Former world champion Wolfe Glick won yet another title at the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Orlando Regionals this weekend, proving why the VGC community already considers him the GOAT in the competitive Pokémon scene.
It was a last-minute decision to compete at Orlando Regionals (April 13 to 14) with only three hours of sleep to defend his title, Wolfe Glick tweeted, but it all paid off in the end. Glick not only defended his Orlando title, but also claimed his second big win of the season and broke his own record. This is Glick’s ninth regional title, the most of any VGC player in Masters. Alongside this achievement, the popular creator has also won on a national and international level, with the 2016 World Championship his biggest achievement so far. It’s no wonder why top players like Joseph Ugarte are calling Glick “the best player of all time.”
As it was a last-minute decision to compete, Glick brought the same exact Pokémon lineup he used at the Europe International Championships (EUIC) last weekend. At EUIC, Glick told Dot Esports he’d built this team around “two of the strongest support Pokémon, Incineroar and Amoonguss.” As it turned out, Amoonguss was the shining star and MVP in the finals match at Orlando Regionals too. In addition to providing all the usual support with Spore for sleep status and Rage Powder for redirection, Amoonguss shockingly knocked out a mighty three of the opposing four Pokémon in that last game.
Those three Pokémon happened to be three of the strongest physical attackers in the Regulation F metagame. First, Amoonguss singlehandedly took down finalist Neil Patel’s Hearthflame Ogerpon with two super-effective Sludge Bombs. Then it put Chien-Pao to sleep with Spore and later took its second knockout against the powerful Treasure of Ruin. Perhaps Amoonguss’ most impressive moment was the final one-on-one face-off against the most broken Pokémon in VGC—Urshifu. After putting Urshifu to sleep twice and tanking multiple hits from the Legendary menace, Amoonguss ultimately won the intense standoff to help Glick add another win to that incredibly long list of achievements.
Looking ahead, we still have two major international events: The North America International Championships (June 7 to 9) and the World Championships (Aug. 16 to 18). This leaves Glick with a few more opportunities to claim even more titles this season. Those two international events will feature the first restricted format of Scarlet and Violet—the Regulation G ruleset—so we’ll see how Glick and other VGC players navigate a new set of Legendary threats like Calyrex Shadow Rider and Miraidon.
Published: Apr 14, 2024 08:22 pm