The Top 3 finishers in a Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series main event win special prize cards, but that’s not the only way to get a set of these coveted Darklord cards! At the end of each weekend, eight lucky Duelists are also selected for their participation in the Public Events that are played alongside the YCS main event. Those Duelists compete in a pair of four-competitor Public Event Playoffs, and the winner of each will go home with a set of the three Darklord prize cards. Today, Ft. Worth’s Leonard Williams and San Antonio’s Eric Vaughn are two of those Duelists, and they’re competing in the Finals of one of the Playoffs! The winner of this Match will win a set of Darklords!

Williams started the Match with a hand of Book of Moon, Red-Eyes Wyvern, Morphing Jar, Royal Decree, Infernal Dragon, and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal (which we’ll refer to as REDMD from here on). He Summoned Infernal Dragon, and removed it from play to Special Summon REDMD. He then used REDMD’s effect to Special Summon Wyvern, and Set Book and Decree.

Vaughn Set a monster, then Set a Spell or Trp.

Williams drew another Decree: he Set it, and then Set Morphing Jar. REDMD attacked; destroyed Vaughn’s Set Blackwing – Mistral the Silver Shield, and Williams ended.

Vaughn activated Nobleman of Extermination, removing Vaughn’s Set Decree. He followed up with Monster Reborn to Special Summon Mistral, then Normal Summoned Kalut: he Tuned his Blackwings together and Synchro Summoned Vortex the Whirlwind. Vortex attacked Red-Eyes Wyvern to destroy it.

Williams drew Dark Simorgh. He Flip Summoned Morphing Jar, discarding Simorgh while Vaughn discarded Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor and Pot of Avarice. Williams’ new hand was Exploder Dragon, another Wyvern, another REDMD, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Card Destruction. Typhoon destroyed Vaughn’s Set Torrential Tribute, and he Normal Summoned Red-Eyes Wyvern. He removed it from play for another REDMD, and then used that Dragon’s effect to Special Summon Exploder Dragon. He used the other to bring back Wyvern form his Graveyard, and then activated Card Destruction, his last card. That gave Vaughn Effect Veiler, and before Williams moved into his Battle Phase Vaughn discarded Effect Veiler to negate Exploder Dragon’s effect. REDMD attacked over Vortex, and Vaughn Special Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame from his Deck with Vortex’s effect. Williams turned Shura face-down with Book of Moon and destroyed it with Red-Eyes Wyvern. Morphing Jar, Exploder Dragon, and the second REDMD all made direct attacks. Vaughn had 2500 Life Points left.

Vaughn Normal summoned Blackwing – Blizzard the far North to Special Summon Shura from his Graveyard: he Tuned them together for Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! He had 4 cards in hand, and attacked Morphing Jar for 1600 Battle Damage. In Main Phase 2 he discarded Icarus Attack, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, and Black Whirlwind to send Royal Decree and both REDMD back to his opponent’s hand. He Set his last card to his back row.

Williams drew Koa’ki Meiru Drago, and removed Red-Eyes Wyvern from play to Special Summoned REDMD. Exploder Dragon attacked Brionac to destroy it, and REDMD attacked to finish the Duel!

Leonard Williams wins the first Duel of the playoffs, and was now just a single victory away from winning a set of the Darklord prize cards! Both competitors spent some time making careful use of their Side Decks.

Vaughn started the second Duel, activating Pot of Duality to reveal Book of Moon, Blackwing – Blizzard the far North, and Dark Armed Dragon: he added Book of Moon to his hand, then activated Black Whirlwind! He Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame to get Blizzard from his Deck, and Set a Spell or Trap.

Williams had a hand of Vice Dragon, Plaguespreader Zombie, Prime Material Dragon, Red-Eyes Wyvern, Koa’ki Meiru Drago, and Dimensional Fissure. He Special Summoned Vice Dragon in Defense Position; Normal Summoned Plaguespreader Zombie; and Vaughn put it face-down with Book. That was all for Williams.

Vaughn attacked Vice Dragon with Shura, destroying it and Special Summoning Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor from his Deck to attack Plaguespreader. In Main Phase 2 Vaughn Tuned Vayu to Shura to Synchro Summon Vortex the Whirlwind, and Set a Spell or Trap.

Williams drew Exploder Dragon. He Summoned it, and attacked into Book of Moon. He Set Dimensional Fissure.

Vaughn Normal Summoned Blizzard; Special Summoned Shura; and attacked with Blizzard into Exploder Dragon, destroying both monsters. Vortex then made a direct attack.

Williams drew another Prime Material Dragon, and attacked Shura with Red-Eyes Wyvern.

Vaughn Normal Summoned Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow, and got another Blizzard from his Deck. Vortex attacked to destroy Wyvern, and Kalut attacked for 1400 Battle Damage. Vaughn Set another Spell or Trap.

Williams drew Morphing Jar and Set it.

Vaughn Summoned Blizzard, getting Mistral from his Deck and Special Summoning Shura with Blizzard’s ability. He Tuned Blizzard and Shura to Synchro Summon Brionac: the Duel stood at 4200 Life Points to 8000, with Vaughn leading. He discarded Mistral to bounce away Morphing Jar, then attacked with all 3 of his monsters to end the Duel!

Vaughn chalks up the win in the second Duel, starting to mount a comeback! One more Duel would decide which Duelist would win one of the greatest prizes that dueling has to offer. Play began quickly.

Williams had REDMD, Red-Eyes Wyvern, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Dimensional Fissure, Plaguespreader Zombie, and Morphing Jar. He Set 2 cards to his back row and Set a monster.

Vaughn Sumoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame; attacked; and Williams responded by flipping Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. Both Duelists got new hands, and Vaughn Set a Spell or Trap.

Williams drew, and had Return from the Different Dimension, Koa’ki Meiru Drago, Prime Material Dragon, Dark Hole, Solemn Judgment, and Torrential Tribute. He activated Dimensional Fissure and used Dark Hole to destroy and remove Shura. He tried to Normal Summon Drago, but the Summon was negated with Solemn Judgment. Williams Set 3 cards to his back row to finish out.

Vaugn Set a monster.

Williams drew Infernal Dragon and Summoned it: he attacked, destroying Mistral, and ended. Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror kept the Drago from destroying itself.

Vaughn activated Giant Trunade, but Williams negated it with Solemn Judgment. Monster Reborn let Vaughn Special Summon REDMD, but he lost it to Torrential Tribute. He pressed on, Summoning Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind and attacked for 1300 Battle Damage.

Williams drew and activated Gold Sarcophagus to remove Royal Oppression from his Deck, seeking to add it to his hand 2 turns from now. But the Duel wouldn’t last that long! Williams activated Return from the Different Dimension: he paid half of his Life Points to Special Summon Infernal Dragon, Koa’ki Meiru Drago, and REDMD! He Tributed Infernal Dragon to Summon Prime Material Dragon, attacked with everything, and the playoffs were over!

Leonard Williams scores a set of the Darklord prize cards, winning the Public Event Playoffs with his Dragon Deck!