Leading off this week, we have the head judge from Atlanta’s Shonen Jump Championship, Franklin Debrito. Franklin lives in Pompano Beach, Florida, and while he’s between jobs at the moment, he judges local tournaments at “Florida Sports Cards” and “B.R.A.D.’s Sportscards And Collectibles” on Saturdays.

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I had the honor to be one of the Level 2 judges chosen for full sponsorship to judge at the first Shonen Jump Championship at Gen Con So Cal in December 2004. That’s when I passed the Level 3 exam.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?
I’ve been “judging” since the days of Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I began playing with friends, and whenever we were unable to agree how a card should be played, I attempted to find an answer online. When I began participating in sanctioned tournaments, the store I was attending (with fellow Level 3 judges Simon Sangpukdee and Feroze Ramcharan) didn’t have an actual judge, so the owner relied on us for rulings. I took the Level 1 test online as soon as it became available, then passed the Level 2 test at the Aventura Mall Tour in Miami, Florida.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

I used to work at Comic Connection, the previous PTO of South Florida, and mainly judged there. Now I judge on Saturdays at “Florida Sportscards” and “B.R.A.D.’s Sportscards and Collectibles.” I also head judge South Florida’s premier events, as well as events held by the current Florida/Georgia PTO, Unity Entertainment.

I register for other events any time sponsorship becomes available, but I usually tend to stay local, since Simon moved to Kentucky and Feroze hasn’t been as active in judging the last year or so. I usually travel to the Regionals in Florida when I’m not judging, to play and show support to the host stores.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

I love to play and I think I’m an above average player. I qualified for Nationals last year and I qualified for 2006. I’m currently ranked eighth in Florida in Constructed and I might still be in the top 50 in the US. I came in first place at a Jacksonville Florida Regional, and I’ve won a few high-caliber local tournaments. I don’t believe I should have to sacrifice playing the game I love in order to judge, so I try to find a happy medium between judging and playing.

What’s your judging background?

I’ve judged over a thousand local tournaments, and practically every major premier event in the South Florida area. During the summer of 2004 I worked full-time for South Florida’s PTO, since he ran three to four tournaments daily throughout the entire summer. I also judged at the first Shonen Jump at Gen Con So Cal.

Simon and I came up with tag-team tournament during one summer—the winning team would have to duel against the Shadow Masters (Simon and myself) in a Shadow Duel. We invented an additional phase of the game . . . the Shadow Phase. It happened between the draw and standby phases, and during that phase, no cards could be activated. We had a list with random effects labeled from 0-99 and we would roll a ten-sided die two times, so a roll of 2 followed by a roll of 8 would equal 28. That number would correspond with an effect on the list (draw two cards, destroy target monster, take control of target monster until end phase, etc). Each player got their own shadow phase, but since we were Shadow Masters, we got to be a bit more . . . evil. At the beginning of the duel we rolled a six-sided die. The number we got equaled the number of times we could negate a die roll and forcing the player to re-roll. Everyone loved it and came solely for the Shadow Duel.

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

My favorite part of being a judge is hoping that I made a difference. By earning the respect of my fellow duelists (as well as store owners), I can make their Yu-Gi-Oh! experience a good one. Also, if time permits, I like to explain the rulings that I issue, since teaching a duelist about mechanics and proper gameplay makes them a better player.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

I hate giving out game or match losses. This game is meant to be fun, but sometimes we have to be judge, jury, and executioner. I take no pleasure in handing out major penalties.

Have you had any memorable tournament moments?

Gen Con So Cal. I got to meet a lot of great people from Upper Deck Entertainment, some fellow Level 3 judges, the great California Yu-Gi-Oh! community, and Kevin Tewart. I also got to beat Leighton Kurasawa in a duel with my Deck-Out deck. He won once when he gave me Lava Golem, and then used Judgment of Anubis against my Heavy Storm for the game. That was a good weekend.

What’s the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make to the game?

