As they waited for the match to begin, Jason admired Richard’s pulls from the product prize he’d received in the quarterfinals. “You already opened them?” The beginning of the match was announced, and they began.

Richard opted to go first, and drew. He studied his hand briefly, then set a monster and one spell or trap and ended his turn.

Jason drew, then activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Richard’s set card, which was  Dust Tornado. Jason looked carefully through his cards, considering his options, then summoned D. D. Assailant and attacked Richard’s set monster. It was also a D. D. Assailant, and they were both removed from the game. Jason then set one spell or trap and ended his turn.

Richard summoned Sangan and attacked directly, dealing 1000 damage, then set one spell or trap. In his end phase, Jason flipped up Dust Tornado, taking out Richard’s Widespread Ruin.

Jason set a spell or trap and ended his turn. Richard continued to press with Sangan, biting off another 1000-life-point mouthful. Jason drew and ended, and Richard summoned Spirit Reaper. He attempted to attack directly with Sangan, but Jason activated Scapegoat in response. Richard decided to slaughter two Sheep tokens, and ended his turn.

Jason drew, then summoned Exiled Force. He attacked the Reaper to dish out a bit of damage, then tributed Exiled to destroy Reaper. Richard drew, attacked another Sheep token with Sangan, and ended his turn. Jason drew, and studied the field. He had one Sheep token left, and there were no spells or traps on either side. Each player had five cards in hand, and Jason considered the situation thoroughly. He then squashed Sangan with Smashing Ground, waited for Richard to choose Mystic Tomato, and then summoned Spirit Reaper and attacked. He plucked out Smashing Ground from Richard’s hand, set one spell or trap, and ended his turn.

Richard drew, then special summoned Cyber Dragon. He attacked Spirit Reaper, bringing the life point total to Richard 7000 and Jason 4200. In his second main phase, he set a monster, then ended.

Jason drew, switched Spirit Reaper to defense, set another monster, then reconsidered and picked it back up. He struck down Cyber Dragon with Smashing Ground, then set the monster and ended.

Richard drew, with nothing on his field but a set monster, and summoned Exiled Force. After attacking a Sheep token with it, he tributed it to destroy Jason’s set monster (Dekoichi) and ended his turn.

Jason drew and took a defensive stance, setting a monster and ending. Richard knew just how to deal with that. He summoned Mystic Swordsman LV2 and attacked it, destroying Spirit Reaper. Jason drew, and ended.

Richard activated Reinforcement of the Army to fetch D. D. Warrior Lady, and looked through Jason’s graveyard. Satisfied, he summoned D. D. Warrior Lady and flip summoned Mystic Tomato. He attacked the Spirit Reaper with D. D. Warrior Lady, removing them both from play, and hurled the Tomato straight at Jason for a direct 1400 of damage, followed by a 900 life point slice from Swordsman.

Jason drew, set one spell or trap, and unleashed Dark Hole. “Go,” he said briefly. Richard drew, and summoned Don Zaloog. Attacking directly, he considered the two cards Jason held, and selected one. It was Cyber Dragon. He then set one spell or trap and ended his turn.

Jason let loose with Heavy Storm, destroying Richard’s Sakuretsu Armor, and used Snatch Steal on Don. He looked through both graveyards, checked the number of cards in Richard’s hand, and thought over his options. He finally summoned Chaos Sorcerer, then attacked with Don. He stripped D. D. Assailant from Richard’s hand, and then attacked with Chaos Sorcerer.

Richard drew, added 1000 to his life points, then summoned D. D. Survivor and attacked Don Zaloog. Jason summoned D. D. Warrior Lady to take out Richard’s D. D. Assailant, then attacked directly with Chaos Sorcerer. Richard retaliated with Smashing Ground on his next turn, then set a monster and ended.

Jason attacked Richard’s Mystic Tomato with D. D. Warrior Lady, but didn’t choose to remove them from play, so Richard searched out Spirit Reaper. Jason considered the field, his hand, and his options. “I started with a horrible hand,” he said. The life point totals were at a critical point. Richard had 2300 while Jason was barely hanging on with 100. He made his decision and attacked Richard’s set card with D. D. Warrior Lady, straight into Widespread Ruin.

