“I’ve never played you before,” said Jae sarcastically as these two players sat down. “Let’s make it a good one for the audience!” Jae writes for Pojo.com, and you may know him there as “Jaelove.” He’s also a principal member of Team Savage, the main rivals of Team Comic Odyssey.

Theeresak did well at the Shonen Jump tournaments in Las Vegas and Orlando, placing fifth in Vegas and making the Top 8 in Orlando. He’s a member of the California-based Team Comic Odyssey.

Game 1

Jae won the die roll and elected to go first. He set a spell or trap and passed the turn. Theeresak set two spell or trap cards, and Jae revealed Pot of Greed and Mystical Space Typhoon, causing Theeresak to lose Ring of Destruction. Jae played Morphing Jar and attacked.

On the next turn, Theeresak played Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and attacked. Jae countered with Tribe-Infecting Virus, naming Spellcasters and discarding Sinister Serpent. Theeresak shuffled his five cards in his hand, then checked his card on the field. Theeresak then played Premature Burial on Kycoo, attacking the Tribe-Infecting Virus.

Jae played another spell or trap and passed. Theeresak attacked, and Jae discarded his own Tribe-Infecting Virus. Jae played a monster in defense position and passed the turn. Kycoo attacked, causing Jae to reveal Magician of Faith. He then played Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity, taking a moment to consider his options. Jae opted to discard Night Assailant and returned Slate Warrior with its effect. Jae flipped Heavy Storm, but Theeresak had Scapegoat. Jae tried to chain Torrential Tribute but eventually just played it on a new chain, along with My Body as a Shield. Jae shook his head as he looked through his graveyard.

Jae summoned Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, removing one of Theeresak’s Scapegoat tokens, and then played Metamorphosis to get Gatling Dragon and use its effect. Theeresak was left with one Scapegoat token out of his original four. Jae summoned the Black Luster Soldier again and attacked twice to win the game.

Jae 1, Theeresak 0

Game 2

After much side decking for both players, Theeresak elected to go first in the second game. He set one spell or trap and passed the turn.

Jae played Sangan and attacked, and Theeresak took the damage after checking his card. He passed right back after setting a spell or trap. Theeresak played Breaker the Magical Warrior and attacked, causing Jae to reveal Ring of Destruction. Jae attacked with Sangan again, then set another spell or trap and passed. Theeresak thought about his options, then played Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of a card that turned out to be Bottomless Trap Hole. He played Berserk Gorilla and attacked while Jae found Sinister Serpent.

Jae drew and played a spell or trap and a monster in defense position. He removed Breaker with D. D. Warrior Lady, then played Premature Burial, bringing back Sangan. Theeresak shuffled his cards, waiting for Jae to make another move, but he was finally forced to play Reflect Bounder. Jae sacrificed Sangan and found Roulette Barrel.

Jae played Snatch Steal on Theeresak’s Reflect Bounder and attacked. Theeresak then played Graceful Charity and took a look at Jae’s graveyard. Theeresak discarded some cards and played Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, then revealed his own Snatch Steal to grab his Reflect Bounder back. He attacked, but Jae revealed a Scapegoat of his own to put some tokens in the way.

A crowd of spectators gathered as Jae thought about his next move. He finally played Metamorphosis and grabbed Thousand-Eyes Restrict, and Theeresak responded by looking at Jae’s graveyard. He shook his head when Jae asked if he was going to do anything. Theeresak revealed Ring of Destruction to destroy the Thousand-Eyes Restrict, leaving Jae with few options. Jae finally played Card Destruction, forcing both players to discard their hands and draw some new cards. After that, Jae discarded Thunder Dragon] to find another Thunder Dragon, then looked at Theeresak’s graveyard while Theeresak shuffled his deck.

Theeresak played Pot of Greed and then Heavy Storm, causing Jae to reveal another Scapegoat and giving him five tokens. Theeresak checked Jae’s graveyard again, then played his own Sangan and two face-down spell or trap cards.

Jae drew and discarded Thunder Dragon and Lightning Vortex, destroying all monsters on Theeresak’s side of the field. Unfazed, Theeresak found Magician of Faith, then revealed Dust Tornado to destroy Jae’s Mystical Space Typhoon. He played D.D. Assailant and passed.

Jae returned a card from his graveyard and played a defense position monster to keep his Scapegoat token company. Theeresak played Reinforcement of the Army and revealed Delinquent Duo. Jae discarded Thunder Dragon and Nobleman of Crossout.

Jae shook his head as he played a defense position monster and passed the turn back to Theeresak. Theeresak played his own defense position monster and two more spell or traps, causing Jae to reveal Magician of Faith and Heavy Storm.

Theeresak flipped his own Magician of Faith and then attacked Jae directly. Jae had no cards in hand and was hoping for a miracle. He played Slate Warrior, taking out Magician of Faith. Theeresak revealed Call of the Haunted to return Tribe-Infecting Virus, and that was the game.

Jae Kim 1 – Theeresak Poonsombat 1

Game 3

Jae chose to go first and wished Theeresak luck before they began this pivotal third game. He set a face-down spell or trap and passed. Theeresak played Pot of Greed, then Berserk Gorilla. Jae revealed Scapegoat when Theeresak attacked.

Jae was forced to discard Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast from Theeresak’s Delinquent Duo, and then played Mystical Space Typhoon. Theeresak chained Ring of Destruction and then Dust Tornado. Jae played Breaker the Magical Warrior, causing Theeresak to attack with his Gorilla. Theeresak then played another spell or trap and passed.

Jae played Metamorphosis to bring Thousand-Eyes Restrict into play. Theeresak played a defense position monster and passed. Jae passed back without attacking, and Theeresak thought about his next move carefully. He finally passed the turn back without changing a single aspect of his field position.

Jae set a defense position monster and passed as both players checked each other’s graveyards. Theeresak passed another turn without doing anything, and Jae discarded Thunder Dragon to find two more. He tributed Sangan to find Sinister serpent, then played a defense position monster and another spell or trap.

Theeresak was forced to act, and he revealed Heavy Storm. Jae added Sangan to the chain, then played Call of the Haunted to find Magician of Faith. Theeresak played Snatch Steal on the Thousand-Eyes Restrict, then tributed it for Airknight Parshath. He played a spell or trap and passed.

Jae set a defense position monster and a spell or trap, then passed back. Theeresak set his own monster and a spell or trap, then attacked with Airknight. He searched out his own Magician of Faith after destroying Jae’s and played another spell or trap.

Jae set and then played Torrential Tribute. Theeresak played Tribe-Infecting Virus and Sinister Serpent, causing Jae to extend the hand.

Jae Kim 1 – Theeresak Poonsombat 2