Carl Manigat, from Long Island, made it to the finals of last year’s Winter Invitational in Las Vegas, and in an incredible feat, has made it back to the final table!  He doesn’t want to miss out on the belt twice, but his opponent is no pushover. Shunping Xu from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania won YCS Pasadena in 2018 and started this tournament 10-0, taking only two losses via immediate concessions in Rounds 11 and 12 once his record was strong enough to ensure a playoff appearance. Both players are immensely talented but only one can walk away with the championship title belt. Who will be the Ultimate Duelist?  For the final time this weekend… it’s time to Duel!

Read more…

New York’s Carl Manigat and Florida’s Ruben Penaranda are facing off in the Top 4 of the UDS Invitational – Winter 2020 here in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Manigat is using a Shaddoll Deck featuring the new cards that were released on Friday in Structure Deck: Shaddoll Showdown, whereas Penaranda is using a SPYRAL Deck that features Scrap monsters. One of these Duelists will advance to the Finals. The other will be eliminated. It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Welcome to Top 8!  It’s single elimination from here on out, and this Top 8 is as strong as any Top 8 as I’ve ever seen.  The third seed Shunping Xu has a strategy that we’re pretty sure no one else has brought to the tournament: Rokkets.  He started the tournament with 10 straight wins, an impressive feat that secured his appearance in the Top 8 before the Swiss rounds even ended.  His opponent is Mitchell Martin who has Lunalight / Zoodiac / Fire Fists and who we’ve featured previously this weekend.  Only one of these players will make it to Top 4.  It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Ruben Penaranda from Miami, Florida is currently 8-2-1 and Andrew Abdeen from Sacramento, California is currently 8-3 in the UDS Invitational – Winter 2020. Now, they’re Dueling against one another for a final shot at making the Top 8 cut! Penaranda is using SPYRALs, and Abdeen is using Salamangreats. There’s no guarantee that a victory for one of these Duelists will place him into the Top 8, but it’s certain that a loss will eliminate the other Duelist. The dream of becoming an Ultimate Duelist can only remain alive for one of these two Duelists at the end of this Round. It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Welcome to Round 11! The two decks at Table 4 are unique, but one is more so than the other. Mitchell Martin has Lunalights but also includes an amount of Brotherhood of the Fire Fist cards alongside a compact Zoodiac engine which can turn a spent Fire Formation – Tenki into a Zoodiac Thoroughblade that can extend plays. His opponent, Ken McRae, however, has a Deck that is very much the opposite of a combo Deck: Mystic Mine burn. The objective of this Deck is to protect Mystic Mine and then slowly burn the opponent with the effect of Cauldron of the Old Man. It’s taken McRae this far, let’s see what happens in the penultimate round of Swiss! It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Michael Campos from Arlington, Texas and Jerry Han from San Antonio, Texas are both currently 7-2 in the UDS Invitational – Winter 2020, and now they’re Dueling against one another in this Round 10 Feature Match! Campos is using a Utopic Lunalight Deck that can make big fields with long strings of plays, while Han is using a SPYRAL Deck that aims to achieve the same goal. Both Duelists are after a victory in this round to keep their dreams of becoming the Ultimate Duelist alive. It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Welcome to Day 2!  We’re playing 4 more rounds of Swiss before cutting to a Top 8 playoff!  There are just 32 players left in the tournament, and every Duelist left in contention is aiming for the top spots!  At Table 10 are two competitors with multiple YCS tops to their name; Brendan Beckmann is piloting Danger! SPYRAL is taking on Dominic Couch who has Scrap SPYRAL.  Most of the field has 6 wins and 2 losses, so the Top 8 still isn’t locked in.  Every match counts as we approach the end of Swiss.  It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Sergio Villalobos from Torreon, Mexico is Dueling against Dallas, Texas’s Donnell Washington in our Round 8 Feature Match! Both Duelists currently have 5-2 records going into this final Swiss Round of the day, and they’re using completely different strategies. Villalobos is using a Stun Deck that makes it difficult for his opponent to use cards effectively, while Washington is using a Salamangreat Deck that performs lots of Link Summons. It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Earlier in the day, Michael Campos approached the coverage writers and showed us his Lunalight Deck that also used the Onomatopoeia cards.  He mentioned he was X-1 and this piqued my interest.  It’s Round 7 and he’s still X-1, and that’s worth a Feature Match!  He’s taking on Avery Foster and his Invoked Deck.  Avery’s Deck doesn’t use any Mekk-Knight cards you might see in an Invoked Deck, this is as pure of an Invoked Deck as I’ve seen.  It’s time to Duel!

Read more…

Lex Wingate from California is Dueling against Boston’s Hyuk Chang in this Round 6 Feature Match that pits two undefeated Duelists against one another. Wingate is using an Infernoid Deck with 3 copies of Lightning Storm in his Main Deck, while Chang is using Altergeists. Will Wingate’s Lightning Storms give him the edge in this Match? We’re about to find out. It’s time to Duel!

Read more…