Astra Venari Launch Cup #1 results: Calep Leiva wins Set M-B
Astra Venari Launch Cup #1 results: Calep Leiva wins Set M-B
Astra Venari Launch Cup #1 was a 44-player online tournament on Limitless, played in Pokemon Champions Regulation Set M-B on 2026-07-31. Calep Leiva [CR] finished first at 7-2-0. The listed final round sequence had naovi over biceptococcus, then caleiva over naovi, and caleiva over youpaydouble.
| Place | Player | Record | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calep Leiva [CR] | 7-2-0 | Hisuian Arcanine / Staraptor / Farigiraf / Sylveon / Kingambit / Raichu |
| 2 | Ivan Rosa Marin [ES] | 6-3-0 | Froslass / Kingambit / Sneasler / Hydreigon / Whimsicott / Hisuian Arcanine |
| 3 | Jack Robson [AU] | 6-2-0 | Farigiraf / Blastoise / Sylveon / Drampa / Blaziken / Maushold |
| 4 | Patrick Angeles [PH] | 5-3-0 | Garchomp / Glimmora / Staraptor / Whimsicott / Kingambit / Delphox |
Calep Leiva’s winning team is a flexible offense built around multiple forms of speed control and priority pressure. Staraptor with Staraptite, Intimidate, and Tailwind gives the team a fast mode while still threatening direct damage with Close Combat and Brave Bird. Farigiraf provides the opposite pacing option with Trick Room, while Armor Tail helps protect key turns from opposing priority. That dual-speed structure is important because the rest of the team is not locked into one tempo.
Hisuian Arcanine is the clearest damage lead. Focus Sash gives it a reliable turn, and Rock Head pairs with Head Smash and Flare Blitz to create immediate pressure. Extreme Speed adds cleanup value, especially alongside Helping Hand from Farigiraf. Sylveon fills a similar damage role from the special side, using Fairy Feather and Pixilate with Hyper Voice, Hyper Beam, and Quick Attack. Kingambit rounds out the endgame with Chople Berry, Defiant, Kowtow Cleave, Low Kick, and Sucker Punch, giving the team a sturdy physical attacker that punishes Intimidate-heavy play.
Raichu is the support piece that ties many of those lines together. Raichunite Y, Lightning Rod, Fake Out, Protect, Zap Cannon, and Focus Blast give Calep Leiva another way to force positioning while supporting the team’s bigger attackers. Between Fake Out, Tailwind, Trick Room, Helping Hand, Extreme Speed, Quick Attack, and Sucker Punch, the champion’s roster had several ways to control turn order without relying on just one plan.
Across the top teams, Kingambit was the defining repeat pick, appearing on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th place teams. Defiant was used on every listed Kingambit, with Sucker Punch and Kowtow Cleave also recurring heavily. Hisuian Arcanine appeared on both of the top two teams, with Rock Head and Head Smash on each set. Farigiraf also remained a major structural piece, showing up in 1st, 3rd, and 5th with Armor Tail and Trick Room.
The item trends were just as clear. Focus Sash appeared repeatedly on aggressive or utility Pokemon including Hisuian Arcanine, Kingambit, Glimmora, Vileplume, Sneasler, and Excadrill. Fairy Feather showed up on Sylveon and Whimsicott. The top eight also featured several stone-based anchors, including Staraptite, Froslassite, Blastoisinite, Blazikenite, Delphoxite, Scraftinite, Pyroarite, Tyranitarite, Venusaurite, and Raichunite Y.
Takeaway for ladder players: build with both speed control and priority interaction in mind, because the best teams here were not dependent on a single mode.
Source: Limitless