Both players were representing AZN Carnage. Head judge John Williams announced a round time limit of 60 minutes for the first round. Both players wished each other good luck and the match was underway.

Blum won the die roll and elected to go first. He summoned Sangan, set a back row and ended. Mera opened with Mystical Space Typhoon. He then special summoned Cyber Dragon and normal summoned D. D. Warrior Lady. D. D. Warrior Lady attacked and removed the Sangan from play, and Cyber Dragon connected for 2100. Mera set a backfield and passed.

Blum played Mystical Space Typhoon and caught Sakuretsu Armor, He followed up by special summoning Cyber Dragon and tributing for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, which destroyed Mera's Cyber Dragon.

Mera used Snatch Steal on Cyber Dragon and attacked. Blum flipped Heavy Storm, took back Cyber Dragon, played Confiscation and chose Smashing Ground over Metamorphosis. He summoned Mystic Tomato and attacked, dropping Mera to 1800. Mera top decked a Tomato of his own. All of Blum's resources were visible, and Mera went into the think tank and in the end decided to set the Tomato. Blum attacked with Tomato, then Zaborg connected with the Sangan that Tomato produced. Mera searched out Treeborn Frog with its effect.

He summoned Frog, used Metamorphosis and special summoned Thousand-Eyes Restrict. He took the Zaborg with its effect. He attacked into Tomato for 1000 damage, and Blum pulled another Tomato. Mera passed with his last card in hand. Blum top decked Chaos Sorcerer, removed the Thousand-Eyes, and attacked for game!

Mera announced that he would side deck, and, with different colored sleeves, had to do so visibly.

Mera opened the next game with a set to each zone. Blum played Graceful Charity and discarded Shining Angel and Sangan. He summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, destroying Dust Tornado. He then played Premature Burial on Shining Angel, used Creature Swap to ship the Angel, taking Magical Merchant, and attacked the Angel. Angel brought out his brother, Shining Angel, who attacked directly. Blum passed with no backfield.

Mera played Snatch Steal on Shining Angel and used Zaborg to destroy the Merchant that had been taken from him. He attacked the Breaker for 800 damage and passed with no backfield, looking at a hand of all monsters. Blum took advantage with Spirit Reaper and Smashing Ground, pulling Zaborg from Mera's hand. When Mera's turn came around, he could only set a spell or trap and monster and passed.

Blum summoned Shining Angel and attacked into Sakuretsu Armor. He switched Spirit Reaper to defense, set a back row and passed. Mera flipped Magician of Faith for Snatch Steal and used it to target the Reaper. Blum played Book of Moon on Reaper to protect it. Mera wanted to use Chaos Sorcerer, but didn’t have the Dark and was forced to use Exiled Force. He poked for 300, but now Blum knew what was in Mera's hand.

Blum special summoned Cyber Dragon and whacked the Magician of Faith. He set his last in hand to his field, which was removed by Nobleman of Crossout and revealed to be Treeborn Frog. Cyber attacked again, and Mera set his top deck to his backfield. Cyber attacked into Call of the Haunted, which brought out Zaborg to brick wall. He set a monster and passed.

Mera attacked Zaborg into Cyber Dragon and set another back row. He needed a Dark monster. The Sorcerer was dead, and Blum knew it was there.

Blum set a back row and passed, and Mera topdecked and used Mystical Space Typhoon. Zaborg hit Mystic Tomato. Blum set a card to the back row and passed with 1 in hand and Tomato in defense.

Mera attacked the Tomato, which brought out yet another Tomato. Mera set a monster and passed. Blum topdecked Crossout and played it on Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, removing the other copy from Mera's deck. He tributed for Zaborg and destroyed Mera's Zaborg. Return from the Different Dimension saved Mera for a turn, bringing out the Dekoichi's. Blum opted to hit none and set a back row. Mera summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and broke Call of the Haunted, which brought up Sangan, who took a dive and brought out D. D. Warrior Lady. Breaker went head on into Zaborg, and was removed along with a Light for Sorcerer. Blum topdecked a spell or trap and set it and D. D. Warrior Lady. Mera set his back row, and didn't attack. Blum topdecked Zaborg though, and attacked into Scapegoat! A wall of fuzzy Sheep now blocked Blum's path to victory.

Mera set Night Assailant, which Blum attacked into. The Assailant took out Zaborg, and Blum set a monster. Mera set a back row and passed, and Blum flipped Spirit Reaper to attack a Sheep. Mera simply set a monster and passed back. Blum summoned Tsukuyomi and looped the Reaper. Both hit into the remaining two Sheep, and Blum used Creature Swap to trade Tsukuyomi for the face down Sangan.

Mera topdecked a monster and set it. Blum flipped Sangan, and attacked into the face down Asura Priest! Mera topdecked Metamorphosis, and pretended to set the Morph. He switched it up for Asura. Blum took the bait, playing Mystical Space Typhoon, and once again attacking Sangan into Asura Priest. Tsukuyomi was summoned to turn the Sangan face down.

Mera topdecked Bottomless Trap Hole and set it as well as the Priest. Blum played Heavy Storm, destroying Mera's Bottomless and his own Torrential Tribute in the process. He went for game once again, but Asura walled the attack. Blum used Confiscation, finding Mera's Metamorphosis and discarding it. Mera set a monster on his turn. Tsukuyomi was summoned for Blum, which turned Sangan facedown. Tsukuyomi attacked into Spirit Reaper. Mera summoned Asura Priest and attempted to attack Sangan, but was destroyed. Mera set a spell or trap and passed.

Blum set a spell or trap and switched Reaper to defense. Mera topdecked Graceful Charity! He thought a long while before using it, and discarded Cyber Dragon and Mystic Tomato. He set Magician of Faith and passed. Blum special summoned Chaos Sorcerer and removed Spirit Reaper before passing. Mera topdecked Smashing Ground and used it on Chaos Sorcerer.

Blum tributed Reaper for Cyber Dragon, and attacked into Mirror Force. Mera searched out Treeborn Frog with his own Sangan, who was also destroyed by Mirror Force. Mera topdecked Tsukuyomi, flipped Magician of Faith for Scapegoat, and turned the Faith back down. Mera was hoping there would be no answer for his Tsukuyomi engine, but defense was clearly on his mind.

Blum topdecked Crossout! He used it on the Magician, and both players took time to see if any Faith's remained in their opponent's deck. Mera set a monster and passed, and Blum followed suit. Mera topdecked Torrential Tribute, set it and passed back to Blum.

Blum tributed for Zaborg, and Mera went into the think tank and opted not to use Torrential. Zaborg destroyed a Sheep. On Mera's next turn, he set one to each zone. Blum attacked the face down Treeborn Frog, and Sorcerer came out for Blum to remove a Sheep. Mera once again went into a think tank, but didn't come out with Torrential once more.

Mera topdecked his second Cyber Dragon, however, and summoned Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi took down Zaborg the Thunder Monarch.

Blum summoned Spirit Reaper and Mera once again didn't Torrential. Blum knew he had game, and pointed out that the facedown was Torrential. He removed a Sheep, played Snatch Steal on the last Sheep, and Reaper poked through for 300 damage.

Mera announced he made two mistakes after the game. One was not using Metmorphosis for Dark Balter the Terrible earlier in game 1, and the second was waiting too long on the Torrential.

Eric Blum defeats his teammate 2-0 and moves on to the semi-finals!