This past weekend, 229 of the best Magic players from across Japan and South Korea converged upon Chiba, Japan for the Champions Cup Final, organized by BIG MAGIC. On the line was not only the title of Regional Champion but also two World Championship invites and 18 Pro Tour invitations. After twelve rounds of Pioneer competition followed by a Top 8 playoff, Alexander von Stange emerged victorious with Mono-Green Devotion!

Congratulations to Alexander von Stange, the winner of the Champions Cup Final!

Alexander von Stange originally hails from the United States but moved to South Korea for his job in March, just a few months ago. He had won a Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ) in the United States at a store called Battlegrounds, and while RCQ invites are locked to a specific region, BIG MAGIC extended a special invite to the Regional Championship as an exception due to his intercontinental move.

Magic truly is a global game, and von Stage brought his infectious smile and friendly personality across the ocean. "You come for the Magic, but you stay for the gathering", he said in his winner interview. "The people that play this game are the most cool people, the smartest people you will ever meet."

His brilliant win and approach with a Karn, the Great Creator sideboard also proved his skill at the game. "A lot of people think you have to keep all the cards in your sideboard because they're wish targets. But a lot of times, it's like the third most important. If I activate Karn, the Great Creator three times, I've won the game." Hence, von Stange would often change two or three cards after sideboard, which impressed the commentators on the Japanese livestream. As von Stange explained, he often shaves Invasion of Ixalan or, against aggressive decks, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, but It really depends on the matchup.

He was thankful for all the help he had received to get this far. "Shoutout to the Mono-Green cabal, who gave me all the resources," he said. "Bobby Fortanely has great sideboard guides! But they play a main deck Cityscape Leveler; I think that's terrible—you'll never cast the card." He preferred Invasion of Ixalan in the flex slot, and it worked out perfectly for him.

Finalist Tomoaki Ogasawara leveraged the power of enchantments.

In the finals, Alexander von Stange defeated Tomoaki Ogasawara, a Pioneer expert who showed his skills earlier this season with an 11^th place finish at the first Regional Championship, back in November 2022. Ogasawara has a keen eye for choosing decks that are well-positioned in the metagame, specifically ones that are strong against the ever-popular Rakdos Midrange: he brought Gruul Vehicles in that previous tournament and Enigmatic Fires this weekend.

Like most Enigmatic Fires players at the Champions Cup Finals, Ogasawara chose Yorion, Sky Nomad over Keruga, the Macrosage as his companion, and he relied on a variety of creatures that he could tutor in every situation.

Tomoaki Ogasawara congratulates Alexander von Stange on his victory at the Champions Cup Finals.

Both finalists earned an invitation to World Championship XXIX, to be held at MagicCon: Las Vegas on September 22-24, 2023. However, one final match remained to decide who would walk away with the trophy, title, and first-place prize of $16,000.

In the finals, Ogasawara did his best to keep von Stange's battlefield under control, with clever plays such as fetching Clever Impersonator to copy Chained to the Rocks, which reduced von Stange's devotion to green. But despite these attempts, von Stange still managed to set up infinite loops involving Karn, the Great Creator and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner. Ogasawara's confirmed that The Stone Brain was able to exile entire library and extended his hand in defeat.

Going to do a larger post later but... I just won the Japan RC! Unbelievable mix of emotions.

Thought I was dead for top 18, then just kept lucking out. pic.twitter.com/pCGTaWd0V5

— Alex von Stange (@AVS54356) June 25, 2023

Top 18 Players Qualified for the Pro Tour

Congratulations to the Top 8 players! Top row, left-to-right: Hisamichi Yoshigoe, Tomoaki Ogasawara, Rei Sato, Alexander von Stange. Bottom row, left-to-right: Takeshi Miyawaki, Kazuya Murakami, Yuichirou Obara, Noriyuki Mori.

While the Top 8 competitors played for the big prizes, all Top 18 players who were not yet qualified for Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings earned an invitation to that Pro Tour. We look forward to seeing everyone at MagicCon: Barcelona on July 28–30!

You can find the event's Top 18 decklists here, and you can find the final standings here.

The Top 8 decklists featured seven different archetypes, with Abzan Greasefang appearing twice. One of them, with Gurmag Angler as a standout main deck inclusion, was played by Takeshi Miyawaki. He who went undefeated throughout the entire Swiss and made Top 8 as the number one seed before falling to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals.

Also in the Top 8 competitors was the previous Regional Champion Rei Sato, who came close to clinching back-to-back titles. Although he was not able to accomplish that incredible feat, back-to-back Top 8 finishes is an amazing accomplishment by itself. Rei Sato is clearly one of the best Magic players in Japan right now.

An Amazing Weekend to Celebrate Magic

The metagame at the Champions Cup Final showed the prevailing popularity of Rakdos Midrange, with no major shake-ups. However, there was a large diversity in the "Other" category. For example, Hall of Famer Lee Shi Tian made Day 2 with Golgari Elves, and Hisamichi Yoshigoe made Top 8 with Temur Vehicles. Yoshigoe already unveiled his innovative splash for Stubborn Denial at Pro Tour Phyrexia, but he tweaked it further and showed that deck mastery is the key to success in Pioneer.

All in all, it was a terrific event full of hard-fought matches and high-level competition. While the Regional Championship again put on display the talent and skill of players from the region, the tournament was held at the larger Players Convention, a large-scale festival that celebrates all things Magic. The venue featured a big variety of events that everyone could enjoy.

The spacious Mukahari Messe in Chiba hosted the Players Convention.

In addition to the 229-player invitation-only Champions Cup Finals, 580 players gathered for the Modern open side event.

At the main stage, various special events were held with audience participation.

One of the most exciting stage events was Real Momir Basic, which featured a huge stack of creatures for every mana value.

The Vintage competition drew 72 players, with coveted pieces of the Power Nine.

A teaching corner was provided for those who are learning to play the game for the first time.

The mascot character of BIG MAGIC treats all customers with respect.

Yuta Takahashi, Magic World Champion XXVII, signed numerous copies of Faerie Mastermind, the card that bears his likeness.

The Command zone drew players from across the multiverse.

All rounds were streamed live on the MTGJP Twitch channel, with Hall of Famer Shuhei Nakamura as one of the commentators.

While attendees could take a commemorative photo at the beginning of the weekend, the trophy now belongs to Alexander von Stange!

Be part of the next cycle of Regional Championships by joining a qualifying event near you! You can find events via the Store & Event Locator or your regional organizer's website.