Andrew Hedrick vs jack pitcher: Matchup Breakdown

Andrew Hedrick vs jack pitcher was the Masters final at the 2026 Los Angeles Regional Championship, held May 8–10, 2026. The tournament featured 1,849 players, and Andrew finished first with a reported overall record of 14-0-3. The official event record lists Jack Pitcher as Andrew’s final-round opponent and also records an earlier draw between the two players.

The final paired Andrew’s Dragapult-based control plan against Jack’s Dragapult/Dudunsparce build. Both lists shared several structural choices, including three Crispin, three Boss’s Orders, Judge, Unfair Stamp, Risky Ruins, and a similar spread of Psychic, Fire, and Darkness Energy. The major difference was Andrew’s inclusion of four Crushing Hammer, while Jack included two Rare Candy to accelerate his Dragapult line.

Video Highlights:

• Andrew opened the series with a rapid knockout sequence.
• Crushing Hammer repeatedly challenged Jack’s ability to maintain attacking energy.
• Jack’s Rare Candy line represented his best route to an aggressive comeback.
• The second game featured a complex endgame and a judge ruling involving pace of play.

The result also fit Andrew’s established tournament résumé. He entered the final with multiple Regional wins and a North American International Championships title, while Jack was competing for his first Regional Championship victory at the event.

The matchup was not a simple mirror. Both players relied on Dragapult, but their supporting cards encouraged different approaches. Andrew’s build was designed to slow energy development and convert small damage counters into efficient knockouts. Jack’s version had a heavier evolution line and Rare Candy copies that could produce an earlier Dragapult attack.

Andrew’s plan was strongest when he could force Jack to spend energy retreating, rebuilding, or attacking without enough follow-up. Jack needed to establish several Dreepy and Drakloak while preserving access to draw through Dudunsparce. If Jack lost those pieces early, the deck became much more vulnerable to Judge, Unfair Stamp, and targeted Boss’s Orders plays.

The energy counts mattered because Andrew’s extra Psychic Energy improved his ability to attack, retreat, and continue using Crispin. At the same time, Jack’s Rare Candy copies gave him a way to bypass some of the slower Drakloak progression. This created a clear strategic tension: Andrew wanted a long resource battle, while Jack wanted to turn a stable board into an early Dragapult attack.

Important Resource Differences

Jack chose to go first, but his opening position was weakened by prized cards. The game commentary identified two Dreepy and two Energy among Jack’s Prize cards. That left him with fewer immediate development options and made Andrew’s Crushing Hammer strategy more threatening.

Jack opened with Dunsparce against Andrew’s Munkidori. His first turn included Ultra Ball and an Energy attachment, but he did not find the Buddy-Buddy Poffin he wanted. Andrew recognized the limited development and chose an aggressive line rather than waiting for a longer setup.

The early use of Risky Ruins created additional damage counters on non-Darkness Pokémon entering the Bench. That damage supported Munkidori’s damage-moving ability and helped Andrew reach knockout numbers that would otherwise have been slightly out of range.

Jack eventually conceded Game One rather than spend significant time on a position that was already heavily behind. The final match allowed extended time, and preserving that time for a possible third game was a reasonable tournament consideration. Andrew therefore entered Game Two with a 1-0 lead.

Game Two began with another first-turn choice for Jack, but the setup was again uneven. He found Dreepy and Poké Pad resources but still lacked the ideal Buddy-Buddy Poffin sequence. Andrew, meanwhile, opened with Buddy-Buddy Poffin and Lillie’s Determination, giving him a stronger route to a developed board.

Andrew initially held Crushing Hammer rather than using it immediately. This patience was important. The best target was not always the first Energy placed; waiting allowed him to evaluate whether Jack was committing to a Dragapult attack, a retreat, or a longer development line.

Andrew also used Judge alongside Munkidori’s damage-counter manipulation. That combination limited Jack’s hand while forcing him to operate with a damaged and partially developed board. Jack found multiple Drakloak through the reduced hand, but he still struggled to create a clean attacking sequence.

The pivotal ruling came after a lengthy decision point. Andrew received a pace-of-play warning, and the ruling was later escalated to a two-Prize penalty after the prior warning was considered. An extension of three minutes was added for the discussion. The penalty changed the mathematical shape of the game: Jack needed two fewer Prize cards to win.

That ruling did not erase Andrew’s strategic advantages, but it made the endgame far more dangerous. Andrew had to protect his remaining board while continuing to deny Jack the Energy needed for a decisive Dragapult attack. Jack, meanwhile, could focus on a smaller Prize requirement and use Boss’s Orders to target exposed Pokémon.

Andrew’s recovery came through two crucial Crushing Hammer heads flips. The first removed a Darkness Energy from Munkidori, and the second removed Fire Energy from Jack’s side. Those flips restricted Jack’s ability to assemble the final attack while Andrew prepared Crispin and another Dragapult.

Andrew then used Unfair Stamp to reduce Jack’s hand and searched for the final pieces needed to close. He found the Pokémon and Energy required for Crispin, placed damage counters where they would remain useful, and took another knockout. At that stage, Andrew needed only one Prize card, while Jack had to rebuild from a two-card hand.

Jack found Meowth ex and additional resources, but his final line could not produce enough damage or a reliable knockout. Andrew moved damage counters to the active Pokémon, retreated into Munkidori, and used Mind Bend to finish the game.

This final is useful because it demonstrates how a familiar Dragapult shell can support very different competitive philosophies. Jack’s list rewarded proactive board development, while Andrew’s list punished premature Energy attachments and exposed Bench Pokémon.

The most important lesson is to evaluate Prize cards and board texture together. Jack’s prized Dreepy cards shaped Game One from the opening turn. In Game Two, Andrew’s own Prize cards were less damaging, so he could commit to a board-wide setup without creating the same level of risk.

A second lesson involves damage counters. Munkidori was not merely an attacker or a backup Pokémon. It functioned as a conversion tool, turning Risky Ruins damage and Dragapult damage into precise knockout math. That made small early decisions matter several turns later.

A third lesson is that Crushing Hammer should be judged by the attack it denies, not only by the Energy it removes. A successful flip can force a retreat, prevent a Dragapult attack, or stop an opponent from assembling a Crispin sequence. The best timing often comes after the opponent reveals which attacker they intend to develop.

For players piloting Jack’s style, the priority is to establish enough Dreepy and Drakloak that a single disruption card cannot end the game. For players using Andrew’s approach, the priority is to preserve Energy access and avoid spending every resource too early. Both plans become weaker when the player stops counting future turns.

Andrew’s victory came from combining experience, disruption, and precise damage management. Jack had a competitive route through Rare Candy and early Dragapult pressure, but his Game One Prize cards made that route difficult to access. Game Two showed how close the matchup could become when the Prize requirement changed, yet Andrew still found the resources to deny the final attack.

The official Andrew Hedrick Los Angeles Regional event page records Andrew’s first-place finish, his 14-0-3 overall result, and Jack Pitcher as the final-round opponent. It also lists their earlier Swiss-round draw, adding useful context to the final-round rematch.

The final is best understood as a study in incremental advantage rather than a single lucky moment. Andrew’s early attack, Energy denial, hand disruption, and late damage movement all connected. Jack remained close enough in Game Two to threaten a comeback, but Andrew adapted to the changed Prize race and closed with a carefully preserved Munkidori line.