2023 Asia Champions League Finals Analysis | Pokemon UNITE

The 2023 Asia Champions League Finals is here! Read on to see the most used Pokemon, best win rate, Pokemon ban rate, most used battle and held items, lanes for each Pokemon, where to watch the stream, as well as highlights that defined this tournament!

Asia Champions League Finals Summary

Hi5 Crowned as ACL Champions!

Hi5 emerged as the overall Champions of the Asia Champions League! The team showed a masterful performance and proved that they are the best team in all of Asia.

Grand Finals Comeback

Hi5 managed to make a phenomenal comeback in the grand final match. After losing two (2) games in a row and what looked to be the end of their run, the team turned things around, winning three (3) games in a row to take the crown!

Hi5 Members and Winning Picks

Team Member	Pokemon	Lane
Shingdi	Glaceon	Jungle
ikura	Slowbro	Bottom Lane
Wushuan	Eldegoss	Top Lane
BKZ	Machamp	Top Lane
ZzzRay	Espeon	Bottom Lane

In the deciding game of the Grand Finals, Hi5 played it safe, choosing the most commonly picked Pokemon throughout the tournament - Glaceon, Slowbro, and Espeon. The team's lineup is well-balanced with a nice mix of damage, durability, and support, which ultimately led to their victory.

Meta Highlights

Eeveelution Meta

The eeveelutions have been making an impact in past tournaments, and they're on full display in the ACL Finals. Two of the eeveelutions were in the forefront of the tournament, namely Glaceon and Espeon.

Glaceon for Damage

Garnering an impressive 42% pick rate and 53.1% win rate, it's worth noting the value that Glaceon brought throughout the tournament. Known for its incredible damage output and early scaling, teams relied on this icy Pokemon to carry much of their games.

Glaceon Guide: Builds and Best Items

Espeon for Long Range Disables

Espeon is the other eeveelution that was on the spotlight throughout the tournament. Although it only had a 33% pick rate with a 34.4% win rate, its ability to stun and burst down opponents from an incredibly long range with Psyshock and locking down groups of enemies with Psychic Solare proved to be essential assets for teams in winning games.

Espeon Guide: Builds and Best Items

Defender Meta

It's worth metioning the value that the participating teams put in Defenders. Three Defenders placed in the top 10 most picked Pokemon in the tournament with two of them placing at the top 2. This shows how teams value having high-durability Pokemon in their team composition instead of just pure damage.

List of Defenders: All Defender Pokemon and Best Builds

Slowbro for Lock Down

Sharing the most picked Pokemon spot with Glaceon, Slowbro also had a 42% pick rate. Although it had a lower win rate of 34.4%, Slowbro's high durability and arsenal of disabling moves deserves much recognition. In particular, Slowbeam has been a key factor in determining a game's direction due to the fact that nothing can counter it as of the moment. The ability to completely lock down any target during crucial teamfights is a high-value asset that teams look for.

Trevenant for Tanking

Trevenant made a surprising return in the competitive scene, and it's on full display in this tournament. It received a 38% pick rate, making it the second most picked Pokemon in the tournament, with a decent win rate of 28.1%. Notorious for punishing attackers by reflecting a portion of their damage back to them with Pain Split and controlling enemy movement with Wood Hammer, teams have good reasons to incoporate the Pokemon into their team composition.

Trevenant Guide: Builds and Best Items

Blastoise for Damage

Blastoise has always been a mainstay pick in tournaments, but its performance in the ACL Finals showed why it holds this title. Although Blastoise had a lower pick rate of 30% compared to the other two, it performed adequately with a win rate of 31.3%, which is just slightly lower than Slowbro. Despite being a Defender, teams mostly utilize Blastoise's incredible damage output when it uses Water Spout and Rapid Spin, turning the Pokemon into a durable damage dealer. Moreover, its ability to disable and damage enemies in a wide area using Hydro Typhoon deserves much recognition.

Blastoise Guide: Builds and Best Items

Picks and Win Rates

Pokemon	Most Picked %	Win Rate %
Glaceon	42%	53.1%
Slowbro	42%	34.4%
Trevenant	38%	28.1%
Eldegoss	36%	40.6%
Urshifu	34%	43.8%
Espeon	33%	34.4%
Mew	31%	34.4%
Blastoise	30%	31.3%
Blissey	30%	28.1%
Clefable	23%	25%
Mamoswine	17%	21.9%
Venusaur	14%	9.4%
Garchomp	13%	18.8%
Machamp	13%	15.6%
Gardevoir	11%	3.1%
Cramorant Dodrio	9%	9.4%
Delphox	9%	6.3%
Absol Sableye Snorlax	8%	9.4%
Scizor Wigglytuff	8%	6.3%
Hoopa	6%	6.3%
Buzzwole	5%	0%
Talonflame	3%	6.3%
Aegislash Zoroark	3%	0%
Comfey Lucario Mr. Mime Tyranitar	2%	0%

Game8 Notes

Glaceon and Slowbro share the top spot as the most picked Pokemon in the ACL Finals. In particular, Glaceon was also the most picked Pokemon in Day 7 of the ACL, which shows the value that teams put in the Pokemon.

