This is it, the last chance for these two X-3 players to try and steal a spot in the Top 8. Playing at table 6, the winner of this match has a real shot at making it to the playoff rounds, and for Maurice Brantley of Team Villains in Florida, it would be a dream come true. “I’ve been on bubbles forever. I’m trying for my breakout performance!” said Maurice as they rolled the dice. Maurice won the opening roll and Vittorio jokingly remarked “Good Game!” Maurice set a monster and passed over to Vittorio who came out swinging with Cyber Dragon and The Six Samurai – Irou. Irou whacked Maurice’s face-down Sangan allowing him to fetch Card Trooper from the deck, and Cyber Dragon swung for 2100. Vittorio passed with no backfield, and Maurice dropped Card Trooper losing Dark Armed Dragon, D.D. Crow, and an Allure of Darkness to its effect before punching through Irou. He had no follow-up, however, and play passed back to Vittorio.

Vittorio dropped Six Samurai United and Zanji before popping the United for a card. He stormed through Maurice’s field leaving him at 2400 life points. Phantom of Chaos hit Maurice’s side of the field! The Phantom copied Dark Armed Dragon, and he wiped Vittorio’s field before setting Mirror Force and passing. Vittorio looked at his next draw, saw Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, and started slamming cards on the table like he had just packed a Dark Armed Dragon in Phantom Darkness booster draft. Heavy Storm followed by Yaichi, Grandmaster, and two copies of Great Shogun Shien were more than enough to end the game, much to Maurice’s dismay.

The players eagerly accessed their side decks, knowing exactly what to switch around for the particular matchup, and soon they were ready for game 2. “It’s Yu-Gi-Oh!” exclaimed Vittorio. “Yeah. Yeah it is,” replied Maurice as he offered a handshake before the start of the game.

Maurice started things off in game 2 with a set card to each zone, and Vittorio took a passive approach to the duel setting two spell or trap cards and ending his turn. Maurice flung a Mystical Space Typhoon from his hand to blast Vittorio’s set Solemn Judgment before summoning Armageddon Knight to send Dark Magician of Chaos to the graveyard. Vittorio chained with Torrential Tribute. Maurice dropped Monster Reborn to revive Dark Magician of Chaos and take back Monster Reborn. He did some quick math and decided to simply attack and end. Vittorio set a monster, 2 spell or traps, and activated Swords of Revealing Light to stall out the game. Maurice set two more spell or trap cards and summoned Strike Ninja before passing his first turn imprisoned by the Swords of Revealing Light. Vittorio flipped the The Six Samurai – Kamon next turn and then dropped Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Great Shogun Shien to join it. Strike Ninja dodged Grandmaster’s attack, and play passed back to Maurice. He set a monster and passed back to Vittorio who set his hand aside and pondered his current field. He summoned The Six Samurai – Zanji and switched his Shogun to attack mode. Threatening Roar cut off his battle phase, however, and Maurice began his last turn under Swords of Revealing Light. He set two spell or trap cards, and Vittorio drew, looking for a Yaichi.

He didn’t get it and moved straight to battle throwing Zanji at Dark Magician of Chaos only to be stymied by Enemy Controller! Vittorio carefully considered a response to the card and reluctantly flipped his Zanji to defense. Kamon struck a face-down Mystic Tomato allowing Maurice to search out Sangan in attack position. He couldn’t activate any more spell or trap cards this turn, however, and Great Shogun Shien took down Strike Ninja leaving Dark Magician of Chaos as Maurice’s only credible threat. Grandmaster whacked the Sangan, netting Maurice an Armageddon Knight, and Vittorio tossed his freshly drawn Mystical Space Typhoon destroying Maurice’s second set Enemy Controller. He couldn’t chain it thanks to Shogun, and Vittorio ended his turn.

Maurice started his turn by checking out Vittorio’s graveyard and summoning Armageddon Knight. Vittorio checked his graveyard and flipped Solemn Judgment dropping to 2600 life points to negated the summon. Maurice took another look at the graveyard before activating Premature Burial to bring Strike Ninja back to the field. The Ninja took down Zanji and Dark Magician of Chaos finally eliminated the threat of Great Shogun Shien. Vittorio destroyed Premature Burial with Kamon, but Maurice chained Strike Ninja’s effect to keep him safe from harm. Kamon switched to defense, and Vittorio ended. Maurice drew into Dark Armed Dragon but found he didn’t have the requisite Dark monsters to summon it due to dodging with Strike Ninja last turn. He flipped Monster Reborn to bring back his Sangan and attacked with Strike Ninja into Kamon. Kamon went down, but Dark Magician of Chaos was removed from play by Phoenix Wing Wind Blast when Maurice attempted to attack Grandmaster with him. Maurice passed without further attacks, and Vittorio picked up Reasoning and played it.

Maurice sized up his graveyard and shook his head having no clue what to call. He instead picked up Great Shogun Shien, counted its stars, and called 7. He was wrong, however, and Yaichi hit the field in attack position. Maurice lost his set Trap Dustshoot to Yaichi, and Grandmaster took out Strike Ninja. Maurice drew into Soul Release and attacked with Sangan! He searched out Armageddon Knight with the effect and summoned it to send Darklord Zerato to the graveyard. Dark Armed Dragon came down next, and Maurice removed his Darklord to destroy Yaichi. Soul Release stripped Vittorio’s graveyard of its Samurai, and Maurice removed one more monster to destroy Grandmaster. The Grandmaster returned to Vittorio’s hand, but it didn’t do him any good as he looked at his next card and conceded the duel.

This was it for these two duelists. This final game would determine which of them still had a chance at Top 8 and which of them would be watching the playoffs from the sidelines. They were meticulous in their preparations to ensure that no one would fall victim to an easily preventable penalty, and soon enough Vittorio was ready to start things off.

He led with a pair of set spell or trap cards, and he revealed Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror in the draw phase drawing a sigh of despair from Maurice. He summoned Mystic Tomato anyway and attacked for 1400 before setting a pair of spell and trap cards himself. He lost Threatening Roar in the end phase to Mystical Space Typhoon. Vittorio dropped Six Samurai United, Spirit of the Six Samurai, and Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, but fell prey to Torrential Tribute. He drew two and returned his Grandmaster to the hand before setting a spell or trap and passing. Maurice set a spell or trap and summoned Armageddon Knight to attack for 1400, but his deck clearly wasn’t going to be able to function with the Mirror on the field. Reasoning came down for Vittorio next turn, and Maurice called four. Grandmaster of the Six Samurai hit the field, and Vittorio flipped Heavy Storm. Maurice chained Enemy Controller to steal the Grandmaster, and Vittorio considered his options.  He dropped everything. Zanji, Grandmaster, and two Great Shogun Shien hit the field tearing through Maurice and dropping him to 1200 life points. He needed a miracle, he needed Armageddon Knight and Dark Armed Dragon right now, and he topdecked into Reinforcement of the Army. He didn’t have the Dragon, however, and there was nothing to be done. Maurice thought long and hard about his potential plays, but with a Reinforcement of the Army, a Sangan, and a Spirit Reaper there was literally nothing he could do. He set a card to each zone anyway and Vittorio windmill slammed Yaichi to the field to claim the win over Maurice Brantley, 2-1.