Michel Grüner triumphs at first European Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series
22-year old from Munich, Germany, beats Duelists from 27 countries at 2-day Gala Event in Bochum/Germany
It was a long road to victory against plentiful and skilled competition for Michel Grüner at Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH’s first Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) across the weekend of 25th – 26th September 2010. Almost 1300 players from Germany, France, and 25 other countries made their way to the RuhrCongress center to compete in this most prestigious of KONAMI’s Yu-Gi-Oh! events.
After 15 rounds spread across the two days, Michel sat down for his final match, against 19 year-old Eden Zamir from Israel, who proved to be tough opponent, and whose Debris deck showed as much strategic consideration as Michel’s preferred X-Sabers deck.
Both players’ friends and most other attendants cheered on the finalists through the tense match, closely following the ebb and flow of the duel. In the end, Michel played XX-Saber Gottoms for his decisive move, and emerged as the first Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series winner crowned on European soil.
Aside from the coveted title and accompanying trophy, Grüner earned a prize package including a set of 3 Ultra Rare YCS Prize Cards, an exclusive YCS Game Mat, a netbook computer, paid travel and accomodation to next year’s European World Championship Qualifier, and more! Zamir and the other top finishers were also awarded attractive prize packages.
For players who only dropped by to watch or did not make the cut into Day 2, the event also offered a variety of additional challenges, ranging from casual to competitive duels. Among the prizes in these, also offered for the first time in Europe, were oversized Yu-Gi-Oh! cards of more than 1 m height. On Sunday, Sahar Cohen and Niels Vossen then won the two YCS Trials, each earning a paid trip to the next stop of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, which will take place in Italy in November.
