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The 2022 Goat Format season concluded on October 23rd with its most prestigious event, the Goat Format World Championship tournament. Over 70 duelists from across the globe gathered for seven rounds of Swiss-format preliminary play on day 1, followed by a top 16 cut, double-elimination style playoffs on day 2. In the month that has passed since Worlds 2022 ended, the Goat community has spent time reflecting on the lessons learned from the event; reevaluating and retooling their decks and strategies. Duelists are hungry to get back into competition and show off what they’ve been working on during the off-season. Before we move on to next season, let’s take one last look back at the winners and losers from Worlds 2022.
***WINNERS***
Dingosig
Obviously, the number 1 winner of Worlds 2022 is the champion himself, Dingosig. Hailing from France, Dingosig piloted his signature Chaos Return deck to a first place finish; winning not only the championship (and the sweet belt that goes along with it), but the hearts of duelists around the world. Dingosig proved that his top 8 finish the year prior at Worlds 2021 was no fluke, and that Shining Angel can still get the job done. Dingosig, and his deck, make me think back to this 2012 NBA promo for the San Antonio Spurs:
“No flash, no gimmicks, no chance of stopping it.”
You know the man, you know the deck. He’s been playing it forever. You know what’s coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it. In Dingosig’s hands, the deck is unstoppable. No bragging, no trash talk, just silently killing the world’s biggest Goat Format competitors like it’s his job.
“It’s the quiet guys you should fear, because words are small, and game is BIG.”
GeistD
While he wasn’t the winner of Worlds 2022, he *was* the runner-up. Hailing from Germany, GeistD piloted a unique Goat Control deck to a first place finish in Swiss, and a second place finish overall. To keep the 2012 NBA references going, GeistD, and his deck, remind me of this 2012 promo for the Boston Celtics:
“You’ve probably forgotten all about them by now. Nothing left in the tank. Nothing left to prove. Too slow. Too injury-prone. Too much mileage. Hmm…You better hope you’re right.”
GeistD looked washed up for much of the 2022 season. With a 2-8 record in the Goat Format War League and no notable tournament finishes all year, he finally secured one of the very last invites awarded by winning the Goat Grinders Invitational tournament. Similarly, Goat Control decks looked washed up for much of the 2022 season. A few dedicated Goat Control players saw success here and there, but the deck was largely written-off and disregarded as a relic of the past. Book of Moons and Asura Priests were at an all-time low going into the 2022 World Championship, as players were primarily focused on beating Chaos Turbo, Warrior and Burn strategies.
GeistD found his stride at just the right time, building a deck that was both right for him as a player, and right for that moment in the metagame. The two-time, two-time champ (GeistD has won both a GFC and FLC event twice) redeemed himself, and Goat Control decks as a whole, proving that they both can still hang with the best of the best.
“What some call age, they call experience, grit, toughness, leadership, moxie, savvy, passion, desire, heart. And these guys are at their best when the stakes get BIG.”
AJTBLS
Despite not winning Worlds, AJTBLS made arguably the biggest mark in Goat Format competition in 2022. Hailing from Canada (shoutout to 519), AJTBLS started the season with a 2nd place finish in FLC 22 and stayed hot all year long, following it up with wins in FLC 24, FLC 26, Goat Grand Prix Chicago and the Goat Format War League, where he was the playoffs MVP. He capped off his season with a top 8 finish at the World Championship, securing his status as the 2022 Player of the Year.
Shaggypowers
No one showed more growth during the 2022 season than fan-favorite Shaggypowers. Hailing from the USA, this Florida Man wrangled the competition into submission at Worlds 2022, where he finished in the top 4. Like GeistD, Shaggy’s success started when he finally found the deck that was right for him. His showing at Worlds was a powerful reminder 🥊 to his doubters, and more importantly to himself, that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
Europe
For the third consecutive year, a European won the Goat Format World Championship. First Italy, then Germany, and now France holds the title. Skully is probably getting tired of those expensive international shipping costs.
***LOSERS***
Chaos Turbo
Although it made up 47% of the field, and was piloted by some of the best players in today’s game, Chaos Turbo had a rather dismal showing at Worlds 2022. Only 6 of the 36 Chaos Turbo players made the top 16, and none finished in the top 4. This event showed that even the most dominant deck still has its flaws.
Ivan Rossitto
Chaos Turbo extraordinaire Ivan Rossitto concluded his season with a disappointing finish at Worlds 2022, losing any last hope he had of usurping the 2022 Player of the Year crown from AJTBLS, and relinquishing his status as the #1 ranked player in Goat Format in the process. When the community’s expectations, and your own, are win or bust, every loss hurts. But not even making the top 16 must especially sting for Ivan.
Moxies and Lukaz
Just as they did in 2021, Moxies and Lukaz spent 2022 grinding tournament after tournament to secure extra invites and the coveted round 1 “bye” win in the World Championship event. But all their hard work didn’t seem to pay off, as Moxies and Lukaz finished in 17th and 18th place respectively, narrowly missing out on the top 16 cut despite having a 5-2 record. Some say the “bye” is to blame for their bad tiebreakers. All we know for sure is that both players will be saying “bye” to their World Championship aspirations until next year.
JCVD93
JCVD93 was the most successful Goat Control player of 2022 up until the tournament that mattered most. If someone told you before the tournament that Goat Control would place second at Worlds, you would have assumed JCVD93 to be the one piloting it to that finish. To say he had a bad showing at Worlds is an understatement; he finished nearly dead last, and amazingly was even behind several “bye” placeholder players in tiebreakers. Only the “3BYE” placeholder player was worse.
America
Once again, the Americans failed to capture the World Championship title. Despite having two Americans in the top 4, the finals was Europe vs Europe. I heard oversized belts are out of fashion these days anyway.
