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The third edition of the Outrider Cup, a 12-game biennial showcase that takes place on GEMP and pits the top six players from Europe and North America against one another, reached its thrilling conclusion on January 28th with the North American team ultimately prevailing and taking home the honors. The North American team jumped out to a 5-2 lead in games early in the event. Team Europe, though, would not be dismissed so quickly, and rattled off three wins in a row to tie the series at 5 before Brian Fred (North America-TTO) defeated Justin Branch (Europe-Anakin Saga) to bring the score to 6-5 heading into the final regulation game.
The series came down to a showdown between Hayes Hunter (North America-Clones) and the captain of Team Europe, Emil Wallin (AOBS). A victory by Hayes would finalize an outright tournament victory for the North American team, while a European win would send the event into a one-match sudden-death playoff between players of the captains’ choosing. Hayes’ clone troopers were ultimately able to thwart the machinations of Prince Xizor and the other agents of Black Sun to secure the win for the North American squad.
Team North America comprised Captain Justin Desai, Hayes Hunter, Joe Olson, Mike Kessling, Brian Fred, and Greg Shaw (Captain’s Pick). Team Europe fielded a team of Captain Emil Wallin, Koen Meijssen, Timo Dusel, Quirin Furgut, Cedrik Vanderhaegen, and Justin Branch (Captain’s Pick). Players earned spots on their respective roster by being in the top five of cumulative player of the year points over the 2022 and 2023 tournament seasons.
Light side decks proved dominant during this event, winning 9 of the 12 games in the series. The full game results and archetypes played by each player are listed below. Decklists and GEMP files for each player can be found here. Replays of all 12 Outrider Cup games are available to watch on YouTube.
Joe (AOBS, NA) def. Timo (Y40, EU)
Koen (ZH, EU) def. Hayes (SC, NA)
Justin D. (HITCO, NA) def. Cedrik (HD, EU)
Greg (NI, NA) def. Timo (Thrawn, EU)
Quirin (HITCO, EU) def. Mike (ISB, NA)
Brian (Diplo, NA) def. Quirin (EOps, EU)
Joe (QMC, NA) def. Justin B. (ISB, EU)
Koen (Map, EU) def. Mike (Yoda Communing, NA)
Cedrik (WHAP, EU) def. Greg (CCT, NA)
Emil (OA, EU) def. Justin D. (RotS Maul, NA)
Brian (TTO, NA) def. Justin B. (Anakin Saga, EU)
Hayes (Clones, NA) def. Emil (AOBS, EU)
Many thanks to Chris Schoenthal, who served as the Tournament Director, and Dan Tartaglione for leading the streaming efforts.
Players who are interested in qualifying for Outrider Cup IV should look for upcoming events with opportunities to earn Player of the Year points. See you in 2025!