We can help the game grow by being a consistent part of it, by going online and chatting, and judging or playing at events. When judges show that they have a playing side along with a judging one, players will feel a bit more comfortable by knowing that the judge can empathize with them. You gain plenty of un-written responsibilities when you achieve Level 3 stature, and we need to master them so that we can properly represent the community, Upper Deck Entertainment, our stores, and ourselves.

How about to the judge program?

I’m always willing to pass along knowledge if someone is willing to listen. There are a lot of very talented judges in the South Florida area, and I’m proud to have been there to answer any and all questions they might have had. I give out my cell phone number if a judge needs it, and tell them to call me at any time and I will help them out.

Have you had any particularly memorable tournament moments?

I had to give John Umali (the winner of the Gen Con So Cal Shonen Jump event) two game losses during the event, but he won the tournament anyway. I was off the clock during the Top 8, but I’d remained behind at the tournament site for some casual duels. After he won, I went to shake his hand and congratulate him, and he gave me a hug instead. Also during the same tournament, a father and son duo ran into some difficulty. The son had gotten two game losses in two consecutive rounds, and then was deck checked, and the father felt that his son was being targeted. I was able to explain to the father in between rounds that his son wasn’t receiving unfair treatment, and he appreciated the extra attention. I felt as if I had really made a difference.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself.

I’m 25 years old and I was born in São Paulo, Brazil. I speak English, Portuguese, some Spanish, and a little French. I love sports, and play them whenever I get the chance, and I also enjoy playing Final Fantasy XI online.

Which Yu-Gi-Oh! card best illustrates who you are?

Next up, we’ve got another Metagame writer, Jerome McHale! I’ve enjoyed working at several tournaments with Jerome—he’s a fantastic judge and also a lot of fun. Jerome lives in Pittsburgh, PA. He’s a student at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a writer for Metagame.com. Go, Jerome!

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I took it Sunday after this year’s Nationals. It was pretty funny, because I was talking to some of the other Level 2 judges after they had taken the test, and they were all pale and shaking and nervous. I was messing around with them telling them that it couldn’t possibly be that bad, and they all kept assuring me that it was indeed the most frightening stack of paper they had seen in their lives. Then I started hearing rumors that no one was passing this thing and even the Level 3 judges in attendance were struggling to answer some of the questions. When I went to actually take the thing, Ian didn’t want to give it to me—and between the tests he still had to grade, the other work he still had to do, and the fact that no one had passed it, I can’t really blame him. Mike Guptil convinced him to let me take it, though, and I managed to pass.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I started judging Yu-Gi-Oh! a long, long time ago, before there was a judge program. Back then we were all part of the Demo Team, and we did our best to cope with frequently misleading wordings, long turnaround time on questions, and occasional rules reversals. Kisetai, anyone? I think that was 2002-2003, so I’ve been judging for about two to three years now.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

Well, I almost always head judge our local tournament at “Greentree Sports Cards” on Saturdays, but I also do most of the Regionals in nearby Butler, Pennsylvania as well. Sometimes I travel specifically to judge events, but most of the time it just sort of happens because I’m not busy and the staff needs extra support*. I think the furthest I’ve ever gone specifically to judge a Yu-Gi-Oh! event is Toronto, Canada for a Regional event.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

Before I started judging I was an absolute dueling monster, and I’ve got a couple of Millennium Puzzle Trophies and an uncut sheet of Labyrinth of Nightmare holos to prove it. I miss playing sometimes, especially now that we have this new format. Every once in a while, I take a weekend off and build a fun deck to see how it fares against the rest of the competition.

I think the biggest tournament I ever won was a 2004 Regional in Columbus right after Invasion of Chaos was released, but before any new Limited list was put out. That means three Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End or three Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning or a combination of the two along with that nasty little bird Yata-Garasu running around in nearly every deck—except mine. I managed to take a Warrior deck sans Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Magical Scientist, and Yata-Garasu and pilot it to a 7-1 record in the Swiss portion of the event (only losing in the final round) and all the way through the Top 8, even beating the only person who beat me in the Swiss rounds, who was coincidentally also not running any Chaos.

