YCS Pasadena First-Timers!
1411 Duelists have gathered here in Pasadena, California for North America’s last Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series event of 2018. Many of this weekend’s attendees are experienced Duelists who are veterans to competitive tournaments and have their eyes set on the championship trophy. Others are experiencing the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series for the very first time! Take a look at some of this weekend’s players who have never competed in a YCS before this weekend!
17-year-old Cameron Jackson from Los Angeles, California has been playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME for approximately two years, and mostly Duels at local Official Tournament Stores. He primarily plays at NJoy’s Games and Comics. He has competed in a Regional Qualifier in Los Angeles once, but is brand new to the YCS scene! He’s a local Duelist, now playing in his first YCS with his True King Dinosaur Deck! Cameron said he has been using Dinosaurs ever since Structure Deck: Dinosmasher’s Fury was released, and he enjoys playing it. As Cameron expected, this weekend’s tournament is the largest he has ever competed in. Take a look at him holding up his ace monster, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno!
17-year-old Matthew Chan from Los Angeles, California has been Dueling for about 3 years. He mostly plays at a local level with Cameron Jackson, but has competed in one Regional Qualifier event. Now, he’s Dueling in YCS Pasadena with his Altergeist Deck! Matthew and Cameron traveled here together. Matthew is using an Altergeist Deck because he likes the idea of locking his opponent’s options down with his variety of Altergeist card effects. “There are more people than I thought there would be,” he said. “I like it.” Matthew’s favorite Altergeist monster is Altergeist Multifaker. Take a look at him holding up a copy!
20-year-old Drew Alcazar from Los Angeles, California has been playing the YU-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME since he was 17 years old, and has competed in a couple of Regional Qualifier events, but has never Dueled in a YCS tournament! Now he’s here in Pasadena with his Infernoid Deck, ready to take his competition to the next level! Alcazar says the event is a lot bigger than he thought it would be, and is impressed by how organized it is. Take a look at Drew holding up his favorite Infernoid monster, Infernoid Tierra! (The Infernoid Tierra is signed by legendary Duelist Billy Brake!)
23-year-old David Nobi from Los Angeles started Dueling nearly 18 years ago, but has never competed in a YCS event. He mostly Dueled against friends and family throughout his lifetime, but recently started branching into competitive Dueling. He has played in a couple of Regional Qualifiers in the past, but never Dueled in a YCS event! He’s excited for his first YCS after 18 years of Dueling, and is Dueling with a Metaphys Deck! He likes the nostalgia brought to him by the Metaphys Deck because the Metaphys theme gives new effects to old monsters. Take a look at David holding up his favorite Metaphys monster, Metaphys Horus, which reminds him of the ancient Horus the Black Flame Dragon!
23-year-old Donald Parker from Los Angeles started Dueling when the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME was first released, but stopped playing for many years. In 2017 he returned in full force! Donald has never competed in a Regional Qualifier or YCS event, but frequently competes in local tournaments. He’s using a True Draco Deck this weekend because he believes it has great matchups against Altergeist Decks and other Decks that he expects to be popular in the tournament. Take a look at Donald holding up his favorite card in his Deck, Inspector Boarder!
The experience of veteran YCS competitors may give them an edge at YCS events, but all of the 1411 competitors playing this weekend have a chance of taking home the trophy! Follow the coverage to see how YCS Pasadena unfolds!