Cedric congratulated Jesus. Cedric and Kris exchanged pre-match pleasantries, while the table judge reminded the players of the rules and extended time for the semifinals. They had a brief discussion with the head judge about priority, a matter that never came up in their duel but did pass the time before play began.

When reminded of prizes, Cedric commented, “I don’t want Des Volstgalph . . .” Cedric would need to win if he wanted to avoid it.

Three Turns

“This is the first die roll I’ve won all day,” said Kris. He opened with Reinforcement of the Army, fetching Elemental Hero Stratos. He normal summoned it and then used its effect to fetch Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude. With that, he ended his turn.

Cedric opened with Allure of Darkness, removing Darklord Zerato from play. He followed with Destiny Draw, discarding Destiny Hero - Disk Commander. Cedric continued with his turn, using Reinforcement of the Army to fetch Armageddon Knight. He then used Premature Burial to special summon Destiny Hero - Disk Commander, drawing two cards. He normal summoned Snipe Hunter and used its effect, discarding Dark Magician of Chaos to destroy Kris’ Elemental Hero Stratos. He attacked Kris directly with Snipe Hunter and Destiny Hero - Disk Commander, ending his turn.

Kris began his turn, when Cedric activated Trap Dustshoot. Kris had Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude and Destiny Hero - Plasma in his hand. He also had Reasoning, Monster Reborn, Lightning Vortex, and one additional card. He lost Diamond Dude to his deck, then continued to his main phase. He activated Reasoning. Cedric called “Level 6”, and when the cards were revealed Kris brought out a Diamond Dude in attack position. He then activated Card Destruction. Kris discarded four cards and Cedric discarded three. He followed with Monster Gate, tributing the Diamond Dude. Fortune favored him with Dark Magician of Chaos, and he used its effect to return Magical Stone Excavation to his hand.

Kris used Monster Gate to tribute the Dark Magician of Chaos, special summoning Destiny Hero - Dasher. He used Magical Stone Excavation to return Dimension Fusion to his hand. He then removed Diamond Dude and Plasma from play for his Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade. He followed with Dimension Fusion. Cedric got back Darklord Zerato and Kris got Diamond Dude and Dark Magician of Chaos. With Dark Magician of Chaos he got back Monster Reincarnation. He then discarded the sword for it, so he could return Dark Armed Dragon to his hand. He then special summoned it and removed all three dark monsters in his graveyard from play to destroy all three of Cedric’s monsters, attacking directly for the win.

Kris leads 1-0.

Let It Play Out . . . For 2 Turns

Cedric opted to go first. He used Reinforcement of the Army to fetch Armageddon Knight. He normal summoned it and placed Destiny Hero - Dasher into his graveyard. He passed to Kris, who activated Reinforcement of the Army as well.

Cedric asked, “Got game?”

“No.”

“You don’t know. Got to let the hand play out.”

Well . . . that’s exactly what Kris did. He normal summoned Elemental Hero Stratos and fetched Destiny Hero - Dasher. He used another Reinforcement to fetch Diamond Dude. This was followed with Reasoning. Cedric called “Level 6." Kris special summoned Dark Magician of Chaos, and used its effect to get back Destiny Draw. He activated it and discarded Dasher, drawing two cards. He followed with another Destiny Draw, ditching Diamond Dude for another two cards. He then used Magical Stone Excavation, discarding Diamond Dude and Giant Trunade for Brain Control. He special summoned Dark Armed Dragon, to which Cedric offered up his hand for a handshake.

Kris takes the victory and moves on to the finals!