Richard struck back on his next turn, attacking with Spirit Reaper only to run into Sakuretsu. Jason would live for another turn. He drew, set a monster, and ended.

Richard set another monster, giving him two set monsters on the field against Jason’s one set monster and one spell or trap. Jason then flip summoned Magician of Faith, taking back Dark Hole which he used to sweep the field clear of Richard’s Magician of Faith and Spirit Reaper – but also leaving himself vulnerable. He set a spell/trap card and ended..

Richard fell back on Reinforcement of the Army, only to discover he had no warriors to claim with it’s effect. Jason looked through his deck to verify. “My opening hand really was disgusting,” he said. “It looked at me and said ‘Bleeeeeeahh, you aren’t winning with me!” Richard ended his turn, so Jason drew, summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, and attacked directly for 1900.

Richard responded on his turn by breaking Breaker with Smashing Ground, then set a spell or trap and ended, only to see Jason smite it in his end phase with Dust Tornado. Richard’s Sakuretsu Armor bit the dust . . . well, technically, the Dust bit the Armor. Jason drew and ended.

Richard summoned his own Breaker, and looked through Jason’s graveyard before deciding to break. He looked at the two set spell/traps, then silently counted out “Eenie Meenie Minie Mo” to decide which one lived and which one died. His selection turned out to be Premature Burial. He then attacked, and Jason responded with Call of the Haunted to bring back Chaos Sorceror. “That’s game,” he announced. Richard agreed. “I came back from a HUNDRED!” Jason whooped as they prepared for game 2.

Game 2

Both players opted to side deck, making their selections carefully. Richard went first again, considering his hand before choosing a monster to set. He then set a spell or trap, reconsidered and picked it up again, then looked through his hand again before setting another one.

It was doomed to failure, though, as Jason summoned Breaker and broke the card, which was Sakuretsu Armor. He then attacked Richard’s set monster, revealing a Mystic Tomato. Richard brought out Sangan, Jason set a spell or trap, and ended his turn.

Richard drew, then summoned D. D. Assailant and attacked Breaker. The attack didn’t come off, thanks to Jason’s set Sakuretsu Armor, so Richard turned Sangan to defense, set a spell or trap, and ended.

Jason activated Heavy Storm, hitting Richard’s Dust Tornado, then summoned D. D. Warrior Lady to attack Richard’s Sangan. He decided to remove them both, then attacked directly with Breaker. Richard drew, and fetched the Tomato back to tribute for Mobius the Frost Monarch, destroying Jason’s set Pot of Avarice, and then attacked Jason’s Breaker.

Jason eliminated that threat by summoning Tsukuyomi, turning Mobius the Frost Monarch face down, and attacking it. Richard took advantage of Jason’s clear monster zone to bring out Don Zaloog with Reinforcement of the Army and attack directly. He tossed out Dekoichi from Jason’s hand, and life point totals now showed Richard at 5600 and Jason with 7200.

Jason drew, set a monster, and ended his turn. Richard used Call of the Haunted to bring back Mobius the Frost Monarch, and summoned Spirit Reaper. He attacked the set card (Dekoichi) with Mobius, then attacked with Don Zaloog. He took away Jason’s Snatch Steal, then attacked with Spirit Reaper to relieve him of Tsukuyomi. Jason was left with an empty field and one card in his hand.

Jason again drew, set a monster, and ended his turn. Richard drew, and attacked the set Mystic Tomato with Mobius, and Jason replaced it on the field with another Tomato. Richard considered for a moment, then turned both Don and Reaper to defense and ended his turn.

Jason drew, with only a Tomato on the field. He turned it to defense, set another monster, and ended his turn. Richard drew, and attacked the set Dekoichi with Mobius the Frost Monarch, and ended his turn. Jason continued to play defensively, setting both a monster and a spell or trap card before ending.

