One of the fan-favorite features at every Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series weekend are Bounty Duelists!

Each YCS has a roster of unique competitors designated to be “bounties”. If you’re lucky enough to be paired against a Bounty Duelist in the main event, congratulations, because it’s your opportunity to score some extra prizes! Every time a Bounty Duelist wins a Match in the Swiss Rounds of the YCS Main Event in Day 1 or Day 2, they score booster packs for themself. But they also add more packs to their prize pool, which gets bigger and bigger as long as they go undefeated. Beat a Bounty Duelist and all the packs in their prize pool are yours!

Almost anyone can become a Bounty Duelist: many are Champions and star competitors from the past and present, sure, but bounty lanyards are often awarded to creators, community figures, and bold Deck builders with interesting strategies. Local Duelists defending their home turf are a popular choice, as are players who travel long distances to compete. Even cosplayers, judges, and players with names that match characters from the different eras of the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series have been selected as Bounty Duelists in past events.

So, who are the Bounty Duelists this weekend here in Pasadena? Here’s who’s Dueling for bounties this weekend.

Chris LeBlanc is a four-time YCS winner, coming into Pasadena hot off his win at YCS Minneapolis two weeks ago!

Matthew Abalde and Jeremy Joseph Zuniga have the distinction of being the very first, and very last Duelists on the player roster, sorted alphabetically.

Draven Chapple and Jensen Inouye traveled here this weekend from Alaska and Hawaii respectively, landing each with bounty lanyards.

Jayden Ray Carvalho almost shares a first name with Yu-Gi-Oh! GX protag Jaden Yuki. Voice actor Matthew Labyorteaux – who dubbed Jaden in the English version of GX – is in attendance here at YCS Pasadena! 

Kobe Short is the reigning YCS Pasadena Champion, having won the previous YCS here in Pasadena in 2019!

Other Bounty Duelists include California’s Jonathan Gonzalez, William Horace Farr IV, and Kesavan Raja Kushalnagar! With eight bounties on the tournament floor here in Pasadena, a little extra excitement can pop up in any Match, right when you least expect it.