Paulo Vitor Damo “PVDDR” da Rosa took Hawaii by storm and was crowned World Champion piloting a While-Blue Azorius Control deck with just 2 creatures in it.
Brazillian veteran PVDDR had a spectacular run in the tournament, wielding a deck as old as the game itself. The classic While-Blue Control build relied on counterspells and board wipes to establish total dominance on the battlefield and remove all threats the opponents had to throw at him. With a meta dominated by 5 archetypes, namely Jeskai Fires, Azorius Control, Mono-Red Aggro, Temur Reclamation, and Jund Sacrifice and this is how the champ’s version of W/U brew looks like:
Mainboard:
- 1x Dream Trawler
- 1x Archon Of Sun's Grace
- 4x Teferi, Time Raveler
- 2x Narset, Parter Of Veils
- 3x Shatter The Sky
- 3x Elspeth Conquers Death
- 4x Omen Of The Sea
- 2x Banishing Light
- 3x The Birth Of Meletis
- 2x Mystical Dispute
- 4x Absorb
- 3x Thirst For Meaning
- 3x Dovin's Veto
- 3x Plains
- 7x Island
- 1x Field Of Ruin
- 4x Temple Of Enlightenment
- 4x Hallowed Fountain
- 1x Castle Vantress
- 3x Castle Ardenvale
- 2x Fabled Passage
Sideboard:
- 1x Glass Casket
- 2x Archon Of Sun's Grace
- 4x Aether Gust
- 1x Dovin's Veto
- 2x Mystical Dispute
- 1x Narset, Parter Of Veils
- 2x Commence The Endgame
- 2x Cerulean Drake
In the final match, PVDDR faced Portuguese Márcio Carvalho. After an initial lead by the soon-to-be champ, Márcio came back in the fight and secured the second match. In the decisive third round, the Portuguese kept a risky first hand - a push of the luck that cost him the game. Mana screwed for several turns, he had no chance to hold his own in the late game and conceded the victory.
"I started playing Magic when I was 8 years old, and you have no idea how many times I dreamed of this moment," Damo da Rosa said in celebration of his victory. "I've gotten everything else by this moment, but finally I'm the world champion. Even people who don't play Magic know what that means. It's incredible."
The Brazilian talent took home a sizable purse of $300,000. He is an experienced player with 23 years of competitive Magic on his name. This year he was flying the colors of esports team TempoStorm, an org famed for their card game professionals including Hearthstone competitive players and streamers.
