The regional World Championship Qualifiers are massive gatherings, with thousands of invited players converging from all over their continents to compete for a ticket to the World Championship.
Once you get there, though, the mood changes entirely. "The world's highest-stakes locals", it has been aptly called. Instead of three thousand players, there's less than thirty - fewer than your average tournament on your average weekend.
Not only that, but it's the only tournament in the world that combines the otherwise-disparate realms of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game (as played in most of Asia) and Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (as played everywhere else). This comes with a different card pool, and a unique Forbidden & Limited List, formed by combining the two component F&L lists. Many decks that dominate their regions are crippled: the TCG bemoans cards such as Kashtira Fenrir (Forbidden), Pot of Prosperity (Limited) or the "Bystial" monsters (Limited); meanwhile the OCG needs to make do without the latest products (unreleased in the TCG), and cards such as Fairy Tail - Snow (Forbidden), Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon (Forbidden), Purrely Delicious Memory (Limited), and of course, their signature Maxx "C" (Forbidden). This untested environment combined with the small size of the tournament is ripe for shenanigans and creative deckbuilding; after all, you don't need to build the best deck for the format, just the best deck given what your twenty-seven competitors are bringing.
With the last World Championship Qualifier (the Japan Championship) wrapping up last weekend, we figured it'd be a good time to look at the twenty-eight competitors who will be duking it out across 7 rounds of Swiss, followed by a Top 8 cut, on August 5th and August 6th at the Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan.
Joo-Ho Ahn
Joo-Ho Ahn is part of JunksPlayGround and one of Germany's most elite and active duelists, consistently dominating multiple Tier 2 and 3 events on his quest for the highest Worlds points. After having an impressive showing in last year's EUWCQ, he also showed high proficiency with Ishizu Tearlaments in previous formats. This time around, he managed to get his invite by utilizing the Labrynth deck with his ace card, Lord of the Heavenly Prison!
Qualified via: EU World Championship Qualifier (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Labrynth
Oliver Newton
It's been over eight years since Oliver Newton shocked his home country, becoming the UK National Champion out of nowhere. When the YCS circuit then returned to Liverpool in 2016, he proved his earlier result had been no fluke, scoring his first premier event top cut. After that, he vanished without a trace...
...only to resurface in early 2020, storming into the top cut of YCS Utrecht. The global pandemic put a damper on what might've been a stellar rise to the top; but Oliver watched, waited, and bided his time. After recording results in the online circuits during everyone's forced time off, he returned to the in-person scene by heading straight for the top cut of the 2022 EUWCQ. Now in 2023, he's gone a step further, reaching the semi-finals and punching his tickets to worlds. Where will the next stop be? Only time will tell...
Qualified via: EU World Championship Qualifier (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Kashtira
Dinh-Kha Bui
Dinh-Kha Bui is one of the game's most decorated and innovative players around, bringing well-thought-out decks, techs, and strategies to the game's premier events. He's able to keep his skills sharp thanks to being a part of Team Raid'n'Trade, one of the most prestigious Yu-Gi-Oh! teams in Germany. Runick Spright Fur Hire, which he piloted to a Top 4 finish at YCS London, is one of his recent inventions that's become a mainstay in the competitive metagame due to the incredible synergy between the three archetypes.
Dinh-Kha Bui qualified for worlds by placing 3rd in the EUWCQ Playoffs with his take on Labrynth, which many other professionals have taken inspiration from. Everyone's excited to see what he'll use in the Worlds tournament, given his track record of unique choices.
Qualified via: EU Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (3rd place)
Qualified with deck: Labrynth
Gerardo Varela
Gerardo Varela is one of Northern California's strongest duelists and has been a prominent force in the competitive scene, having National tops, several regional tops and wins, and a few YCS tops under his belt. He's found success with the likes of Salamangreat and Orcust at their respective peaks.
His recent showing in this year's NAWCQ showcased both his excellence in both dueling and deckbuilding, as his Blind Second Kashtira build took him all the way to a respectable Top 4 finish and his invite to Worlds. Gerardo is sure to adapt to the joint banlist and bring his A game to the tournament.
Qualified via: NA World Championship Qualifier (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Kashtira
Enzo Fiallos Velasco
Enzo Fiallos Velasco is quite young but has proven himself to be one of the most capable and consistent duelists over in NA, having a wide variety of tournament results under his belt. He has previously found YCS success with creative deck choices, such as a 60-Card Cyberse Eldlich variant at YCS Charlotte in 2022.
He recently attained his Worlds invitation through the 2023 NAWCQ piloting a standard variant of Kashtira. This dueling prodigy is not to be underestimated and is sure to bring an innovative strategy coming into the tournament.
Qualified via: NA World Championship Qualifier (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Kashtira
Daiki Kaneko
Kaneko Daiki is a Japanese yugioh player who started playing Yu-Gi-Oh three years ago and then gradually participated in various tournaments in Japan and achieved some achievements such as best 8 at Ram Cup, or Top 3 at Taiyo CS.
At this year’s Japan Championship, he used Tearlaments to win all the regional qualifiers and qualify for the national finals. With his skills, he easily entered the Top 8, where he lost to Purrely; but he still had a chance to win a ticket to the World Championship through the Losers' Bracket! With his courage he defeated all his opponents there and became one of the five representatives of Japan to participate in the 2023 World Championship.
Qualified via: Japan Championship (5th place)
Qualified with deck: Tearlaments
Keijiro Yamashita
Yamashita Keijiro (でぃん) is a Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh pro player, who started playing Yu-Gi-Oh in 2009 as a casual player and became a competitive player in 2012. He retired from competitive play in 2015 to settle down, but he still loved the game.
