Louisville Regional 2026 results: Riley McKay wins with Dragapult in a 2,927-player field
Canada's Riley McKay won the Louisville Regional with a Dragapult list 30 players brought. Dragapult was 34% of Day 2; the Top 8, numbers and winning list.
By PTCG News Team4 min read
Dragapult is back on top. Riley McKay of Canada won the Louisville Regional Championship, held from Saturday, October 10, with Dragapult, in a field of 2,927 players, according to Limitless TCG. Among the Regionals we’ve covered this season, only Baltimore drew more players, and Louisville was more than three times the size of the Brisbane Regional. Austin Charles of the United States finished second with Dragapult Blaziken.
The format was Temporal Forces to 30th Celebration, the same as at Brisbane and the Recife Regional a week earlier.
The numbers: a third of Day 2, half the Top 8
Limitless lists 547 players in the second phase, from nine countries. Here are the five most played deck families, plus every other family that reached the Top 8:
| Deck | Day 2 players | Top 8 | Top 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragapult (all builds) | 186 (34.0%) | 4 | 7 |
| Slowking | 46 (8.4%) | 0 | 2 |
| Alakazam | 43 (7.9%) | 0 | 1 |
| Basic Box | 43 (7.9%) | 0 | 1 |
| N’s Zoroark | 33 (6.0%) | 0 | 0 |
| Dhelmise | 22 (4.0%) | 1 | 1 |
| Hydrapple | 18 (3.3%) | 1 | 1 |
| Sharpedo | 11 (2.0%) | 1 | 1 |
| Mew | 6 (1.1%) | 1 | 1 |
Dragapult’s 186 players split into 141 on the standard build, 28 on Dragapult Blaziken and 17 on Dragapult Dusknoir. That’s almost the same share as in Brisbane, where Dragapult was 35% of Day 2. The difference is the other half of the Top 8, which went to four decks with 22 Day 2 players or fewer: Sharpedo Toxtricity, Dhelmise, Hydrapple and Mew Box.
The biggest fall was N’s Zoroark. A week after it took fourth in Recife as the second most played deck, it was 6.0% of Day 2 in Louisville and put no one in the Top 16.
The winning list: 32 players, one deck
McKay’s deck is a standard Dragapult build: four Dreepy, four Drakloak and three Dragapult ex, with two Munkidori, two Budew, Dunsparce and Dudunsparce, and one each of Meowth ex and Fezandipiti ex. The Trainers include four Lillie’s Determination, three Boss’s Orders, four Crushing Hammer and two Risky Ruins, and the deck runs three each of Fire, Psychic and Darkness Energy.
What stands out is how many people played exactly the same 60 cards. Limitless groups identical lists, and this one was played by 30 players in Louisville, including Jack Kolbert, who finished 10th, and by two players at the Frankfurt Regional. Limitless prices it at $37.91.
A second shared Dragapult list did well too: Leo Orozco (6th), Dylan Higgins (9th) and Zach Elliott (11th) are all linked to the same decklist on Limitless, the list Arthur Sossai Silva took to ninth place in Recife.
The runner-up: Dragapult Blaziken
Charles paired a slimmer Dragapult line (4 Dreepy, 4 Drakloak, 2 Dragapult ex) with two Torchic, one Combusken and two Blaziken ex, plus two Munkidori, Chi-Yu, Meowth ex, Fezandipiti ex and Budew. Two Rare Candy and two Team Rocket’s Watchtower set it apart from McKay’s list. Limitless shows the same list played by two other players in Louisville, and prices it at $37.66.
The Louisville Top 8
| # | Player | Deck |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riley McKay (Canada) | Dragapult |
| 2 | Austin Charles (USA) | Dragapult Blaziken |
| 3 | Evan Campbell (USA) | Sharpedo Toxtricity |
| 4 | Rahul Reddy (USA) | Dhelmise |
| 5 | Henry Chao (USA) | Dragapult |
| 6 | Leo Orozco (USA) | Dragapult |
| 7 | Jeremy Chestnutt (USA) | Hydrapple |
| 8 | Sawyer Melban (USA) | Mew Box |
The Top 16 had 14 players from the United States, plus McKay and Finland’s Aarni Karjala, who finished 13th with Slowking.
What Louisville means for players in the Philippines
No Filipino players are listed in Louisville’s Day 2, but the format matches what’s legal here now, with 30th Celebration cards in, and the results point the same way as the other Regionals.
- Dragapult is the deck to prepare for. It has been a third of Day 2 at Brisbane and Louisville and the most played deck at Recife. At your next GYM Battle or Ultra Ball League stop, expect to face it.
- The stock list is public and proven. Thirty-two players across two Regionals ran McKay’s exact 60. If you’re building Dragapult, it’s the obvious starting point.
- Meowth ex keeps showing up. Both Louisville finalists play one, as did both Recife finalists. A foil Meowth ex comes in the Deck Crafter’s Collection, out October 23 (see our October releases guide).
- Low-count decks still win games. Mew Box made the Top 8 with six players in Day 2. A well-practised off-meta deck can still beat a Dragapult-heavy room.
Find an official GYM near you in our store directory.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Louisville Regional 2026?
Riley McKay of Canada won with Dragapult. Austin Charles of the United States finished second with Dragapult Blaziken, according to Limitless TCG.
How many players were at the Louisville Regional?
2,927, according to Limitless TCG, with 547 players listed in the second phase.
How much of the Louisville field played Dragapult?
186 of the 547 Day 2 players (34.0%) played a Dragapult deck, counting the Blaziken and Dusknoir versions. Dragapult took 4 of the Top 8 spots and 7 of the Top 16.
What format was the Louisville Regional?
Temporal Forces to 30th Celebration, according to Limitless TCG.
Did any Filipino players compete at Louisville?
None are listed in the second-phase standings on Limitless TCG.
Sources
Source: Limitless TCG: Regional Louisville, KY (standings)
Also see: Limitless TCG: Riley McKay's Dragapult decklist · Limitless TCG: Austin Charles's Dragapult Blaziken decklist
