Both players were excited to be here at the start of round 8. After 7 rounds of competition, Brian and Richie were both riding on the bubble at 6-1. Richie won the opening coin toss and opted to start game one. His first turn consisted of nothing but a set spell or trap, and interestingly enough, Brian had no monster either. He set two spells or traps and passed over to Richie, who simply passed. Brian tried for a Reaper hit but was foiled by Sakuretsu Armor. Richie had Heavy Storm at the ready, and he played it, clearing out Sakuretsu Armor and Trap Hole. Don Zaloog came down for Richie and swung in for 1400, dropping Dark Hole from Brian’s hand. Brian set a card and Richie attacked again, only to be blocked by Scapegoat. Brian simply passed while Richie pressed the assault with Mystic Swordsman LV2 as well. At the end of the turn Brian had five cards in hand and one Sheep token. Richie still had five cards in hand as well as a pretty nice looking field, and it was quite a conundrum for Brian.

Brian had Spirit Reaper in his hand, but he couldn’t play it at the moment, because of the Swordsman. He used Enemy Controller to grab Don and try to finish off the Swordsman, but Widespread Ruin from Richie put a stop to that. Brian was clutching at straws as Richie followed up his incredible opening with a Tsukuyomi loop, constantly recurring the ability of Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive to draw even more cards.

Brian had nothing but Reapers and it wasn’t doing him any good against Richie’s onslaught. Brian was staring down a bunch of spell cards he couldn’t quite play, due to a lack of monsters. He summoned Sangan and tried to take out Sangan, but Richie was looking to win in the next turn, and he activated Sakuretsu Armor to eliminate the furball. Sangan fetched Morphing Jar, and Brian was once again in trouble. He used Premature Burial to bring back Sangan again, and ended his turn with 3100 life points remaining. Richie flipped the Dekoichi yet again and then tributed his Swordsman for Mobius the Frost Monarch putting Sangan back in the graveyard and out of the way of a 3800-point swing for game!

Richie 1, Brian 0

Game 2

Brian was not happy at all about his unfortunate hand in the first game, and he looked to his side deck for some aid. Richie was much more laid back about his game play, and gently cut Brian’s deck. Needing this game to stay alive in the match and the tournament, Brian Long opted to go first. He started once again with no playable monsters, and chose to set two spells or traps, hoping for a lack of Heavy Storm. Richie had the goods though and cleared out Brian’s field before summoning Don Zaloog to remove Nobleman of Crossout from Brian’s hand. He set a spell or trap and passed to Brian who set the rest of his hand. Don hit again, dropping D.D. Warrior Lady and Gravekeeper’s Spy from Brian’s deck. Brian had plenty of power down but didn’t want to use it against a lone Don, so he immediately set the monster he drew and ended. Richie continued his amazing draw streak with a Nobleman of Crossout, and this time Brian couldn’t just sit and wait. He destroyed Don with Sakuretsu Armor, and the same fate befell the Sangan that Brian drew next turn. It fetched out a Spirit Reaper, and play was passed back to Richie once again.

Richie summoned D.D. Warrior Lady, but Torrential Tribute cleared the field. Richie set two more spells or traps and passed to Brian, who simply set a monster. Things just got worse for Brian when Richie summoned Cyber Dragon and tributed it for Mobius the Frost Monarch eliminating Brian’s facedown Dark Hole and Pot of Avarice. With no Dark Hole or Torrential Tribute left to fear, Richie summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and attacked, revealing a face down Spirit Reaper. As soon as it was revealed, Richie moved to main phase two, summoning Chaos Sorcerer to remove it from the game.

Brian looked down and out, but he managed to get another Frog from his deck and tributed it for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch to clear out Mobius. He then attacked Chaos Sorcerer with Zaborg and ended the turn looking a lot better off than he had been at any point previously in the match. It was all for naught though, as Richie had the Snatch Steal to end the match.

Brian Long’s run for the title ends with Richie Ashley winning the match 2-0!