Aeos Cup 2022 Analysis (North America) - UNITE World Championship Series

Want to know a quick summary and analysis of the things that happened in Aeos Cup 2022 North America? Read on to see the most used Pokemon, the Pokemon with the best win rate, the most used battle and held items, lanes for each Pokemon, where to watch the stream, as well as highlights that defined this tournament!

Aeos Cup Analysis
Aeos Cup (North America)	Aeos Cup (Japan)

The data here is based on the recent VOD stream released by the Official Pokemon UNITE YouTube channel.

Aeos Cup 2022 Summary (North America)

FULL SEND Wins the North American Aeos Cup!

In a gripping 5-game series with GLADIATORS, FULL SEND managed to send it and win it all in the Aeos Cup!

With this win, they have effectively overtaken GLADIATORS as the current leader in total Championship Points (CP) earned!

Aeos Cup North America Tally (As of May 2022)

#	Team Name	Total CP Earned
1	FULL SEND	4144
2	GLADIATORS	4115
3	NEMESIS AE	3146
4	BLVKHVND	2856
5	BLOSSOM	2547
6	LEGO	2230
7	IX GT	1919
8	SCC	1457
9	TACENDA	1456
10	MILLENNIUM	1381
11	FOREIGN FAMOUS	1230
12	OVERCAP	1192
13	LOW EXPECTATIONS	1161
14	IX GAMING	1146
15	TEAM TOS	997
16	BRAVE BIRDERS	885

Meta Highlights (North America)

Burst Damage Meta

Due to the changes made in the 1.5.1.2 Update, the meta shifted to a burst damage meta wherein teams pick Pokemon that have high burst damage and equip them with damage items.

Assault Vest for Sp. Atk. Burst Protection

Most burst damage team comps consists of 1 or 2 Attack Type Pokemon and the rest as Sp. Atk. Type Pokemon. As a reaction, teams equip Assault Vest to provide extra protection against Sp. Atk. damage, allowing them to take less damage and nullify it.

Less Usage of Score Shield

Because of the nerf it received in the 1.5.1.2 Update and the meta shift, the usage of Score Shield has decreased drastically. Teams now rarely use Score Shield in their builds, allowing for other items to shine.

No-Lucario Team Comps

Lucario has always been the go-to pick for all teams worldwide for a solo top laner due to its well-balanced stats and high carry potential. However, teams have now found alternatives for their solo top laner.

Azumarill

Azumarill made its debut in the professional scene in this tournament, acting as an alternative to a solo-top Lucario. However, it was only picked twice.

Trevenant

Trevenant is also an alternative that teams consider for their solo laner, making its debut in the professional scene. Although it's a Defender, teams build and play Trevenant more as an All-Rounder when soloing a lane, equipping items like Muscle Band and Attack Weight.

Greedent

Greedent is not a stranger to tournaments. It's mainly picked as a counter-jungle Pokemon and is a core pick in score comps. However, since the meta has shifted, Greedent has now become an alternative pick for a solo laner.

Back to Basics

The meta shift made teams revert to the traditional gameplay of farming, rotating lanes, and taking objectives like Drednaw. This strategy is to ensure that the team will have a good chance of winning the late-game, specifically winning a teamfight to take Zapdos.

Blastoise, Blissey, and Hoopa Tri-lane

Because of the late-game oriented gameplay, teams choose to have a well-balanced tri-lane team comp consisting of Blastoise, Blissey, and Hoopa. This tri-lane team comp covers all things needed to lead the team to the late-game, rotating lanes, securing objectives, and winning teamfights.

Jungle Picks

This tournament saw a variety of Pokemon taking the Jungler role. Some returning while some bringing new strategies to the table! Below are some of the picks and how they were utilized in games.

