Giacomozuu teamed up with Basira to take the top spot in the first online World Championship Qualifier held on Board Game Arena Aug. 16-17, securing their spot among the top players. Tempetedelaneige will be joining them at the Finals Oct. 17-19, taking second with Treyst.

The 1,142-player event, scheduled around European timezones, was one of the largest competitive tournaments ever held on BGA, splitting players into multiple groups for 10 rounds of Swiss best-of-1 play for the first day. The second day brought the Top 32 back for a single-elimination best-of-3 bracket. The entire event was broadcast in English by the AWOL stream team and in French by Kaaleb.

Sigismar was the most popular hero with 157 decks, followed by Kojo with 148. Treyst, who broke the meta in July, pulled 126 decks total. All heroes from each faction were represented, all the way down to Arjun with 10 decks and Waru with two. A total of 57% of the cards played came from Beyond the Gates, with 21% from Trial by Frost and 22% from Whispers from the Maze.

Giacomozuu’s Basira deck leaned into quick boosts and removal with plenty of fuses for the hero ability to add just a little bit of pressure when needed. Three rare Tiny Jinns, a staple in almost all competitive Bravos decks, provide quick fuel for later plays. Two rare Bravos Bladedancers pack a punch on repeat ongoing plays without eating additional card advantage, and two rare Ozma keep cards in hand. That’s supported by three rare Physical Trainings. The rest of the rares lean into opponent interaction with three rare Akhluts and what could seem like a risky choice for Basira, two Hungers. That removal monster is followed by three common Duel of Grit and two common Mana Eruption. One common Arcolano Milk combos nicely with the Hunger to create a massively boosted gigantic threat to both expeditions. Almost every other card in the deck feeds a boost to itself or one other character, including all three of its uniques, an Ouroboros Trickster, a Bravos Trailblazer and an Ordis Spy.

Prizing and next online Qualifier

Giacomozuu and Tempetedelaneige will join other finalists (such as Rinku from the Dallas, Texas, Qualifier) with travel and accommodations paid to the World Championship Finals Oct. 17-19. They both received a Top 8 playmat and their respective Faction Champion cards. The Top 8 all received a Top 8 playmat and organized play boosters. The highest-placing player for each faction received their Faction Champion card.

The next BGA Qualifier will be focused on the Americas, running Sept. 6-7, with registration already open and is available to players worldwide regardless of their nationality.