Before TCMG Top Cut existed, there was already something very clear among us: we wanted to make competitive Pokémon TCG really happen in Minas.
TCMG was born in a time when we were playing all the time, but still felt the lack of real structure around the scene. Stores could not always support it the way they could have, the local scene was more limited, and instead of waiting for things to improve on their own, we decided to build our own space.
That is how Liga TCMG started.
The idea was simple, but we took it seriously from day one: create a monthly circuit where the ranking champion would earn a trip to Nationals. In the end, there were 8 tournaments and 8 different champions. To us, that said a lot about the group that was forming. It was not just about numbers. There was already skill, competition, and people who genuinely wanted to improve.
But the story did not start in a big way.
We played wherever we could. There was a time when we played in McDonald’s, got kicked out, improvised tables, and kept going anyway. Looking back now, that might have been exactly what brought us closer together the most. Before results, there was the road.
Over time, the league kept growing. Our monthly events started getting more than 25 players, which, back then, was already a big deal. We also created Victory Road, a tournament designed for players who missed top 8 but still wanted to keep playing, build confidence, and keep improving.
That was always part of what TCMG wanted to be: a competitive group, but not one that grows by itself and shuts everyone else out. The idea was never to close the door behind us. It was to raise the level together.
Then came the trips, the Regionals, the Nationals, the results, and the stories that stay with you.
Nationals 2015 was one of those moments that really marked the team. Dyego Rathje won with Landorus Bats using a , Renato Christian made top 4, and I ended up losing my win-and-in. Later on, more important results came too, including Dyego’s title at LAIC 2018.
Those moments matter, of course.
But TCMG was never just about trophies.
What really defines us is the road that led to them.
We always tested together, talked through lists, refined decks, made mistakes, adjusted, and tried again. We did not always get it right. Practice did not always click. But the process was always there. And when it does click, we know what we are capable of.
That is also why TCMG has always been more than just a group of strong players. We meet for weeklies, talk after tournaments, follow each other’s preparation, and genuinely celebrate when one of us does well.
There is also a lot of pride in our history, in our identity, and in what the Pikachu eating pão de queijo means to us. It might sound like a small detail, but it is not. It carries Minas, friendship, identity, and a very specific way of living this game that feels like ours.
TCMG Top Cut comes from all of that.
We have had a website before. We have written content before. We have done podcasts. We have tried to document this story in the past. At some point, that got lost, but the desire never really went away. And maybe now it makes more sense than ever.
Because the idea is not just to come back. It is to come back the right way.
To build a space with content that is honest, useful, and actually lived. To talk about decks with context. To show lists that were really tested. To write about preparation, tournament decisions, metagame reads, mindset, and everything that separates simply “playing” from actually competing.
At the end of the day, we want this space to help other people grow too.
It is not about clicks. It never was.
It is about quality, transparency, community, and love for the game when it is played the right way.
And if you take Pokémon TCG seriously too — or you are just starting to take it seriously now — then this space is for you.