Welcome To Chicago!
This is the big one! Once a year, Duelists gather from all corners of the United States and Canada to throw down at one of the biggest events in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: the North American World Championship Qualifier! The main event this weekend will draw together over a thousand competitors, each of whom proved themselves in competition over past year. The North American WCQ is an invite-only tournament, featuring Duelists who qualified through high finishes in events like Regional Qualifiers and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series. For countless competitors this is the payoff for months of hard work, and now the final reward is in sight: a chance to earn your way to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship in Las Vegas Nevada, where elite Duelists from across the globe will pull out all the stops to become the ultimate King of Games.
Over the past twelve months, a stunning 4039 competitors qualified for this weekend’s main event. In addition, dozens of daring Duelists have earned their last minute invite today in Last Chance Qualifiers, and over 300 Dragon Duelists have earned their invites as well. Those young competitors have earned the right to challenge either the Dragon Duel Championship or the North American World Championship Qualifier – their choice. All in all, nearly 4500 players are eligible to compete. But as the field’s winnowed away across two days of competition, only the top six finishers will win a ticket to the World Championship in August.
The big story leading up to this weekend is of course the clash between the two biggest decks of the Format, Dragon Rulers and Prophecy! Two weeks ago we saw Greece’s Chris Bountaloudis take the European Championship with Prophecy, while Peru’s Carlos Andres Perez Padilla won the South American Championship with Dragon Rulers on the same day. Dragon Rulers scored another big win one week later, as Mexico’s Alejandro Vivaldo Reyes Suarez won the Central American Championship. But new advances in Prophecy strategies have thrown the gates wide open, and it’s anybody’s game this weekend: Emiliano Passoni’s fifth place build from the Central American Championship – which ran Magical Mallet and Reload to create unprecedented chances of big combos – is making competitors re-think everything they thought they knew about the Prophecy matchup. Innovation is flowing fast.
And the big matchup of the main event is just one aspect of the WCQ weekend! If the tournament floor is any indicator, decks like Evilswarms, Mermails, and Madolches will be well-represented. The North American WCQ is historically a tournament of upsets, so Duelists playing original creations are no rare sight. The main event will be matched by The North American Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier, an event with hundreds of qualified youth competitors. Collectively, they represent the future of the game.
The two Championships are just a portion of the festivities on offer this weekend, too! Last Chance Qualifiers today give competitors one more opportunity to win their way to their Championships. Battle Pack Sealed flights will give hundreds of Duelists their first taste of War of the Giants sealed play, while Super Starter: V for Victory tournaments and Win-A-Mat events award exclusive game mat prizes. Speaking of prizes, there are TONS of them to win this weekend! From exclusive participation prizes and never-before-seen game mats and sleeves, to trophies, complete booster sets, Championship prize cards, iPods, iPads, and even the first-ever true Ultra Rare holographic foil Giant Cards (they look awesome!), the swathe of rewards is lush. And of course, for those who excel in the two Championship events, the ultimate prize awaits: travel and accommodations for the World Championships in Las Vegas!
The energy here at the Festival Hall at Navy Pier is electric, so get ready! Welcome to the biggest weekend of Dueling in North America this year. Welcome, to the North American World Championship Qualifier!
