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Anaheim, California
April 26, 2009
Welcome back! Yesterday no less than 858 Duelists convened on the Anaheim Convention Center. Four years ago this venue hosted the first-ever SHONEN JUMP Championship tournament, and this weekend we returned to shatter all attendance estimates with the 68th tournament in the series. Innovative strategy, tech, and unique new Decks have defined this competition, and now just sixteen Duelists remain. In mere hours, the Dueling world will have a brand new SHONEN JUMP Champion, and three Duelists will walk away with a copy of Dark End Dragon. Let’s take a look at the Top 16.
The top-ranked Duelist of Day 1 was Maurice Brantley, who played Counter Fairies to a first seed finish. But he’s up against Day 2 veteran Justin Trias, packing Gladiator Beasts. Experience is in Trias’ favor, but innovation and main deck tech make Brantley the hands-down favorite. Bad luck and nerves are Brantley’s worst enemies here this morning.
Jeff Jones is the only competitor to make Day 2 with a Dark Skill Drain deck, and he tore through competition yesterday with a deck that looked like a sided version of Teleport Dark Armed Dragon from the summer of 2008. His opponent is another long-term veteran of the SHONEN JUMP Championship circuit – Champion Jason Holloway. Holloway is playing Lightsworn, and may be an easy mark for Jeff’s metagamed strategy. Can the returning Jeff Jones finally capture his first title here this weekend?
Yesterday we watched as Joseph Franzo’s flock of Blackwings chalked up a 9-1 finish, trouncing opponent after opponent in mere heartbeats. Huge pushes with Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind and Blackwing – Bora the Spear coupled with Dark Strike Fighter to end matches before they could get started. But Franzo’s opponent in the Top 16 is SHONEN JUMP Champion Mario Matheu! Armed with a Light Skill Drain deck, Matheu is well-teched to deal with Franzo’s Special Summons and killer monster effects – Franzo needs to win this one as fast as he can, because time is on Matheu’s side.
Next up is one of two feature matches in the Top 16 to feature Lightsworn versus Gladiator Beasts, as George Garcia takes Gladiators against SHONEN JUMP Champion Bobby Chambers. Time and time again in yesterday’s rounds, this matchup was the one that defined the metagame. Eight Lightsworn Decks made Top 16 while only three Gladiator Beasts made the cut, but Garcia didn’t get to where he is today by rolling over against Lightsworn. He’ll have his work cut out for him – Chambers is one of the most experienced Duelists here today – but it’s anybody’s game!
Ricardo Gaytan was the only Duelist to make Day 2 this weekend with a Dark Synchro deck, and he’s up against Xue Hao Hu’s Lightsworn. This one could go either way – Hue isn’t particularly well teched for this matchup, but he’s not exactly a sitting duck either. A win here for either competitor will be a big boost to the reputation of one of these burgeoning Duelists.
The Top 16’s only Lightsworn mirror match will be fought between SHONEN JUMP Champion Hooman Farahbakhsh and Jerry Williams. Williams put forth a horrible showing in his singular feature match yesterday, where he was simply trounced by Maurice Brantley’s Counter Fairies. Williams will no doubt be looking to earn some redemption here today, but Hooman is infinitely more experience. The equalizer in this matchup may be Gold Sarcophagus – Williams has one, and Hooman does not.
Next up we’ll see our second Lightsworn versus Gladiators matchup, as Jarel Winston takes on Tyler Kobrofsky. Again, this matchup pits two Duelists who are relatively new to the SHONEN JUMP spotlight against eachother, so while one may fall into the obscurity of defeat, the other may take their first big steps towards a major Dueling career in this match.
Finally, Jake Silver was scheduled to take on Raul Rodriguez in a Lightsworn mirror match, but Rodriguez failed to appear here this morning. That means an automatic win for Jake Silver, who moves on to the Top 8.
The feature matches are set to begin in mere minutes, and in four rounds we’ll have a new SHONEN JUMP Champion! Welcome to Day 2 of SHONEN JUMP Championship Anaheim!-Jason Grabher-Meyer
