We have a winner for the Scrub Brush Challenge! 16-year-old Andrew Fredella of Boca Raton, Florida managed to make it all the way to the Top 2 in Atlanta’s Shonen Jump Championship, only to lose to Shawn Long in the finals. Second place is still pretty darn good, and Andrew is the first ever to win the challenge at a Shonen Jump. Team Nexus will probably decide to keep him.

There were strong odds against him (sheer numbers) as he faced off against 523 other competitors yesterday, but he managed to go undefeated until round 9. With a record like that, he can’t have worried too much about not beating the challenge. Anyways, as a winner, he’s entitled to an great big spoonful of fame, so let’s sit down and have a talk with Andrew!

Why’d you decide to enter the challenge?

Well, I decided to enter just cause I felt like it. I just wanted to get my picture on Metagame.com somewhere. (I’d say that’s probably the reason why 99% of the people who sign up for it.)

Did you think you’d win?

Yesterday I had a feeling I’d make the Top 8, and today I had a strong feeling that I’d win, but just didn’t get it.

Do you have any profound statements to make, as the first Scrub Brush Challenge winner?

If you get two hours of sleep and feel like doing something stupid, sign up for the scrub brush challenge!

What did you think about the decks you saw this weekend?

I thought the decks were a lot different, but the Top 8 was about what I expected. The only surprising deck was the ‘Stein deck, but I had my side deck ready because I play Feroze every week. I figured that Return would make it, and Decrees would make it. I actually had to decide between this deck and Soul Control, because I was running Soul Control at Regionals and got to the Top 8. It got bad hands too often, though, so I decided to stick with this.

Is that why you decided to go with what you played?

Yeah, it got good hands, I’d say testing and playing with it I had about a 80-90 ratio of getting a good hand.

Is there anything interesting or different about your build?

Not really, it’s CC. The only thing I’d consider “tech” would be the random Goldd, Wu-Lord of Darkness.

Got any more entertaining plans while you’re in Atlanta?

Probably just going to sleep now. We’re heading back tonight.

What events will we see you at next?

I’m definitely going to Indy! I was trying to get to Toronto, I really want to play in the meta up there, but my mom doesn’t know what might happen to me traveling off with friends.” Jason interrupted at this point, “Andrew Fredella was eaten by polar bears, so he will not be able to appear for his match!

Can I say a few words about my sponsors?

Absolutely! Tell us about your sponsor.

We’re sponsored by B.R.A.D.S. Sports Cards and Collectibles. They always help us out, paying for stuff, giving us sleeves and things like that. Rich is a really nice guy, he takes us out to dinner sometimes. It’s a great store – we have big events once a month, and he’s a great owner. People in Florida should go there!

Congratulations to Andrew Fredella, first time Scrub Brush Winner!