Interview: Xeto - Winner FINALS EU Paris
- rubentruong
- Aug 16
- 4 min read
Player: Kevin Le „Xeto“
Favorite Leader: Marshall D. Teach
Favorite Character (in manga): Zoro or Kuzan
What Character needs a leader: Mihawk or Xebec
Best One Piece Alt-Art: Kuzan (OP10-082) (V.2)
Socials:
-Congrats on winning the EU Finals! What a run! How have you been? Has the realization of winning Finals and going to Worlds already sunk in?
It’s been two weeks since I won the finals, and it’s only now sinking in what an incredible achievement this really is. The thought of traveling to Japan to compete against the best players from every region excites me more than anything and fuels my drive to keep grinding. Whenever I think about it, I feel not only happy but also pride in being able to represent my country on the world stage.
-You won with Teach, why this pick?
I picked Teach because I genuinely think it was a good choice for this format. People have a misconception about the deck, thinking it’s not good enough because of the bad win-rate stats we see online. That’s why a lot of people write it off without testing it intensively. I’ve been playing Teach for a long time, and I can tell you this deck is actually pretty strong into the meta, with decent matchups across the board. Some matchups can feel hard at times, but I feel like Teach is one of the few decks that has both the consistency and the power to beat almost any deck with optimal play. Because of that, it was underrated — and that also gave me an advantage. My other choice would’ve been UP, but I despise the mirror.
-The main question (not sure if we will still need this after the bans) how did you approach the UP Luffy match up?
One of the questions I get a lot is about the UP matchup. It’s probably one of the hardest matchups to play for both sides. It’s hard to explain in just a few words, but I can say that UP’s best strategy is to starve you, so you need cards that can replace themselves. Basically, your game plan is to constantly remove their board while keeping reducers on board and using 7c Teach. Your best cards are 5c Kuzan, 5c Van Augar, 7c Teach, and Tempest Kick. Successfully setting up all of these is the foundation to winning the matchup. But there’s a lot more to it, like swinging correctly, knowing when to let your characters die, when not to turn your characters sideways, playing around gravity/redroc etc... This is probably the hardest part of the matchup — maybe I’ll go deeper into it when I release a guide (UP gets banned anyway) 👀
-Any particuliers things you would like to mention after finals, about the deck,..?
All I can say is that this is a deck that never dies and is probably worth learning for OP12 as well. The concept of the deck is so unique and makes it so strong that there is always a way to make this deck viable. Maybe in op13 it will be different with all the powercreep ..
-Whats the hardest part about playing Teach?
The one thing about playing Teach is knowing every matchup to its core, because you can’t play the same game every time. You have to approach each matchup differently, and the timing of your leader ability is crucial, and that requires a lot of testing. But the real hardest part that separates a good Teach player from a great one is careful sequencing, the ability to track your cards, foresee multiple turns ahead and plan your turns accordingly. These are skills you have to master if you want to become a top-level Teach player.-Will you keep playing this deck in OP12? And do you think it has a spot in that meta?
For now, I can’t say with 100% certainty how Teach will perform in the OP12 meta because there’s a ban list on the horizon. But if we assume UP gets hit and Teach remains untouched, I think it will be very well positioned for the upcoming format.
-What leader(s) are you looking forward to play in OP12?
Besides Teach, I will definitely try out Red Rayleigh, Green Zoro, and my boy Kuzan but so far, Rayleigh interests me the most.
-Are you also coaching/doing guides for particulier decks? And how can people contact you?
I’m currently in talks about starting my own Metafy. Whether or not there will be a deck guide for my favorite deck will depend on the upcoming ban list — if Teach still has a spot in OP12, you can expect it! Keep an eye out, because if it happens, I’ll put a lot of effort into it. You can always contact me via X. The links are above.
-Seems like people want to skip OP12 and jump to OP13 with all the reveals. How are you feeling about that?
I kinda feel the same. There were so many exciting reveals with a lot of cool leaders, and this is probably also going to be the Worlds format where I’ll be competing. Right now, I honestly just want to test OP13!
-Team Roger or Team Imu?
Team Imu, for sure.
-What is your overall vision for the global Simulous release?
Very excited for this. Faster meta adaptation and a more diverse competitive environment are ahead of us. And finally, the debate about which region is the best can be put to rest.
-Dare to ask, will you sell the #1 Zoro or give it a trophee place in your room?
For now, Zoro has a nice place in my room. But let’s see what the future holds for him :).
-Fun question for the end if you could ban and unban a card what would it be?
Ban: Gum-Gum Giant. Stupid card.
Unban: Probably Sakazuki. I started playing in OP05, and he was one of the first leaders I ever tried, plus he’s just so much fun to play. UNBAN SAKA!
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