What’s your judging background?

I definitely started at the bottom and worked my way up. Initially, I just helped out with tournaments on occasion, but as time went on, our judge got busy with schoolwork and the like and started to lose touch with the game. Eventually he stopped showing up, and I started taking over. From there I tried to balance playing and judging, but that didn’t work out so well. After 2004 Nationals I started judging almost full time.**

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

My favorite part of judging is the warm fuzzy feeling you get inside when you know you’re helping to make a great event possible for hundreds of players. I have this thing about fairness. Everyone always says, “Life isn’t fair!” They may be right, but as far as Yu-Gi-Oh! is concerned, I enjoy doing my best to negate that statement at the events I judge.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

Dealing with rules lawyers. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that rules lawyers are my least favorite out of all the people I deal with at an event. I say it’s an exaggeration because the only people that anger me more than that are cheaters, but I enjoy taking care of them. Rules lawyers, though, are always a problem, because they’re usually technically right but they’re being jerks about small things. You just have to keep calm, fix the situation if possible (it’s usually something like putting Graceful Charity in the graveyard before the cards discarded to it), and maybe let said rules lawyer know that being that way isn’t going to earn him any friends and might earn him or her an Unsportsmanlike Conduct—Minor somewhere down the line if he continues to be unfriendly and unsociable.

Have you had any memorable tournament moments?

I remember the first Regional I ever head judged. It seemed like everything that could have gone wrong, did. Every single standard annoying judge situation occurred at that Regional. We had people who didn’t keep track of their life points, people who randomly accused each other of stuff to try to get wins via penalty, every deck error under the sun, deliberate cheating, playing the wrong opponent, and the coup de grace, which was two players who were playing the wrong deck. Seriously, two guys with the same sleeves and almost identical decks shuffled up, passed their decks to each other, cut them, and then just started playing. That was a mess.

Tell us a good judge story or two!

Well, there’s always a laugh to be had whenever you check decklists. It’s good to know that some of the best duelists in the country play great cards like BMW, Homeless Trap Hole, and Bea Arthur. Seriously, please don’t abbreviate, and if your writing is worse than mine, ask someone else to write your decklist for you. Another time, there was this guy running three copies of Shooting Star Bow – Ceal because he thought it increased your ATK strength by 1000 and let you attack directly. In a similar vein, there was an entire team who playtested a Dark Room of Nightmare Burn deck with Secret Barrels out the wazoo, under the delusion that the Dark Room would trigger once for every 200 points of damage that that Secret Barrel would have dealt. Imagine the look on their face when I had to inform them that their little combo was in fact a “non-bo,” as Tim Willoughby would put it.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself:

It’s my personal mission to make the real game more like the TV show, one deck at a time. For a non-Yu-Gi-Oh! related fact, I happen to find dogs to be the most cuddly and loveable creatures on the face of the planet. They make my heart smile. Except for poodles. Poodles are dumb.

Which Yu-Gi-Oh! card best illustrates who you are?

Let’s pause, and give the poodle lobby time to prepare a response, by turning our attention to John Danker. I’ll mention that if you ever need a bouncer at your event, John’s the man for the job. Kuriboh never knew what hit it at US Nationals this year.

John Danker lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and he designs and engineers high-end custom architectural woodwork (spiral staircases, coffered ceilings, bars, and the like). Wow, I never knew that.

When and where did you pass the TestÔ?

I passed it at Gen Con Indy 2004.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I’ve been judging it for about four years now.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

That would depend upon what you want to label as judging. I seem to be constantly stopping into different stores while tournaments are going on, and I end up helping out, answering questions, and providing information. I try to judge at a local tournament once a week, in addition to a couple of major conventions, five to ten Regionals, a couple of Shonen Jump Championships and nationals every year.

