One of the most feared decks here today is being wielded in this match. Comic Odyssey burn swept Shonen Jump Indianapolis in the hands of Kenny So, and an updated version of the deck took Eric Wu and Hugo Adame to the Top 8 and the finals in Washington. Now, they’re back with yet another redux, this time relying on the all-new Dark Bribe for superior control.

This round Adame is up against an unsung regular of the Shonen Jump circuit, another Californian duelist named Christopher Welch. Hailing from Nor Cal, Welch was well aware of what he was up against. Could he stop what is arguably the most dominant burn deck of all time?

Adame won the opening roll and got things started with Wave-Motion Cannon and two cards set to his spell and trap zone. Welch drew and pondered his options, knowing that his actions at this point would set the tone for the rest of the duel. He summoned Gravekeeper's Spy, attacked, and Adame took the damage.

He set a card to his back row to finish his turn and Adame was up. Wave-Motion Cannon got a turn’s worth of ammo, and Adame activated Nightmare’s Steelcage. “Go ahead.” Welch tributed Gravekeeper's Spy for Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, but Adame responded with Pulling the Rug! Thestalos was destroyed and Welch was left to end his turn without another play.

A set monster was Adame’s only move. Welch activated Soul Exchange, but Adame flipped up the targeted monster: Big Shield Gardna! Welch reeled a moment and then considered his options. The duel stood at 6800 to 8000 with Welch leading, but Adame’s Wave-Motion Cannon sat on the field ominously. Welch set a monster and ended, his aggression rebuked.

Adame set another spell or trap and let Wave-Motion Cannon go to three turns. Welch drew and held Treeborn Frog, Sangan, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch and a dead Pot of Avarice in hand, with one card in each zone of his field. He tributed his set monster, Mystic Tomato, for Thestalos, and this time the Monarch hit play. Adame was forced to discard his in-hand Hammer Shot and Welch passed.

Wave-Motion Cannon crept to four turns and Adame set a third face down spell or trap. Welch summoned Sangan, attacked with Thestalos, and bumped Gardna to attack mode. Sangan then ran it over, pressing through 900 damage. Another spell or trap card concluded Welch’s turn.

The Cannon went to five turns total — Adame was really milking it for all the damage he could, and he passed his turn, continuing to do so. The confidence in his plays seemed to clearly communicate a field of Solemn Judgments and/or Dark Bribes. Welch attacked with Thestalos, hit Dimension Wall, and dropped to 5400 life points! Adame would have him next turn with the Cannon if he couldn’t stop it. Sangan attacked directly, dropped Adame to 4900, and Welch moved to main phase 2.

He summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and broke Wave-Motion Cannon! Welch heaved a huge sigh of relief and ended. Adame had clearly been relying on one or more copies of Dark Bribe. He played another Cannon though, and set two more cards to his back row to fill it completely. “Go ahead.”

“Draw,” announced Welch, who certainly wasn’t out of the woods yet. He took a moment to examine Adame’s graveyard, Adame did the same with his opponent’s, and Welch turned Breaker to defense. Thestalos attacked and Adame flipped up Wall of Revealing Light in response, paying 3000 life points to block Thestalos’ attack! Sangan was tributed in main phase 2 for another Thestalos, and Adame was forced to discard Big Shield Gardna from his hand. The resulting damage dropped him to 1500 life points, and Welch searched his deck for Card Trooper thanks to Sangan. Play was to Adame.

He set his topdecked monster and ended. Welch drew and had Card Trooper, Treeborn Frog, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Pot of Avarice in his hand. He summoned Card Trooper, sent Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, Torrential Tribute, and Magician of Faith to the graveyard to power it up, and activated Pot of Avarice thanks to the extra monsters he now had in his graveyard. Everything but Gravekeeper's Spy was shuffled back and Welch drew Zaborg and another Pot.

He activated Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting Wall of Revealing Light; Adame negated it with Dark Bribe, and Welch drew Mystic Tomato as a result — no help there. “I will end my turn,” he announced.

Adame’s Cannon went to two turns and he passed immediately. Welch sent Zaborg, Soul Exchange, and Bottomless Trap Hole to his graveyard for Card Trooper on the turn that followed, and then tributed Breaker the Magical Warrior for Zaborg to destroy Adame’s face down Dark Mimic LV3. Welch was very happy to not see Crush Card Virus in response, but still had no way to eliminate Wall of Revealing Light.

Adame activated Scapegoat from his back row, then placed Level Limit - Area B in the empty spot that the activation had freed up. Welch powered up Trooper again, turned all his Monarchs to defense, and passed. Adame’s Cannon went to four turns and he passed right back.

Welch ground away three more cards for Trooper and passed. The Cannon went to five turns, Adame set a monster, and he ended, one turn away from victory yet again! Welch activated Card Trooper but lost his Magician of Faith in the process. It would’ve been a huge tactical loss if he didn’t appear to be so irrevocably doomed next turn. Adame still had two set cards, and odds were good that both were Dark Bribe, Solemn Judgment, or a combination thereof.

But Welch activated Pot of Avarice, drew Raiza the Storm Monarch, and tributed Thestalos to bring it to play — Welch’s plan worked, and Wave-Motion Cannon was sent back to the top of Adame’s deck! Welch had earned yet another reprieve, and he discarded Treeborn Frog in his end phase to drop down to six cards.

Adame played another Wave-Motion! He ended, and Welch tributed Zaborg the Thunder Monarch for Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, discarding Adame’s in-hand Dimension Wall. Welch ended, Adame passed, and Welch activated Heavy Storm — Dark Bribe negated it, and Welch was forced to draw a useless Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. Dark Bribe was certainly pulling its weight.