Richard drew, and looked through his hand before summoning Mystic Swordsman LV2. After looking through both graveyards, he turned Reaper to attack position and went after Jason’s set Don Zaloog with Swordsman, then attacked the Tomato with Mobius. Jason fetched out Spirit Reaper, with the life point totals showing Richard at 5600 and Jason at 4100.

Jason drew, set a spell or trap, and ended. Richard followed the defensive line of play, turning Reaper and Swordsman to defense, and ending his turn. Jason summoned Exiled Force, tributing it to destroy Mobius the Frost Monarch, and ended his turn.

Richard drew, set one spell or trap, and ended, and Jason did the same. Richard then used Snatch Steal to target Jason’s Spirit Reaper, and turned Don and his own Reaper to attack. He attacked first with the Reaper, and then with Don, taking two cards from Jason’s deck—Sakuretsu Armor and Cyber Dragon—because Jason had no hand left.

Jason had a Cyber Dragon in his hand, though, and he special summoned it on his next turn. It wasn’t fated to stay on the field, though. Richard responded with Torrential Tribute. He then activated Pot of Avarice, taking back Mobius the Frost Monarch, D. D. Assailant, Mystic Swordsman LV2, Spirit Reaper and a Tomato. He then set a monster, set a spell or trap, and ended his turn.

Jason drew and ended, and Richard drew, tributed Reaper for Mobius the Frost Monarch, destroying Bottomless Trap Hole, which chained in response to take out Mobius the Frost Monarch, and Dust Tornado which took down Richard’s Widespread Ruin.

Jason set a monster and ended. Richard special summoned Cyber Dragon, normal summoned D. D. Assailant, and attacked the set with D. D. Assailant. Alas, it was Spirit Reaper, so Richard ended his turn.

Jason used Smashing Ground to take out Cyber Dragon, and ended. Richard responded with his own Smashing Ground, to clear the field for a direct swing of 1700 from D. D. Assailant. Jason set a monster and a spell or trap, and ended his turn. Richard drew, surveyed his three set spells or traps, and also ended, monsterless.

Jason flip summoned Sangan, and attacked into Richard’s Sakuretsu Armor. Jason brought out Magician of Faith with Sangan’s effect, set it, and ended his turn. Richard looked through his graveyard and set cards, and once again ended his turn without playing anything.

Jason drew, then flip summoned Magician of Faith to take back Pot of Avarice. He combed carefully through his graveyard, finally choosing Sangan, Breaker the Magical Warrior, Tsukuyomi, two Dekoichi, and Don Zaloog. He drew his two and continued, summoning Don Zaloog and attacking directly. Richard lost 1400 life points and a card from his hand, bringing Richard to 4200 and leaving Jason at 2400. He then attacked with Magician of Faith for an additional “ping” of 300, and ended his turn.

Richard flipped up Mystical Space Typhoon to snipe out Jason’s Widespread Ruin, then summoned Breaker. He broke Jason’s set Nobleman of Crossout, then attacked Magician of Faith, further eroding the life points to Richard 5900 and Jason 1100. During the second main phase, he took out Don Zaloog with Smashing Ground, and ended.

Jason took advantage of his lack of monsters to special summon Cyber Dragon, then used Reinforcement of the Army to seek out D. D. Assailant and summon her to his field. It was a significant increase in presence, but alas Richard responded to the Assailant with Torrential Tribute to eradicate them all. Jason then set a spell or trap and ended.

The next few turns passed in the “draw, end” manner, until Richard summoned Mystic Swordsman LV2 and attacked directly, bringing Jason to the dangerously low total of 200. “If you come back from it this time . . .” Richard trailed off.

Jason used Smashing Ground to take out Swordsman, and set a spell or trap. Richard set a spell or ntrap and ended. All that was needed was another 200 damage to win the game. Jason summoned Chaos Sorcerer, and attacked, plowing headlong into Widespread Ruin and leaving him once more with an empty monster zone.

Richard drew, summoned Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, and attacked directly for game. With seventeen minutes left in the round, the match would proceed to game 3.

