(Never) Tell Me The Odds 2: Regional Championship Bilbao - Two Regional Championships In One!
Stepping into the venue, looking over the event hall, and listening to the sounds of shuffling and gameplay, Star Wars™: Unlimited Regional Championship Bilbao was one of the most impressive SWU events we’ve seen yet: From flashy plays, amazing cosplayers, and the first ever Limited Format Regional Championship.
Here’s everything that happened at Star Wars™: Unlimited Regional Championship Bilbao.
Alex Kivitz
Player’s Perspective - Entering The Venue
Walking into the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC), you immediately got a full view at just how large the event hall was. While most venues have you walking in on ground level, BEC had you entering from above, with a birds eye view of the entire event hall. While entering, you were treated to some of the most iconic songs from the Star Wars™ Saga. Banners hung all across the hall, and larger than life depictions of your favourite characters were on display for all the photo opportunities.
Between rounds there was much to do as well. We were fortunate enough to have Aitor Prieto and Gabriel Gómez present, able to sign cards, create illustrations, and customise your favourite Star Wars™: Unlimited memorabilia however you liked. And if you needed additional items for the signings, you could go on a shopping spree: Some of the largest vendors in Spain showed up with extensive collections of flashy singles and sealed products.
All throughout the weekend, we were treated to many special events and guest appearances. The 501st Legion was out in force too, with Stormtroopers, Bounty Hunters, and even Lord Vader himself making an appearance. Of course, R2-D2 was also seen zooming around the halls, bumping into friends and foes alike.
Extra Fun and Activities - Missions and Side Events
Once the games started firing, they never stopped. All through the weekend there were activities and exhibitions. Alongside the artists as special guests, we had several of the developers and designers of Star Wars™: Unlimited themselves at the venue. They were happy to chat and talk to anyone who came over, and for the brave of heart, willing to accept any challenge. In fact, the team even issued an event-wide challenge, if you can beat them in a game, you could take home an entire booster box of Legends of the Force.
Even the Side Events kept on going, from morning till the event hall closed. Players would crack booster packs and play for the chance to win some of the amazing cards on the prize wall, test out their newest decks, or just jam some games and celebrate Star Wars™: Unlimited.
And, of course, where would we be without the prize wall? Exclusive Regional Championship promo cards, playmats, and other merchandise were all up for grabs, to bling out your deck as much as possible.
A New Format - The First Ever Limited Regional Championship
Friday marked something truly special, the first ever Limited Regional Championship for Star Wars™: Unlimited. Players gathered day one to open 6 packs of Legends of the Force to build and register their own sealed decks right on the spot, and play their way through 9 rounds of Swiss for a chance to make day 2.
On the second day, the expert playing field took the game a step further and competed in the draft format, drafting in pods of 8 players, selecting cards and building deck on the fly: a true test of on the spot decision making and evaluation. At the end of it all, it was Alvaro Garrido from Spain, representing the home team, taking it all in the finals and becoming the first ever Star Wars™: Unlimited Limited Regional Champion.
The Main Event Part 2! - The Constructed Regional Championship
Pulling in nearly 700 players, Regional Championship Bilbao Premier had an extremely strong and diverse metagame, in both leader representation as well as with the players themselves. Starting on Saturday, we geared up for two whole days of competitive premier gameplay, with some of the best players in the world.
Following the ban of Force Throw, we were unsure what to expect to see, but the metagame seemed quite diverse and well spread out. The Top 8 was flush with high profile competitive players, including Jonas Frederiksen, winner of Regional Championship Lille, Filip Szkudlarek, winner of the first ever Galactic Championship, and several other high profile players. Among them, we saw 6 distinct decks and 5 distinct Leaders.
In an amazing graphic found on SWUbase and SWU Competitive Hub, we can see the breakdown of all the leaders played. The most played Leader was Boba Fett – Any Methods Necessary with 68 players, making up roughly 10% of the field. Following shortly behind was Cad Bane – He Who Needs No Introduction and Han Solo – Worth The Risk, with 65 and 62 players retrospectively. In fact, the top 6 decks all held a sizable representation, showing a pretty wide and diverse metagame.
By day 2, we saw that no one deck had a decisive hold over the tournament. While Han Solo – Worth The Risk had the highest meaningful conversion rate into day 2 with 16.1%, apologies to the one Major Vonreg player who brought him to a 100% conversion rate, we had a fairly even spread of day 2 representation.
After an exciting top 8, filled with upsets, an amazing mirror match between two teammates, and an extremely tight match-up between Jonas and Sasan, we finally had our winner. With an extremely tight final match-up, coming down to the final few minutes on the clock, Sasan Abbasi emerged victorious, becoming Spain’s second Regional Champion of the event.
That’s right, both the Limited and Premier Regional Championships were won by the home team! A big congratulations to Sasan Abbasi for winning the entire event!
Until The Next Time - Reflections from the End of the Event
By Sunday evening, the hall had quieted. Players packed up their decks, swapped cards, and said their goodbyes. The buzz of competition gave way to tired smiles and plans for the next event.
Bilbao felt like a milestone, the first Limited Regional, a record turnout for Constructed, and a weekend that showed how quickly this community is growing. Walking out with a few promos and a lot of good memories, it was hard not to feel excited for what’s next.
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