck I felt comfortable with today. What would winning the world championship mean to you?It is a great joy and an honor. If I win I do it for all the people who have believed in me and given the strength to strive to play well. I don't care much about the prizes. The fundamental thing is to play! Thanks goatformat.com and all the affiliated people!Any shout outs you would like to make?I would like to thank all the staff at the event, my Team Rising Suns (although we're short on members now, lol). My Vietnamese friends who took me into the online game. The people in the war league who believed I could win, like Derek. Also I would like to shout out to all the servers I belong to and steal ideas from (lol). I was inspired by many profiles of Italian players and Youtubers with few followers around the globe. I would say name by name but I don't want to dwell here. Thank you.
Goat Format on YouTube
Finals, replays, and deck breakdowns on our channel.