Greninja Surf Hard Carry

Teams that ran Greninja were met with great value as its damage output and an arsenal of Dash moves were able to outpace most of its jungle counterparts. Surf was the go-to move that allowed Greninja to burst down one target at a time, especially when it got to stack Attack Weight bonuses and getting high critical damage with Scope Lens. Additionally, with the buff to Waterburst Shuriken, we saw aggressive plays where the unite move was used to push lanes and engage in fights instead of finishers and steals.

Cinderace Blaze Kick Burst

Cinderace was an alternative pick to Greninja because of its ability to stave off defenders like Blastoise and Trevenant from getting into position. With Blissey constantly giving out support, Cinderace was able to melt through targets with Blaze Kick and fast auto attacks while being able to get out of danger.

Aegislash Quick Slashes and Sustain

Aegislash proved to be a dependable jungle as its ability to deal high amounts of damage and sustain itself with heals were able to secure wins. It became a good pick for handling Pokemon like Lucario, which often engages brawls. Moreover, the buff to its boosted attacks was deemed helpful in dealing with high HP Pokemon like Greedent and Blissey since its attacks scale up when it is fighting tanky Pokemon.

Sylveon Sp. Attack Pressure

The team Full Send utilized Sylveon as their jungle with great results! Being able to get the extra EXP from the central area early in the game enhanced the team's lane strength. Plus, Sylveon was able to reach its unite move fast since it learns Fairy Frolic at level 8. Moreover, with Hyper Voice adding more Special Attack firepower, the team was able to properly secure objectives and other contested Wild Pokemon camps.

Support Tech and Highlights

With the absence of tournament staples like Eldegoss and Wigglytuff, here are the ways Supporters were utilized in the tournament!

Hoopa Hyperspace Hole Tech

With the nerf to Trick in Version 1.5.1.2, and the meta shifting towards securing objectives and team fights yet again, Hyperspace Hole proved to be essential in this tournament. This is evident in how each goal zone was extensively protected to extend the move's reach. teams were consistently opening up portals, teleporting Pokemon from one place to another then finally meeting for glorious clashes. Each teleported Pokemon was able to quickly recover its HP, which demanded a level of careful micro-managing to maximize the move's effects.

Blissey Egg Bomb and Cleanse

With its high HP and ability to cleanse the area of debuffs, Blissey was the honorary Defender that was essential in every fight. Blissey's support prowess supplemented Hoopa's positioning tech with constant shields and protection from Safeguard and a lot of disruptive Egg Bombs. We saw many plays wherein Blissey was able to open up opportunities for its teammates to push lanes and finish off displaced enemies, on top of its highly effective unite move, Bliss Assistance.

Battle Item Picks

For this tournament, players focused on Battle Items with debuff removal and mobility.

Full Heal to Block Crowd Control

With heavy-hitting disablers like Blastoise and Trevenant that can throw enemies off and blast them away finally joining the meta, Full Heal gave teams extra protection from stuns and knockback. Additionally, it helped kept Alolan Ninetales' freeze status effect and Greedent's disruptive plays in-check.

Eject Button and X Speed for Mobility

Both Eject Button and X Speed where heavily used as well. Because of the focus on team fights, they proved to be essential in maintaining proper position and evasion from devastation moves. X Speed, in particular, was mainly used by Supporter Pokemon, which benefitted from the shorter cooldowns to maintain close contact with their teammate.

Picks and Win Rates (North America)

Pokemon	Most Picked %	Win Rate %
Hoopa	100%	74.1%
Blissey	74%	55.6%
Blastoise	54%	37.0%
Lucario	44%	37.0%
Trevenant	30%	14.8%
Sylveon	28%	22.2%
Alolan Ninetales	26%	25.9%
Greedent	26%	18.5%
Greninja	24%	14.8%
Aegislash	19%	18.5%
Cinderace	11%	11.1%
Pikachu	11%	3.7%
Slowbro	9%	7.4%
Talonflame	7%	7.4%
Mr. Mime	7%	3.7%
Charizard	7%	0%
Decidueye	6%	7.4%
Machamp	6%	3.7%
Azumarill	4%	7.4%
Gardevoir	4%	0%
Venusaur	4%	0%

Game8 Notes

Hoopa is proven to be the most used Pokemon in this tournament! Blissey and Blastoise comes in second and third! The three of them were used in a new trio bottom lane composition which is proven to be effective!

