As the Public Events and Last Chance Qualifiers continue here in Lima, Peru, we stopped to talk to a few of the players who have been winning in the Win-A-Mat events.

.

Santiago Vera (right) with his Frog Monarch Deck came with about 15 other Duelists all the way from Argentina.  Some of them don’t have invitations to the Main Event, so are hard at work in the Last Chance Qualifiers.  Renato De Oliveira (left) from Brazil, with his Blackwing Deck, arrived with 17 others.

Patric Gallo Negreiro, also from Brazil, won his Win-A-Mat with his Gladiator Deck and says that his “secret tech” is Rescue Cat.  Of course, he thinks that his GB Deck will win at the Main Event tomorrow, but if he doesn’t, then he says it may be Infernities instead.

Nelson Rincon from Venezuela  played with his Frog OTK to walk away with a cool Crow/Black-Winged Dragon Mat.

.

Barbara Rivas, from Argentina, won her Win-A-Mat with her Gravekeeper Deck.  She’s been playing for about 2 years, and she came along today since her friends qualified for the Main Event.  In fact, her boyfriend is the National Champion of Argentina!  She plays on weekends with her friends, and says “It’s a game for anyone – not just males or females, and you should try it because it’s fun and you get the opportunity to get to know other people!”

Go For the Gold has started, and we’ve got a full 32-player flight going on.  In fact, there were so many more Duelists wanting to participate, that we decided to run another one!