Game 3

Jason went first, beginning the game with a handshake. He drew, looked over his hand, and set a monster and a spell or trap. Richard drew, and also studied his hand. Both players knew this match was the make-or-break one, and both were intent on what they were doing. He set a monster and a spell or trap, considered his hand again, and set another spell or trap.

Jason drew, and rifled through his hand repeatedly before deciding to end his turn. Richard drew, and activated Dust Tornado to wipe out Jason’s Widespread Ruin before flip summoning D. D. Assailant and summoning Don Zaloog. He attacked Jason’s set Mystic Tomato, and thought the situation over while Jason brought out another one. He then declared his turn over.

Jason attempted to attack Don Zaloog with the fresh Tomato, only to have it stymied by Sakuretsu Armor. He then special summoned Cyber Dragon, set another monster and one spell/trap, and ended his turn.

Not liking the look of the Dragon, Richard turned both of his monsters to defense position. Jason then flip summoned Dekoichi, drew his cards and tributed it to summon one more Cyber Dragon, then attacked each of Richard’s monsters. He gave up one Cyber Dragon to D. D. Assailant, but had managed to clear out the field.

Richard drew and looked over Jason’s graveyard before activating Dark Hole. He then summoned Spirit Reaper, and used Premature Burial to bring Don Zaloog back from the dead. Attacking directly with Don, Jason was forced to give up Torrential Tribute, then lost Dekoichi to Spirit Reaper’s follow-up attack.

Jason drew. He had one set spell or trap, three cards in hand, and no monster. After looking through his graveyard, he activated Pot of Avarice to bring back two Tomatoes, two copies of Dekoichi, and one Cyber Dragon. After shuffling them back into his deck, he drew his cards then special summoned Cyber Dragon, used Snatch Steal to take Don away from Richard, and summoned Tsukuyomi. After flipping Don face-down, he flip summoned him, then attacked Richard’s Spirit Reaper in turn with Cyber Dragon, Don Zaloog (taking away a Cyber Dragon) and Tsukuyomi. Life points were now at Richard, 3500 and Jason, 6400.

Richard drew, with only a Reaper on his field and two cards in his hand. He turned the Reaper to defense, set a monster and a spell or trap and ended. Jason drew, set a spell or trap, then attacked Richard’s face-down monster with the Cyber Dragon. It turned out to be Magician of Faith, and Richard plucked Dark Hole back from his graveyard. Jason summoned Tsukuyomi and flipped Don Zaloog face down, then ended his turn.

Richard uses Nobleman of Crossout to remove Don from the game, and ended his turn. With only three minutes left in the match, Jason set a monster and ended. Richard used Dark Hole to clear out the field, then set a spell or trap and ended.

Jason drew, set a monster and ended his turn. Richard drew, flip summoned his Gravekeeper’s Spy and special summons another in defense. He looked over the field, then tributed one Spy for Mobius the Frost Monarch. He targeted both of Jason’s set spells or traps, revealing Bottomless Trap Hole (which took Mobius down with it) and Sakuretsu Armor.

Jason then flip summoned Dekoichi, drew his cards, then summoned Tsukuyomi to flip it face-down again before ending his turn. Richard drew, turned his solitary defense position Spy to attack, and eliminated Jason’s Dekoichi. He then set another monster and ended.

Jason summoned D. D. Warrior Lady, and time was called. He attacked the Spy, and ended his turn.

The duel was now entering overtime. Richard summoned Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, and attacked D. D. Warrior Lady, removing both of Jason’s Dekoichis before Jason removed D. D. Warrior Lady and Kycoo from play.

Jason took his final turn, setting a monster and one spell or trap before ending. He was ahead on life points, so all he needed to do was hold Richard off for one more turn. Richard drew, and summoned Cyber Dragon. He attacked Jason’s set card, Kinetic Soldier, and since there was nothing more he could do, Jason won the final duel.

Jason Holloway moves on to face Christopher (Ivan) Flores in the finals!