SHONEN JUMP Championship First-Timers!
With 673 Duelists here for the main event, and even more just hanging out and playing in side events, there are a lot of new competitors here today who’ve never been to a SHONEN JUMP Championship. I took some time to talk to a bunch of them about their Decks, and their first-ever SHONEN JUMP Championship experiences.
 |
Trenton LeComptTrenton traveled here this weekend from Ocala, Florida. He and his dad Robert are both competing in the main event today, and Trenton is playing Blackwings. “I thought they were a great Deck to use, because it’s easy to Summon Blackwing monsters, and you can attack really suddenly. My Deck has “Skill Drain” in it so I can negate Lightsworns and Gladiator Beasts.”
At 12 years old, Trenton was really impressed with the SHONEN JUMP Championship experience, especially the players. “There’s a lot of nice people here!” |
 |
Armand JonesArmand made his way here from Macon, Georgia, and he’s playing in his first-ever SHONEN JUMP Championship at age 16. His Deck? “Hopeless Dragon! I love beatdown decks!” Good call – beatdowns don’t really come bigger than “Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon,” Jones’ favorite card.
And what did he think of the SHONEN JUMP Championship? Was it what he expected? “I love it! This is actually exactly what I expected! I’m definitely having a good time here today.” |
 |
Josue SoldevilaJosue hails from Miami, Florida, and for him this event is all about breaking from the crowd. “I’m playing Stun, the anti-meta Deck. I wanted to be different! I didn’t want to run what everybody else expected me to run!”
Josue didn’t seem to know what he was in for when he made his travel plans. “This event is a lot better than I anticipated! I thought it was gonna be like, any local tournament store, but it’s a lot better. I wasn’t expecting this many people – like, 200, 300 at most. I’m having a great time!” |
 |
Blake OsmanBlake is 12 years old and is packing a Deck-Out Deck in today’s competition. The reason? “It messes with people and it’s fun watching them! It works pretty good!” He’s here today with a friend and his mom, Jill Osman. “He got his Friday report card at school,” she explained, “and he chose the SHONEN JUMP Championship over a trip to one of the theme parks!” Touch choice, but Blake made the right one!
Blake Duels every week at his local game store in Windermere, Florida, just seventeen miles away. He’s been Dueling for seven years now (since he was in kindergarten), ever since the game launched in the United State, but not even that experience could quite prepare him for the scope of today’s competition. “It’s awesome! It’s way bigger than I thought!” I asked Blake if he wanted to win. “You’re not here to win, you’re here to have a good time”, his mother reminded him. Blake burst into a grin. “No, I’m here to win! I can have fun any other day!” He and his mom laughed, and something told me he was already having fun. |
 |
Bryant TarwoeWhile most Duelists we spoke to today had been Dueling for a while, Bryant is new to Dueling – he’s only been playing a few months, but confidence is in no short supply! “I just started this game, so you’d all better be watching out for me!”
Bryant’s playing a “Necroface” Deck: “I thought it was a good matchup against Gladiator Beasts and Lightsworn. Anything that tries to depend on the Graveyard, it’s good against.” But really, he just seemed to want to talk about the tournament itself. “Man! I love this! It’s the best! This is so much better than Regionals. Regionals get me nervous, but the Shonen doesn’t. Why? Top players. Just being around them makes you better, you know! It’s all about the top players, and I wanna be one.” |
 |
Nshan BoiadjianNshan is from Windermere too, and traveled with the Osmans to today’s tournament. He was having fun, but was still feeling the heat of competition. I asked him how he felt: “Under pressure! But I’m really just playing for fun.” Nshan is 11 years old and is quite a promising Duelist.
He started Dueling about a year ago, then put it on hold for a bit. The reason for his grand return to Dueling? “Blake got me back into it!” Proof that Blake is, in fact, an excellent friend. Nshan’s favorite card is “Athena,” and it plays a starring role in the Deck he’s playing here today. |
