Nine Rounds of Swiss will determine which Duelists make the cut to the Top 64 tomorrow, and all nine of those Swiss Rounds will be played today!  By the end of tonight, a field of nearly 300 competitors from eight different countries will be reduced to a relative handful, and six more rounds of intense Dueling action will determine one final winner tomorrow – a new South American Champion, who’ll compete at the World Championship in August.

Now that we’re past the midway point in the Swiss Rounds it’s a great time to look at what the highest-ranked players in the tournament are running.  As Day 1 continues and the most successful Duelists earn more and more Ranking Points for their wins, they’re sorted closer and closer to Table 1; the domain of the undefeated, and the Duelists with the best records in the tournament.

So let’s take a look and see who’s at the Top 10 tables this Round, and what they’re playing!  It’s a great little snapshot of the present landscape here in Bogota.

Table 1:

Marco Jonathan Oviedo Castro with Kozmos

Versus

Jonathan Alfonso Aquino Quispe with Kozmos

Table 2:

Ivan David Gonzalez Estupinan with Majespecter Dracoslayer Performapals

Versus

Joshua Salveerredy Barycki with Burning Knights

Table 3:

Julian Alfredo Riveros Beltran with Dracoslayer Performapals

Versus

Diego Cifuentes with Tzolkin Monarchs

Table 4:

Paulo Robert Goncalves da Silva with Burning Knights

Versus

Elkin de Jesus Estupinan Parra with Qliphorts

Table 5:

Jonathan Javier Ruiz Rios with Burning Knights

Versus

Jose Tomas Mallear Velasquez with Majespecter Performapals

Table 6:

Gabriel Alejandro Rincon Mejia with Burning Knights

Versus

Robinson Smith Posada Trivino with Domain Monarchs

Table 7:

Leycer Andres Valencia Restrepo with Domain Monarchs

Versus

Jose Carlos Montalvo Perez with Dracoslayer Performapals

Table 8:

Andres Antonino Suaza Nino with Dracoslayer Performapals

Versus

Franco Arturo Arias Reyes with Majespecter Performapals

Table 9:

Fabian Alfredo Navarrete Pinzon with Domain Monarchs

Versus

Omar Fernando Hernandez Diaz with Dracoslayer Performapals

Table 10:

Luis Alejandro Prieto Angulo with Burning Knights

Versus

Santiago Ramos Venegas with Burning Knights

That all breaks down to this:

Burning Knights: 6

Dracoslayer Performapals: 4

Majespecter Performapals: 3

Domain Monarchs: 3

Kozmos 2:

Tzolkin Monarchs: 1

Qliphorts: 1

Why yes; that is a lot of Burning Abyss Phantom Knight Decks leading the pack.  The number of Burning Knights equals the number of Kozmo and Monarch variants seated at the Top Tables combined, suggesting players weren’t focusing on the match-up heading into this event, and that many might have been caught off-guard.  Meanwhile, the two biggest Decks of the format are being actively teched against more than anything else, creating a more difficult field.

Will Kozmos and Monarchs recapture the two top spots by the time we see the Top 64 or Top 32?  Quite possibly!  But for now, this is looking like a very different tournament from what many of us expected. Note though that those two lone Kozmo Decks were both seated at Table 1 heading into this round; so while one of their records is about to take a hit, the Decks are evidently quite strong and their players well-prepared.

The other big surprise is the success of mixed Pendulum decks; the familiar Dracoslayer Performapal strategy’s doing better than most would’ve bet, and Majespecter variants are right behind them, which is even more surprising.  Majespecters have flirted with greatness ever since Dave Hayes’ Top 4 finish at YCS Providence three weeks ago, and they’re clearly making an impact here in Bogota.

That’s it for now, but stick with us for the last three rounds of Swiss competition here at the South American World Championship Qualifier!  We’ll try to get a look at one of those undefeated Majespecter Decks for an upcoming Feature Match.