Event
The January $10,000 Azuki Invitational Recap
January 11, 2026
On January 11th, 64 players competed in the Azuki TCG January Invitational for a $10,000 prize pool. Players from Magic: The Gathering, One Piece, and Pokemon were in the bracket, alongside TCG content creators like Jimmy Wong of the Command Zone.
Six months before the Invitational, the game was early in development without a tournament scene.
Then we started running weekly tournaments out of LGSs across SoCal, onboarding new players and refining the game along the way. That groundwork let us intentionally build a strong community before our first 64-player tournament.
Players flew in from all over the US to compete. The event was held at the Azuki TCG office and kicked off at 10am with TCG streamer and tournament host TheEgman casting and streaming the tournament live on Twitch.
The tournament ran smoothly for our first major event. We were surprised by how deep the meta got. Players were finding lines and synergies that none of us had seen at locals.
Nearly 10 hours of play took us through the Top 8 and into the finals. Of the Top 8 players, 6 were running Zero Leader Fire decks and 2 were on Raizan Leader Lightning Decks. Even after the finals wrapped up, many players stuck around to keep playing.
The Champion
Congratulations to Ducky, who went through the full 64-player field to take the title!
Ducky ran a Raizan Lightning deck built around a low cost curve and aggressive plays, deliberately cutting the slower, more expensive cards that most Raizan players run. He leaned heavily on cheap one-cost weapons and efficient entities like Crate Rat and Blackjade Recruit to generate explosive early tempo. His spiciest inclusion was Wu Cha, a massive 8-cost finisher he added the night before the tournament as a last-minute tech choice against Bobu matchups.
When asked about the run:
"Shoutout to late nights. And shoutout to glucose in between rounds."
Top 8 Finishers
| Place | Player | Prizing |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | Ducky | 1/1 Raizan Winner Card, Top 8 Shao Card, $4,000 |
| 2nd | Xell | 1/1 Raizan Runner-up Card, Top 8 Shao Card, $2,000 |
| 3rd–4th | Jerry | Top 8 Shao Card, $1,000 |
| 3rd–4th | Dylhu | Top 8 Shao Card, $1,000 |
| 5th–8th | Jackie | Top 8 Shao Card, $500 |
| 5th–8th | Torao | Top 8 Shao Card, $500 |
| 5th–8th | Andrew B | Top 8 Shao Card, $500 |
| 5th–8th | BFG | Top 8 Shao Card, $500 |
A huge thank you to all 64 competitors who came out and helped make our first major event one to remember.
We decided to put up $10,000 for our first tournament because we care about our community and players. Competitive play is a core pillar of our game and shapes how we evolve it.
Watching how you all approached the card pool, the decks you built, the lines you found, our team took notes. What we learned from this tournament directly shaped changes going into Set 1, officially releasing Summer 2026.
The meta is still young and we know the best strategies haven't been found yet. We can't wait to see what you build next.
Follow @AzukiTCG on X for upcoming tournament announcements.