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SHONEN JUMP Championship First-Timers

October 17th, 2009

A lot of people travel to SHONEN JUMP Championships all across the country – once a Duelist competes in one Championship, they usually want to play in all the rest too. But not everybody’s a veteran, and I think everyone remembers their first big tournament. For a lot of Duelists, today is that first big event! Here are some quick interviews with just some of today’s SHONEN JUMP Championship first-timers.

 

Ethan Devara

1stTimer-Ethan

11 year-old Ethan was born overseas, but moved to Houston a few years ago. “The SHONEN JUMP is great! It sort of gives a lot of pressure the night before, but I’m having a good time!” Ethan’s running a Beatdown Deck with Tuners to Synchro Summon his favorite monsters: “Stardust Dragon” and “Red Dragon Archfiend,” and he’s here with his brother Davin. “My favorite part was having the privilege to participate! It was really fun.”

 

Davin Davara

1stTimer-Davin Davara

 Ethan’s brother is 12 year-old Davin Davara, who came today ready to dominate with Blackwings. “I chose Blackwings because they were fast. I tested it around my locals and it did well.” Davin was impressed with the event as a whole. “It’s big! There’s a lot of players, and they all came packing with popular Decks. It’s a good time, I’m having fun.”

 

Connor Holt

1stTimer-Connor

Connor Holt is 16 years old, and is here playing Chaos in his first-ever SHONEN JUMP Championship. For Connor, Deck building was an issue of convenience. “It was what I had.”

And his thoughts on the event? “It’s about what I expected! Seeing all the really good players like Jerry Wang from out of state, that’s cool! The event is like, a ten out of ten. Connor traveled here this weekend from Houston with his friend Gabe.

 

Gabe Clark

1stTimer-Gabe

Gabe is 15, and is competing this weekend with Vayu Turbo. “I like the speed. I’m playing “Dark Grepher,” “Armageddon Knight,” and “Burial From a Different Dimension.””

“This is my first JUMP,” commented Clark, “and yeah, it’s a lot more than I was expecting! Less people, but a lot more excitement. It’s a really good time! There’s lot of trading, and a lot of side Duels.”

 

Nicholas Pushee

1stTimer-Nicholas

Nicholas is 12 years old, and hails from Arlington. “I’m playing Gladiator Beasts. I wanted to make Lightsworn, but I couldn’t.” Nicholas is one of may Duelists waiting for those Lightsworn reprints in Stardust Overdrive Special Edition and Twilight Edition.

Pushee is here with a group of friends, including Isaac Winslette, the Six Samurai Duelist from our Round 4 Feature Match. He’s here courtesy of his mom Lynne, who generously offered to drive him to today’s SHONEN JUMP Championship for his birthday.

I hope Lynne doesn’t mind driving to events on a regular basis, because Nicholas has clearly caught the big-tourney bug: “I’m gonna stay here for the whole day and come back tomorrow!”

 

Alejandro Mancha

1stTimer-Alejandro

 Alejandro is only 11 years old, but is here competing today with a full Lightsworn Deck. “Cause it’s fun!” Mancha was a bit tired from the competition, but seemed to be having a great time. “It’s bigger than I expected.” He came here this weekend with his dad and his brother.

 

Christian Barron

1stTimer-Christian

12 year-old Christian rounds out our lineup, playing Gladiator Beasts complete with “Ancient Forest” from Ancient Prophecy. Why did he choose Gladiators? “They’re like, something different besides Blackwings and Lightsworn.”

I asked him what the highlight of his day was so far, and like many Duelists of any age it was the people that thrilled him the most. “Mostly all the people that I’ve been reading about online! They’re all here!

 

Over 500 Duelists are in attendance here this weekend, and each one is making new memories and gathering stories to tell the folks back home. Whether this is your first SHONEN JUMP Championship or your tenth, these events are always unforgettable.