Yesterday we saw more than 350 duelists throw down for a shot at Shonen Jump glory. Today, the Top 16 play off for iPods, videogame systems, and the chance to be immortalized as a Champion.

We’ll see quite a few high-profile matchups, starting at the top of the bracket as Dale Bellido tackles Dexter Dalit. It’s not very often that we speak about Dale Bellido as an underdog. He’s a Shonen Jump Champion, a repeated Day 2 competitor, and one of the world’s most recognized duelists. But today he’s fighting on shared home turf with Dexter Dalit, a duelist who has accomplished what Dale has never done, twice: capturing the National title. Will Dalit’s streak here in Toronto continue, or will Dale chalk up a win over the two-time champ?

Then, Paul McCann pilots Gladiator Beasts against Cesar “The Princess” Gonzalez. It’s been a big weekend for Cesar, successfully playing Dark Armed Return to a Day 2 finish while also successfully debuting his own beguiling nickname. But Gladiator Beasts took twelve of the top sixteen seats here today — can Cesar’s lone Dark Armed Return carry him past the Top 16?

In the biggest match of the first round, Chris Bowling will take on Lazaro Bellido, in an epic match that pits the American and Canadian National Champions against each other! Gladiator Beasts won both of these duelists their National titles, and now they’re taking the same strategy against each other here. Lazaro won his National Championship by copying Bowling’s American Nats deck and throwing in a Brain Control — will Bowling one up him here today?

Next, one of America’s most celebrated and unique duelists will go up against an underrated Canadian star, as Paul Levitin duels Kyle Andrews. Andrews is no slouch — this is his third Shonen Jump Top 16 on top of a Nationals Top 8 as well. But Levitin has more Day 2’s than even he can count — he’s got to be up to twelve or more. A win here by Andrews would be a definite upset.

To me, it was very clear that Hsoros Nairebas was on the fast track to Day 2 on Saturday morning. Sure enough, he took his innovative Dark Creator deck to the Top 16, and now he’ll duel against newcomer Yahya Omar’s Gladiator Beast deck.

Stephen Silverman seemed to be earning himself a reputation here this weekend, successfully defeating some of the game’s top duelists with impressive plays. But his opponent today is a local favorite — Ervin So. Will Ervin’s home field advantage be what he needs to score the win? Heck, can anyone even believe Ervin So’s in Day 2? A win here would do a lot to elevate Ervin’s reputation as a competitive player.

Next, Adam Corn has to face his own creation, taking Gladiator Beasts against Jesse Jackson — one of the Top 16’s two competitors running Prime Material Monarchs, the deck Corn made famous at US Nationals. Corn designed the deck to take down Gladiator Beasts, but now finds himself on the other side of the matchup. Will it be strategy, or experience, that wins this match?

Finally, local powerhouse Jason Tan will compete against local underdog Josh Graham. Graham’s presence in online communities is starting to become a recognized phenomena, and his Day 2 appearance here is worth a lot to his budding reputation. But Tan has made Day 2 before, and has gone all the way to the Finals of the Canadian National Championship. Will this match mark the birth of Josh Graham’s competitive credibility, or will it be just another notch on Tan’s belt? We’ll find out here this morning.

Play is about to begin, so get ready for extended feature match coverage of the Top 16. Welcome to Day 2 of Shonen Jump Championship Toronto!