What was your pre-judging background ? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

I’m not a “true gamer.” I’m a has-been jock wannabe gamer! I was introduced to Yu-Gi-Oh! by my eldest son, when he was seven. At that time, no one in our area was running tournaments and there didn’t seem to be anyone who really had a firm grasp of the rules. I was taking my son to a gaming store a couple of times a week, so I figured I could either continue to sit on my thumb or get involved! I began sponsoring tournaments out of my own pocket and studying up on the rules of the game. I signed up for the Demo Team, which got me more deeply involved, and all of the other Demo Team members were very helpful, both online and at tournaments. The year after that, I volunteered to help at Gen Con Indy, and I saw how big the gaming world really is.

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

I’m a dad at heart, so I think my favorite part is helping people out and watching the light bulb go off inside their heads—seeing them become excited about the game or about a new deck idea. I like to see players gaining confidence, and the thrill on kids’ faces when they win their first match after working hard to do it.

My favorite “perk” from being a judge is getting together with a number of the other Level 3 judges after a tournament and playing our “weird” decks. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Level 3 judge who doesn’t just love to pull out an unusual deck and befuddle their opponent with unexpected combinations.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

That’s a tough one! There are a couple of scenarios I detest. I hate seeing poor sportsmanship, especially with so many young people in the game. We have to remember that most of us are role models for young players. When older players exhibit poor sportsmanship, the younger players consider it to be acceptable behavior. You may not have signed up to be a role model, but like it or not, you are one.

My least favorite official duty being a judge is making rulings on a he said/she said scenario, like when the question isn’t about a card ruling, but instead revolves around two people with a different assertion about what happened in the game, and there’s no way to prove what actually happened. A ruling still has to be given, but there’s no way to tell with any great amount of certainty that it is the correct ruling.

Have you had any memorable tournament moments?

I’d have to say my first Gen Con Indy. Not only was I able to work with some outstanding judges, like Dave Brent and Gary Haynes, and Upper Deck Entertainment personnel, like Kevin Tewart and Ian Estrin, but I had a little bit of play time and was able to play in the “Bizarro booster draft” Kevin decided to run. The drafting part of that tournament was as much fun as playing in it!

What do you think is the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make, both to the game and to the judge program?

I’ve always believed that the best way to make an impact is to lead through example. There are a lot of ways that any judge can give back to the game. They can set examples of good sportsmanship, be active in the gaming community by posting online and answering questions, or help new players understand and enjoy the game.

The best way a judge can contribute to the judging program? Teach a man to fish! When you give others the benefit of your experience, you’re helping the entire game. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to answer a question yourself or handle a difficult scenario, but in the long run, there’s more benefit to stepping back and supervising less-experienced judges as they resolve things. If you just go ahead and do everything yourself, you’ll always be the one handling everything.

Have you had any memorable tournament moments? Tell us a good judge story or two!

Anyone who’s worked a convention for four consecutive days has experienced judge fatigue. There comes a point when lack of sleep, long working hours, and the strain of answering hundreds upon hundreds of questions finally takes its toll on your brain. This happened during Gen Con Indy at around 9 pm on Saturday night. Stephen Rasiahand I turned toward each other with that “deer in the headlights” look, compounded by exhaustion. I’m too embarrassed to say here the questions we asked each other. They were so simple that I think we both blushed after asking them. Judge fatigue had taken its toll! After answering each other’s questions, we laughed uncontrollably at our own inability to make our brains work.

Due to professionalism, I can’t reveal many of the other stories that I’d like to.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself.

I usually go whole hog into whatever I’m focusing on. Before I became involved in gaming, I anchored the U.S. Tug of War team for about 20 years.

Which Yu-Gi-Oh! card best illustrates who you are?

I’ll have to go with Barrel Dragon. I like to gamble when I play and I enjoy a bit of luck and chance, because it puts an additional element of excitement in the game. My first really “cool” pull from a booster was a first edition Barrel Dragon so it’s been my “pet” card. Of course, to be able to get Barrel Dragon even out on the field at that time was quite a feat in itself, but that’s not really the point of a favorite card, is it? A favorite card doesn’t have to make sense or be practical!

