Lots of experienced Duelists are competing this weekend, but not all of them have participated in YCS tournaments before! Take a look at some of the Duelists at YCS Columbus who are participating in their first YCS Main Event ever!

Braden Putnam from Massillon, Ohio has competed in one Regional Qualifier and a bunch of local tournaments, but has never competed in a YCS! Now, he’s finally attending his first YCS and will be competing in the Genesys Format Main Event! Braden is using a Dragon Ruler Deck. While he doesn’t have a ton of practice with the Genesys Format, he uses a Dragon Ruler Deck when he plays Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL, so he’s feeling prepared. He’s hoping to end the event with a positive record, but is mostly just looking to just get some experience with his Deck and have a good time. “It’s the biggest event I’ve ever been to,” he explained. “I’m looking forward to meeting people and playing games.”

Aaron Paige from Freehold, New Jersey is competing in his first-ever YCS this weekend in the Advanced Format Main Event! He’s using a “DoomZ” Deck and he’s feeling pretty confident going into the tournament. He’s excited for the tournament to start. “It’s going to be enjoyable, but it is intimidating to see so many frequently mentioned people from other big events,” he explained. Aaron plays in a lot of local tournaments, and has competed in a couple of Regional Qualifiers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but he has never competed in a tournament as large as this one.

Josh Hawkins from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has competed in lots of Regional Qualifiers and local tournaments, but never competed in a YCS before! He’s excited for his first! Josh is using a Fairy Tail Deck, packed with new support that was released in Blazing Dominion.  “There are lots of good Decks in the room, and I’m ready to face anything,” he said.

Dylan Geralds from Bowling Green, Kentucky hasn’t competed in any local tournaments or Regional Qualifiers recently, but now he’s here to compete at one of the highest levels of competition! He’s playing in the Genesys Format Main Event with his Shining Sarcophagus Deck. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with the Deck, but he did a lot of brainstorming while building it, and practices Dueling against his brother. He rehearses his combos, and now he’s prepared to take them into the tournament and use those combos against his opponents!

Experienced YCS Duelists may have the edge in the tournament, but don’t count out the first-timers! Even the best Duelists in the world started their climb to stardom by competing in a single tournament, and any one of these first-timers could be the next YCS Champion! Good luck to all of them!