2028 Duelists have been eliminated! That leaves only 32! Manav Dawar is undefeated in the tournament so far, and he’s up against Maxwell Schrack in a Nekroz mirror match. Only one Duelist is moving on from here. It’s time to Duel!
The Swiss Rounds have ended and we are now in the Single Elimination Rounds of Top 64. Logan Glover made it through with a 10-2 record, besting Duelists with his Qliphort Deck using powerful Traps such as Lose 1 Turn to stifle the opponent. Grayson Montanaro is the only HERO Duelist in the Top Cut! He squeaked in at 9-3 and is looking to do his best to try to continue to advance. Six players out of the 64 will be representing Team North America for the 2016 World Championship in Kyoto, Japan, so from here on out things are going to be pretty intense.
Montanaro won the roll and chose to first.
Out of North America’s best Dragon Duelists, only four remain! We have Georgia’s Adrian Galbraith up against Ohio’s Austin Colling in a Nekroz mirror match. Galbraith is using a slightly different version of the Deck compared to most – it packs Mathematician, Glow-Up Bulb, Summoner Monk, and other unique cards. Colling’s Deck is more or less standard, but has a few personal choices such as Effect Veiler. The winner of this Match is moving on to the Finals, and will also be taking a trip to the World Championship in Japan!
For Round 11, we’ve got another World Championship competitor: Tej Trivedi! Trivedi has gotten this far with just one loss thanks to his Nekroz Deck. He’s facing off against Miguel Soto, who’s had all wins and one draw, thanks to his Ritual Beast Deck! The winner here will have a fantastic shot at the Top 64.
We expect the cut off for Top 64 to be somewhere around 28 points, or 9-2-1. Tyree Tinsley is no stranger to the Feature Match area, having won YCS Providence and YCS Meadowlands years ago as well as recently finishing in the Top Cut for the 150th YCS. He is Dueling with the same Deck that he used last time we saw him, Nekroz. The most dominant strategy in the tournament centering around resolving Ritual Spells to Summon powerful Ritual Monsters. His opponent is Kenneth Irwin, who is also sitting at 7-2-1 and needs two more wins to have a chance at Top Cut just like Tinsley. He is using Ritual Beast, surprisingly one of the best performing Decks of this event. Two wins for either of these Duelists might be enough to get them into the Single Elimination Rounds, but it won’t be easy.
Irwin won the roll and chose to go first.
With three rounds left in the tournament, many Duelists are sitting precariously with 7-2 records. A win means they’re still in the Safe Zone, a loss most likely takes them out of contention for a Top Cut finish. Yueqi Zhu topped both YCS Dallas and YCS Seattle this year, and is sitting at that same record looking to clench another one. His opponent is now slouch though, Luke Feeney topped the 150th YCS last month and is trying to repeat and improve his finish.
Both Duelists are using Nekroz but with slightly different tech. Zhu is using Main Deck Breakthrough Skill which is not the most popular choice but is flexible and strong against a large portion of the Field. The best part of Breakthrough Skill is that its unexpected, and thus he has a leg up in that department. Feeney is using a different variant centering around locking is opponent with Djinn Releaser of Rituals and back it up with cards like Solemn Scolding and Forbidden Lance to protect it.
With both players on the bubble, this match is for their lives in the tournament.
Feeney won the roll and chose to go first.
It’s the final day of the North American WCQ! We’ve got a great Match to start off the day – Jarel Winston against Denny Yu! Winston is a World Championship competitor, infamous for taking Exodia to Japan and wreaking havoc. He’s hoping to take a repeat trip to Japan, and is using an unconventional choice for his Ritual Beast Deck – he’s maindecking Mistake to defeat Nekroz, and isn’t using any copies of Emergency Teleport! Yu is the Champion of YCS Las Vegas, and is using Nekroz today. Can the power of Nekroz help Yu to muscle through Winston’s Deck, or will Winston’s unique choice triumph? Let’s find out!
Jeff Jones is no stranger to the Feature Match table. We’ve seen him here at tons of YCS and WCQ events! He’s using Nekroz today, and he’s squaring off with Michael Krusinowski, a Burning Abyss Duelist with Skill Drain in his Main Deck to give him an edge against Nekroz and other top strategies.
Welcome to Round 7! This Feature Match showcases Tennessee Duelist Fred Sutton III’s very cool Lightsworn-Shaddoll-Infernoid Deck! With Lightsworn and other cards to load the Graveyard, as well as Infernoids and Shaddolls to take advantage of that fact, his strategy is one of the most unique we’ve seen today. He’s up against Burning Abyss, piloted by Toronto’s James Jin-Young Kim. Both Decks seek to take advantage of their Graveyard in very different ways – let’s see who comes out on top!
Although Nekroz has begun taking control of the top tables, there are still many other strategies that remain in contention. Faisal Khan is sitting with a 6-1 record using a Burning Abyss Deck that is trying to make a flurry of Special Summons and ride the game off of the advantage he gains while disrupts his opponent with Traps. His opponent, Antton Winder, is running a Qliphort strategy that is looking to use Qliphort Scout to help him build up while he uses powerful Traps such as Lose 1 Turn to hinder his opponent and limit their options. A win here means a significantly less stressful final Round as an X-3 record is likely not to be good enough for a Top Cut finish.
Khan won the roll and chose to go second.