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during Finals of Asia Champions League.

Pokemon Ban Rates

Pokemon	Ban Rate %
Zacian	100%
Urshifu	31.3%
Trevenant	25%
Blastoise	12.5%
Espeon	9.4%
Mew Clefable	6.3%
Blissey Glaceon Slowbro	6.3%

Game8 Notes

It comes as no surprise that Zacian is the most banned Pokemon in the tournament, being banned in every game with an enormous ban rate of 100%. It's a consensus in the Pokemon UNITE community that Zacian is the most overpowered Pokemon ever to be released. It has dominated the game with sheer damage, which makes it too risky to be played in tournaments.

Pokemon not shown here were not banned during the Finals of Asia Champions League.

Most Picked Battle Item

Battle Item	Most Picked %
Eject Button	54.1%
X Speed	29.1%
Full Heal	13.1%
Potion	3.4%
Slow Smoke	0.3%

Game8 Notes

Eject Button and X Speed remained as the top two most picked Battle Items in the Finals of the tournament. This suggests that teams continue to value mobility.

Battle Items not shown here were not used during the Finals of Asia Champions League.

Most Picked Held Item

Held Item	Most Picked %
Focus Band	55.9%
Exp. Share	40%
Slick Spoon	29.1%
Wise Glasses	23.1%
Choice Specs	20%
Buddy Barrier	18.8%
Energy Amplifier	14.4%
Sp. Atk. Specs	13.8%
Attack Weight Razor Claw	13.1%
Rescue Hood	11.6%
Weakness Policy	11.3%
Shell Bell	10.9%
Muscle Band	9.4%
Aeos Cookie	4.7%
Float Stone	4.1%
Scope Lens	3.1%
Assault Vest	1.9%
Rapid-Fire Scarf	1.3%
Leftovers	0.6%

Game8 Notes

Focus Band continues to dominate as the go-to Held Items for generally all Pokemon. Exp. Share coming in second means teams also invest in leveling up as fast as possible. Slick Spoon, Wise Glasses, and Choice Specs trailing just behind reflect that teams put value on Sp. Atk. damage dealers.

Held Items not shown here were not used during the Finals of Asia Champions League.

Pokemon Lane Picks

Pokemon	Top %	Jungle %	Bot %
Absol	--	100%	--
Aegislash	50%	--	50%
Blastoise	89.5%	--	10.5%
Blissey	84.2%	--	15.8%
Buzzwole	100%	--	--
Clefable	46.7%	--	53.3%
Comfey	100%	--	--
Cramorant	--	--	100%
Delphox	16.7%	16.7%	66.7%
Dodrio	--	100%	--
Eldegoss	87%	--	13%
Espeon	9.5%	14.3%	76.2%
Garchomp	100%	--	--
Gardevoir	14.3%	14.3%	71.4%
Glaceon	--	92.6%	7.4%
Hoopa	100%	--	--
Lucario	100%	--	--
Machamp	100%	--	--
Mamoswine	90.9%	--	9.1%
Mew	--	--	100%
Mr. Mime	--	--	100%
Sableye	20%	--	80%
Scizor	20%	80%	--
Slowbro	3.7%	--	96.3%
Snorlax	--	--	100%
Talonflame	100%	--	--
Trevenant	66.7%	--	33.3%
Tyranitar	100%	--	--
Urshifu	18.2%	81.8%	--
Venusaur	11.1%	--	88.9%
Wigglytuff	--	--	100%
Zoroark	50%	50%	--

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during the Finals of Asia Champions League.

Where to Watch Asia Champions League Finals

For the full schedule of Asia Champions League, check out this article:

Asia Champions League Schedule

Asia Champions League Finals - Day 1

Asia Champions League Finals - Day 2

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

2023 Asia Champions League

2023 Asia Champions League Analysis

2023 Asia Champions League Analysis
Finals Analysis
Day 01 Analysis	Day 02 Analysis
Day 03 Analysis	Day 04 Analysis
Day 05 Analysis	Day 06 Analysis
Day 07

All Pokemon UNITE Tournament and Analysis