Now in the Top 8 is team Slifer Slacker! This team consists of Bohdan Temnyk, Nishaad Lorengo, and Ryan Levine. They’re among the most talented Duelists in the tournament, and as a team they’re a fearsome trio.

Team Esala Needs This is stacked with three powerhouse Duelists that are experts at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME: Jesse Kotton, Barrett Keys, and Esala Wathuthantrige. They’re currently 4-0-1 in the tournament and keeping alive a strong chance of a top cut finish. I sat down with them to talk to them about Team YCS Las Vegas.

Dominic Couch is with us today, talking about being a pro Duelist. Coming from Aurora, Illinois, he has quite a history as a Duelist, going all the way back to his time as a Dragon Duelist.

Jake Quinsee from Huddersfield in England travels the world competing in Yu-Gi-Oh! events. Now he’s here at YCS Pasadena, about to Duel in the Top 32 after finishing the Swiss Rounds with a 9-2 record. Quinsee has made the Top Cut in 16 YCS events and took 5^th place at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship in Berlin this year. What’s his secret to success?

We’ve got Aaron Furman here, talking about his life as a pro Duelist.

We’re with Hani Jawhari, from Metairie, Louisiana, talking about being a pro Duelist.

Esala Wathuthantrige from Los Angeles, California was the first place Duelist in the United States for Worlds Qualifier Points in 2017, earning him an invitation to that year’s World Championship. That’s no easy feat – a Duelist with that achievement must consistently rank well in high-level events to accomplish that. Wathuthantrige also took second place in YCS Ecuador this year, and made it to the Finals of YCS Atlanta, which was the first-ever Team YCS. Although Wathuthantrige won his Match in the Finals in Atlanta, his teammates both lost, unfortunately costing him a YCS victory. Wathuthantrige also has 2 UDS Invitational Top 4 finishes and 2 YCS Top 4 finishes over the past few years. I asked him what the key is to his success.

We’re with Raphael Neven, talking about his life as a Duelist. This Duelist often travels from the Netherlands to compete around the world, with many accomplishments to be proud of. He won YCS YCS Prague in 2017 and YCS Chicago in 2019, and competed in the World Championship this year.

Manav Dawar from Seattle, Washington won the 200^th YCS in Columbus, Ohio last year, took second place at YCS Secaucus last year, took third place in the 3 vs. 3 YCS in Atlanta (with some help from his teammates) this year, and took 4^th place at the 2019 North America WCQ in Pittsburgh. He’s a 2019 World Championship competitor, and returned from the competition in Berlin, Germany two months ago. Dawar has been playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME since 2012, but has enjoyed almost all of his success recently, with lots of YCS top cut finishes in the past year. I asked Manav Dawar the secret to his dramatic improvement in tournament-level performance.

19-year-old Jesse Kotton from Toronto, Canada has competed in the World Championship three times in the past 3 years – an incredible feat for any Duelist. He also has 2 YCS wins (at YCS London and YCS Knoxville) and made the Top Cut in 14 different YCS events. He’s arguably the best Duelist around. What’s his secret? I sat down with Jesse Kotton to find out.