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Anaheim, California
April 25, 2009
On December 3rd of 2004 hundreds of Duelists gathered right here at the Anaheim Convention Center to compete in one of the biggest Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME tournaments of its time – the world’s first SHONEN JUMP Championship. Sixty-seven champions and four years later, hundreds more have gathered here today on the very same soil that hosted that milestone event, for the first SHONEN JUMP Championship of a new era. To the thousands upon thousands of Duelists across the globe – welcome back!
Three months have passed since Jerry Wang captured his third SHONEN JUMP Championship title in Houston, and after fourteen weeks with no Champions crowned the Dueling world has come together this weekend for the rebirth of this tournament series. New prizes, new cards, new Decks, and a whole new format will debut this weekend, and we’ll be kicking things off with the unveiling of a brand new Championship prize card. Fan-favorite Duelists here this weekend range from ’08 and ‘09 up-and-comers to grizzled veterans we haven’t heard from in ages, and it seems everybody’s come out of the woodwork to compete!
So what can we expect here today? If National Championships across the globe are any indicator, a huge portion of the field will likely consist of Gladiator Beasts and Lightsworn: even as we await the player meeting here this morning the debate rages on in the aisles and hallways as to which Deck reigns supreme. But at the same time, remarkable results from big tournaments worldwide is mixing with American innovation, and rumors are flying this morning about a series of unexpected strategies that could take the field by surprise. Chaos Decks made Top 8 in Israel’s National Championships, and a Dark Synchro build gaining momentum amongst veteran Duelists made impressive showings in Greece. Monarchs and even a cleverly-designed Harpie Deck cracked the Top 8 in the Irish and French Nationals. Though Lightsworn and Gladiator Beasts are the Decks to beat, there’s no shortage of creativity in the format. It’s looking as if we might see breakthrough showings from strategies like Counter Fairies, Skill Drain Zombies, “Zeta Reticulant” Monarchs, and especially Blackwings.
We are just minutes away from the start of one of the greatest Dueling competitions of the year! Welcome back to the grandest stage in the Dueling universe, and welcome to SHONEN JUMP Championship Anaheim!
-Jason Grabher-Meyer
