Just after the oshogatsu New Year’s holidays, 67 players turned out for the second $10,000 Championship here in Tokyo, Japan. Roughly half of the field was composed of players who participated in the first tournament, held in October of last year. Returning finalists from October included Masami Ibamoto, Naoki Kuboichi, and current Japanese champion Kunihiko Kishishita. There were just as many newcomers, and since Vs. System only just debuted in Japan last year, the field is still fairly open as everyone learns the ins and outs of the game.
Popular cards everyone was looking for were Gorilla Grodd and Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz, which featured in several of the earlier feature matches. Rocket Red #4 also got a lot of play at the tables on the first day. Many players said they were looking forward to the X-Man expansion, coming later this year, and the new Japanese-language cards it will bring.
In the final match of the tournament, it was Rei Hashimoto facing off against Hirotaka Hata for the championship title. Both players took one game each, setting up a tense final game. In the end, Hirotaka Hata prevailed and became the new $10K Tokyo Champion!