Gary Garcia and Homam Jamal are currently 7-1 in the tournament, and these 2 close friends are facing off against one another in this final round of the day. Garcia made it here with a Gladiator Beast Deck that uses 3 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot and no copies of Test Tiger, and his opponent, Homam Jamal, is running Gravekeepers. A victory here will give one of these Duelists an 8-1 record, putting him in a great position when starting Day 2 of the tournament.

Jamal started off the Match by activating Pot of Duality to reveal Gravekeeper’s Descendant, Gravekeeper’s Commandant, and Mind Crush from the top of his Deck. He added the Descendant to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. Next, he Set a monster along with 4 back rows.

Garcia opened up with Gladiator Beast Laquari, Gladiator Beast Murmillo, Gladiator Beast Retiari, Gladiator Proving Ground, and 2 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot. He Set both Chariots and Gladiator Proving Ground before Summoning Laquari to the field and ending his turn.

Jamal activated Necrovalley next turn and then passed.

Garcia attacked with Gladiator Beast Laquari in his next Battle Phase and Jamal flipped Dimensional Prison to remove Laquari from the Duel. Garcia Summoned Gladiator Beast Retiari in Main Phase 2 and then ended his turn.

Jamal Flip Summoned his face-down Gravekeeper’s Descendant next turn and used it to attack over Retiari. Retiari was destroyed and Garcia lost 800 Life Points.

Garcia drew Gladiator Beast Equeste. He flipped his face-down Gladiator Proving Ground to search his Deck for a copy of Gladiator Beast Hoplomus to add to his hand, then Set Murmillo and passed.

Jamal attacked Garcia’s Set Murmillo with Descendant, destroying it in battle. He Set another card in his Spell and Trap Card Zone before ending.

Garcia drew Dark Hole next turn and activated it to destroy Gravekeeper’s Descendant. Then he Summoned Gladiator Beast Equeste and attacked with it. Jamal flipped Dimensional Prison to block the attack and remove Equeste from the Duel.

Jamal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Descendant next turn and attacked for 2000 points of damage, dropping Garcia down to 5200 Life Points.

Garcia drew Solemn Warning next turn. He Set it along with a Hoplomus and passed.

Jamal activated Mystical Space Typhoon in his next Draw Phase to destroy Garcia’s newly Set Solemn Warning, then Summoned Gravekeeper’s Commandant and attacked into Hoplomus with his Commandant. Garcia chose not to tag out his Hoplomus, and in Main Phase 2, Garcia activated the effect of his Descendant to Tribute Commandant and destroy Hoplomus. Garcia tried to negate the effect of the Descendant with Gladiator Beast War Chariot, but Jamal flipped Seven Tools of the Bandit to negate the Chariot and assure the Hoplomus’s destruction.

Garcia drew and Set Gladiator Beast Darius next turn.

Jamal attacked Darius with Descendant to destroy it, and then Set a card to his back row.

Garcia drew and Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh next turn.

Jamal Summoned another Descendant on his next turn and Tributed it with his other Descendant’s effect to destroy Rai-Oh.

Garcia drew and Set Trap Stun.

Jamal attacked for 2000 points of damage with Descendant, dropping Jamal down to 1200 Life Points.

Garcia drew another Darius and Set it to protect his Life Points.

Jamal activated Dark Hole on his next turn and Chained Compulsory Evacuation Device to try to save his Descendant, but Garcia flipped Trap Stun to negate the Device. Jamal’s Descendant and Garcia’s face-down Darius were destroyed, but it was all over moments later. Jamal Normal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Commandant and attacked directly, wiping out the rest of Garcia’s Life Points.

Homam Jamal maintains stable control of the first Duel to defeat Gary Garcia’s Gladiator Beasts with his Gravekeeper’s! Garcia will be going first in Duel 2!

Garcia opened up Duel 2 with Trap Stun, Dimensional Prison, Smashing Ground, Giant Trunade, and 2 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot. He Set the Dimensional Prison, Trap Stun, and a War Chariot before ending his turn.

Jamal activated Pot of Duality to reveal Mystical Space Typhoon, Necrovalley, and Gozen Match from the top of his Deck. He added the Gozen Match to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. He Set 3 cards to his back row and ended his turn.

Garcia drew Nobleman of Crossout next turn and passed.

Jamal activated Necrovalley and then Normal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Spy. He attacked with the Spy and dropped Garcia down to 6300 Life Points.

Garcia drew Gladiator Beast Equeste next turn. He activated Giant Trunade to return all Spell and Trap Cards on the field to their owners’ hands, then Normal Summoned Gladiator Beast Equeste. Equeste attacked over Gravekeeper’s Spy, and Garcia tagged out his Equeste to Special Summon Laquari in its place. He Set 2 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot, a Trap Stun, and a Dimensional Prison before ending his turn.

Jamal Special Summoned Cyber Dragon and attacked Laquari, but lost his monster to Dimensional Prison. He Special Summoned another Cyber Dragon in Attack Position in Main Phase 2 to block Garcia’s Gladiators, and then Set 4 cards to his back row.

Garcia drew Gladiator Proving Ground next turn. He activated Smashing Ground to try to destroy Cyber Dragon, and when Jamal flipped Compulsory Evacuation Device to try to return Cyber Dragon to his hand, Garcia flipped Trap Stun to try to negate it. But Jamal Chained Seven Tools of the Bandit and gave up 1000 Life Points to negate the Trap Stun and make sure his Cyber Dragon could safely retreat! Garcia attacked with Laquari and Jamal lost 2100 Life Points. When Garcia tried to tag out Laquari, Jamal activated Solemn Warning and gave up 2000 Life Points to stop Garcia from Special Summoning another monster in its place. Garcia activated Gladiator Proving Ground next, searching his Deck for Gladiator Beast Hoplomus and Setting it along with a Nobleman of Crossout.

Jamal activated Nobleman of Crossout to get rid of the Hoplomus and then passed.

Garcia drew and Set Solemn Warning.

Jamal Normal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Commandant and Garcia flipped Solemn Warning and paid 2000 Life Points to negate its Summon. The Duel stood with Garcia at 4300 Life Points and Jamal at 2800 Life Points.

Garcia drew Mirror Force and Set it.

Jamal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Commandant next turn and attacked directly with it, dropping Garcia down to 2200 Life Points.

Garcia drew Mystical Space Typhoon and Set it.

Jamal attacked directly with his 2100 ATK Gravekeeper’s Commandant, dropping Garcia down to 100 Life Points.

Garcia drew Enemy Controller next turn. He activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Jamal’s face-down Gozen Match and then Set Enemy Controller.

Jamal attacked with Gravekeeper’s Commandant next turn, but lost it to Garcia’s Mirror Force. He Summoned a 2000 ATK Gravekeeper’s Descendant in Main Phase 2 and then ended his turn.

Garcia drew Gladiator Beast Bestiari next turn. He Set it and passed to Jamal.

Jamal Summoned Gravekeeper’s Assailant. He Tributed it with his Descendant’s effect to try to destroy Garcia’s face-down Gladiator Beast Bestiari, and Garcia Chained Enemy Controller to Tribute the Bestiari to take control of Gravekeeper’s Descendant, in the hopes of surviving the turn. But it was to no avail! Jamal Special Summoned Cyber Dragon from his hand, and with only 100 Life Points remaining, an attack with Cyber Dragon over Gravekeeper’s Descendant ended the Duel!

Homam Jamal’s Gravekeeper’s defeat Gary Garcia’s Gladiator Beasts 2-0, allowing Jamal to move on to Day 2 with a successful 8-1 record!