In October 2021, he learned about the Yu-Gi-Oh Japan Championship and trained to join it. Despite being retired for six years and having little time to practice, he used his skills and mindset to become the first champion of Japan Championship. After that, he gradually returned to Yugioh Competitive and achieved many impressive results in various domestic tournaments.
This year, he participated in Japan Championship 2023, with a very harsh format in the final round where you could not lose any match to qualify for the world championship. With his champion spirit, he used Labrynth to overcome all obstacles and reached the fourth place overall, becoming one of the five representatives of Japan to attend the World Championship this year.
Qualified via: Japan Championship (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Labrynth
Mizuki Higuchi
Higuchi Mizuki is a Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh player who started playing in elementary school by collecting his first cards. When he went to college, he began to spend more time participating in Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments. He is a well-known player in Sapporo, where he has joined many tournaments and achieved impressive results.
At the Japan Championship 2023, he used Rescue-ACE to win the regional qualifier, earning a ticket to the national final. But once he arrived there, he switched to Purrely, because he felt it was harder to beat Purrely than to use it. He proved his choice correct when he excellently overcame all the opponents and reached the Top 4 of the Japan Championship, thus making him one of the five representatives of Japan to participate in the 2023 World Championship.
Qualified via: Japan Championship (Top 4)
Qualified with deck: Purrely
Jonas Koschel
Since his first appearance on the competitive scene in 2017, Jonas Koschel has shown amazing consistency in his results. After taking 4th place at YCS London 2017 as a dark horse, he has been on fire ever since, with a grand total of eight YCS top cut placements across the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In the 2019 season, the German also made his first appearance at the World Championships, qualifying via the Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff. But while he has consistently made it into the top cut of premier events, the pinnacle has eluded him thus far; though he's gotten tantalizingly close, making it to the finals of YCS Düsseldorf in 2019, he has not yet clinched his first event victory.
In the 2022/23 WCQ cycle, Jonas has been on a tear again, making it to the top cut of both YCS Utrecht and YCS Dortmund. While he was eliminated from the EUWCQ in Top 8 by the eventual champion, Jessica Robinson, the pain will have been soothed somewhat: after consistent performances all throughout the season, his invite to the World Championship had already been secured through the Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff on Friday.
Qualified via: EU Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Top 2)
Qualified with deck: Evil★Twin Runick Spright
Gabriel Soussi
Gabriel Soussi is a prolific and consistent French duelist among the competitive scene over in Europe, as he has been performing at events since 2018 and was crowned the 2019 European Champion. He's analytical and very dedicated to the game, eager to coach players who want to improve their YGO skills.
Soussi got his invite with Evil Twin Runick Spright, which is still a decent deck going into the event despite the harsher Spright hits on the Worlds banlist. It's possible he has something better planned up his sleeve though, so we'll just have to wait and see!
Qualified via: EU Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Top 2)
Qualified with deck: Evil★Twin Runick Spright
Steven Santoli
Steven Santoli has recently made a name for himself by sticking with Exosisters and performing very well in multiple Tier 3 events with it! Thanks to the release of Sakitama, the deck has seen a bit of a renaissance after months of stagnation. Steven is a crafty duelist and is known for making use of unexpected tech cards to edge out in tough situations, such as Forbidden Lance! Exosister is also in a great spot for the Worlds tournament, so it'll be cool to see if that's his deck of choice coming into the event.
Qualified via: NA Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Top 2)
Qualified with deck: Exosister
Paul Aronson
Paul "Paulie" Aronson is a long-time duelist in the competitive scene, always finishing strong in North America's premier events! He managed his first YCS win in the midst of the pandemic with P.U.N.K. Goodstuff Synchro combo and has been slaying back-to-back YCSes, winning the coveted 250th YCS with Kashtira. His Kashtira list was a bit different compared to the standard ones at the time, running creative choices such as Tearlaments Kashtira as a way to extend and to synergize with both of their spells.
It'll be interesting to see what this talented duelist brings to the tournament due to the joint banlist, as Kashtira seems to be out for the count! He's also recently joined a new competitive team in NA, called High Frequency Games.
Qualified via: NA Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Top 2)
Qualified with deck: Kashtira
Roberto Lopez Arce
Roberto Lopez Arce took it upon himself to win the entirety of the Central America WCQ Playoffs! He's a fairly well known duelist in the Central American competitive circuit and has been making use of the Labrynth deck! His take on the strategy is a bit different compared to most, running a high hand trap count with techs like Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill, which is usually more of a niche card seen in some Kashtira decks. His signature Xyz Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld made for a nasty surprise against unprepared opponents!
Qualified via: Central America Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Champion)
Qualified with deck: Labrynth
Mateo Renteria
Mateo Renteria is a headstrong duelist from Peru who's a team member of the extremely popular Carloncho Store! A decorated duelist in his own right, having multiple premier tops at such a young age, he managed to get his invite with Adventurer Spright, which was a surprising underdog pick in the format. Spright is in a tough spot coming into the Worlds banlist, so he may have to adjust his strategy going into the tournament. The Carloncho Store has also been helping him prepare for the tournament by hosting several events with the banlist in play. He's sure to do his team and store very proud!
Qualified via: South America Worlds Qualifying Points Playoff (Champion)
Qualified with deck: Adventurer Spright
And that wraps up the first half of this fierce competition. Do you already know who you'll be rooting for? If not, maybe someone from the remaining fourteen will tickle your fancy, because we've still got all of the continental champions to go. You can find those in part 2, over here!
The Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship will be livestreamed on YouTube and Twitch, from 08:20 to 20:00 JST on Saturday and from 08:50 to 18:10 JST on Sunday. If you're in central Europe, that means the stream starts at 01:20 CEST on Saturday; if you're in the US, it'll be 16:20 Pacific, 19:20 Eastern, or somewhere between them depending on where you are.