Travel with me now to far-off, fantastic Italy! Unless you already live there, in which case I’m sorry to deprive you of a brief vacation, but that’s how it goes. Anyway, I’d like to introduce you to one of our Italian Level 3 judges, Edoardo Dalla Via!

Edoardo Dalla Via lives in Padova, Italy. He is a student and works as a part-time translator. Let’s learn more!

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I passed the test almost a year ago, while I was working for Upper Deck Entertainment Italy in Novara.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I began judging in 2004, almost a month before Italian Nationals, so about a year and a half.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

I used to judge in the important Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments held in the northern part of Italy. There’s a sort of geographical split between myself and Lorenzo Gigli, another Level 3 judge, so each of us takes care of a different area. At premier events such as Nationals, we get to meet each other and collaborate, which is always a pleasure. Lately, I haven’t judged much, but I will be back in action soon. Anyway, I do travel a lot for Upper Deck Entertainment games, since I judge and play both Yu-Gi-Oh! and Vs. System.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

In the beginning, I was a Magic player. After eight years of gaming, I got tired of mana screw and mana flood and wanted to find a game you could play no matter what you drew. That’s how I found Yu-Gi-Oh! I won several local tournaments and qualified for Nationals, and the following day I received an internship from Upper Deck Entertainment Italy. It was good news for me, but unfortunately that meant I couldn’t play in Nationals. I started my career as a judge, studied hard, and attended Nationals anyway—as a judge.

To tell you the truth, it was really a pain for me not being able to play while working for Upper Deck. The first thing I did when I resigned was participate in the biggest Upper Deck event I could, which was the $10K in Munich.

What’s your judging background? Did you start out at league tournaments, or mostly Regionals and other big events?

As I mentioned before, I started judging a month before the 2004 Italian Nationals. After that exciting experience I continued judging in important events such as Regionals, Duelist Qualifiers (the Italian alternative to Shonen Jump Championships) and the last Italian National tournament.

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

I like being able to stay in touch with the game I love, and to help other players at the same time.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

Sometimes the amount of work done by us judges is not completely understood by some players, and being criticized after the efforts we put in gets annoying. That, and the fact that while you judge, you can’t play.

Does any one event stick out in your mind?

Italian Nationals 2004 and 2005.

What’s the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make, both to the game and to the judge program?

I think we have plenty of experience and information to share with others and everyone involved in the game could benefit from this. With time and effort from each of us, a dialogue can be established and feedback can be provided to the developers of the game.

Had any memorable tournament moments? Tell us a good judge story or two!

Nothing’s arising in my memories . . . except a little episode that Lorenzo reminded me about, but he’s going to tell you in his answers, so check them out.***

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself.

I don’t think that this question was meant to be answered in the following way, but I always encourage players not to use what appears to be the strongest deck, but instead try out new ideas that could possibly make tier one. Without experimentation, there is no innovation and the metagame is at risk to become stagnant. I almost never played Chaos, but always tried out new solutions. Now that the new Forbidden list is finally out, I hope players will take advantage of the freedom to innovate that’s been given them.

Which Yu-Gi-Oh! card best illustrates who you are?

Desertapir is by far my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! card. I love the artwork of that particular monster, and I find it exhilarating. For this reason, I collect Desertapirs. Nowadays, I have something like 30 of them.

I don’t know about you, but I enjoyed reading these. Next time, I’ll expand your knowledge of Level 3 judges a little bit further by inviting four more in for an interview. I’m sure you won’t want to miss it, because I’ve got some great guys to feature. See you next time!

* Actually, he goes to events and Mike Guptil, the PTO, threatens to disqualify him so that he can judge.

** Seriously, Mike will disqualify him if he tries to play instead of judging.

*** We’re still waiting for your interview, Lorenzo—please don’t leave us hanging!

I’ve got an email address now! Although my inbox is filling up faster than I can empty it, don’t let that put you off. As long as you don’t mind waiting for a reply, give me a shout at MetagameJulia@gmail.com. Incidentally, I like nice shouts better than mean ones.