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup North America.

Most Picked Battle Item (North America)

Battle Item	Most Picked %
Eject Button	31.3%
X Speed	16.8%
Full Heal	16.3%
X Attack	16.1%
Fluffy Tail	8.9%
Potion	8.4%
Slow Smoke	1.3%
Goal-Getter	0.8%

Game8 Notes

With the nerf on the scoring comp in the last 1.5.1.2 Balance Patch, Goal-Getter dropped from first in Aeos Cup JP last April 23 (pre-patch)! We also see a re-emergence of the Eject Button, making it the most used battle item in this tournament.

Battle Items not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup North America.

Most Picked Held Item (North America)

Held Item	Most Picked %
Buddy Barrier	64.8%
Muscle Band	57.0%
Focus Band	51.9%
Attack Weight	21.5%
Exp. Share	20.0%
Choice Specs	17.0%
Energy Amplifier	14.8%
Weakness Policy	12.6%
Scope Lens	8.9%
Sp. Atk. Specs	7.8%
Score Shield Wise Glasses	6.3%
Assault Vest	4.8%
Razor Claw	3.3%
Aeos Cookie	0.7%

Game8 Notes

Buddy Barrier continues to dominate as the most flexible held item to use in Builds. Score Shield lagging second checks out with the competitive scoring meta for this tournament! The third and fourth most picked Held Items are Muscle Band and Attack Weight which also support this meta.

Held Item not shown here were not used during Aeos Cup North America.

Pokemon Lane Picks (North America)

Pokemon	Top Pick %	Jungle Pick %	Bot Pick %
Aegislash	--	10%	90%
Alolan Ninetales	--	--	100%
Azumarill	100%	--	--
Blastoise	13.8%	3.4%	82.8%
Blissey	--	--	100%
Charizard	--	100%	--
Cinderace	--	100%	--
Decidueye	--	--	100%
Gardevoir	--	100%	--
Greedent	100%	--	--
Greninja	--	100%	--
Hoopa	1.9%	--	98.1%
Lucario	100%	--	--
Machamp	100%	--	--
Mr. Mime	--	--	100%
Pikachu	--	--	100%
Slowbro	--	--	100%
Sylveon	--	100%	--
Talonflame	--	100%	--
Trevenant	68.8%	--	31.3%
Venusaur	--	--	100%

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup North America.

Where to Watch Aeos Cup 2022 (North America)

Aeos Cup 2022 Japan Day 1 (April 23)

For the start of the North American Aeos Cup Day 1 stream, skip to around 04:35:35 timestamp.

Aeos Cup 2022 Japan Day 2 (April 24)

For the start of the North American Aeos Cup Day 2 stream, skip to around 04:38:30 timestamp.

The Aeos Cup 2022 was streamed live on the official English Pokemon UNITE Youtube account and ran for two (2) days from May 7 to May 8, 2022. Day 1 will consist of all the games from the tournament until the final six (6) teams remain. The remaining teams will then advance to Day 2 and compete for the title of Aeos Cup Champion!

For the full schedule of the World Championship Series, check out this article:

UNITE World Championship Series 2022 Schedule

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

UNITE World Championship Series 2022

2022 Championship Series Analysis

2022 World Championship Series Analysis
2022 World Championships
Regional Finals (North America)	Regional Finals (Japan)
May Finals (North America)	May Finals (Japan)
Aeos Cup (North America)	Aeos Cup (Japan)
March Finals Summary (North America)	March Finals Summary (Japan)
February Finals Summary (North America)

All Pokemon UNITE Tournament and Analysis