He set a third card to his back row and discarded Gravekeeper's Spy in his end phase. Adame set another spell or trap, his Cannon moved to two turns, and play was back to Welch. He ended, Adame passed, and Welch passed back. Adame passed with 4000 damage on the Cannon and Welch just discarded Spirit Reaper to end his turn.

The Cannon went to 5000 damage and Adame passed yet again. This time Welch had no answer, and he scooped immediately after seeing his draw.

Dark Bribe wins an absolute war for Hugo Adame, claiming the first duel with 15 minutes remaining in the match! Both duelists started doing some intense side decking.

“I’ll go first,” announced Welch, setting a card to his back row and then setting Card Trooper. Adame activated Gold Sarcophagus. He removed Sangan from play for its effect, set one spell or trap card, then set a monster and ended. It was a very different early game play compared to the previous duel.

Welch was holding Zaborg the Thunder Monarch but didn’t know if he should play aggressively yet. Adame’s opening was suspicious. Still, after a bit of thought he activated Mystical Space Typhoon, blew away Adame’s Dark Bribe, and tributed Card Trooper for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. It destroyed Adame’s face down Big Shield Gardna in turn and then attacked for 2400 damage. Adame set a monster, set two cards to his back row and ended.

Zaborg attacked, and Adame flipped Morphing Jar! Welch had played no cards this turn, and lost a fistful as a result, a major recovery for Adame. Welch set a second spell or trap, ended, and play was to Adame.

Seven minutes remained in the duel. Adame tributed Sangan for Crush Card Virus, and Welch lost Zaborg from his field plus Banisher of the Radiance from his hand. He set cards to his back row to fill it completely and ended. The Morphing Jar / Crush Card combo is a deadly technique made famous by Fili Luna, and it was one that Adame was clearly planning to exploit.

Welch drew Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch and lost it to Crush Card Virus’s effect. Adame flipped Wall of Revealing Light in Welch’s draw phase and paid 3000 life points. Welch just passed. Adame passed back, and Welch lost his topdecked Raiza the Storm Monarch. Adame passed again.

Another pass left Adame to set a monster, a play Welch mirrored on the following turn. Adame ended, at 2600 life points to his opponent’s 8000. Only two minutes remained.

Welch flip summoned Gravekeeper's Spy, and Adame chained Skill Drain to keep Welch from bringing out another. He ended his turn with two more cards set to his back row, but judging by his body language Welch didn’t like his chances. Adame passed his next turn, discarding another Skill Drain, and Welch activated Soul Exchange; it was negated by its target, Big Shield Gardna.

Adame began his turn with eleven seconds remaining in the match. He passed to Welch, the buzzer rang, and four turns would remain in the duel. Welch set a fifth card, passed, and Adame took the second of the four turns, scooping quickly. With so many reactive cards he just couldn’t win his way out of the second duel.

At this point there was some confusion about end-of-match procedure, but it was quickly rectified by Head Judge Chris Goff. The match moved to game three without side decking, and four turns would be played.

Adame opened, setting a monster and three cards to his back row. Welch special summoned Cyber Dragon, normal summoned Card Trooper, and sent three cards to the graveyard for Trooper’s effect: Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and two Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. Welch set three cards to his back row, not eager to be fooled again by Morphing Jar, and attacked into Mirror Force! He drew a card for Card Trooper’s destruction and ended.

It was Adame’s last turn. He set a card to each zone and ended. Welch set a monster, ended, and the match moved to sudden death. The first change in life points would decide things.

Adame activated Swords of Revealing Light, flipping his opponent’s Mystic Tomato face up. He summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and Welch responded with Bottomless Trap Hole, removing Breaker from play. Adame flip summoned Morphing Jar, discarding his opponent’s Spirit Reaper and earning each of them a new hand. All Adame needed was a single card that could damage Welch, but that face down monster could spell terrible things if Welch tributed it for Thestalos. Adame set a final card to his back row and ended. Both duelists were on pins and needles.

Welch moved to his draw phase, drew, and Adame activated Crush Card Virus, tributing his face down Dark Mimic LV3. Sure enough, Welch lost an in-hand Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch that could’ve meant victory, as well as Banisher of the Radiance. He also revealed his hand: Soul Exchange, Mystical Space Typhoon, Magician of Faith, and Sakuretsu Armor.

He activated Mystical Space Typhoon to target Swords of Revealing Light and Adame chained Dark Bribe! Welch drew a useless Book of Moon as a result, set a monster and ended. Adame turned Morphing Jar to defense next turn, set a monster, and set another spell or trap card. He labored over his fourth set spell or trap, selected it, and set it next to Swords.

Another Banisher of the Radiance came off the top of Welch’s deck, and it was summarily discarded. He flip summoned Magician of Faith to take back his Mystical Space Typhoon and then activated Soul Exchange, targeting Adame’s set monster: another Big Shield! Welch activated that once-useless Book of Moon to turn Magician of Faith face down, and then set two more cards to his back row.

Adame activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Welch’s Mystical Space Typhoon in the end phase of his turn (which Welch couldn’t chain) and Adame moved to his own turn. He drew, set another spell or trap, and ended. Welch lost Zaborg the Thunder Monarch to Crush Card Virus, the final turn of that card’s effect, and set his last card to his back row. Play was again to Adame, and the match was now at least fifteen minutes over time.

He activated Nightmare’s Steelcage, still with no win in sight. Welch passed, Adame passed, and Welch set another card to his back row. Adame activated Gold Sarcophagus next turn, removing Ceasefire from the game. Win or lose, this was finally going to be over in two turns.

Adame followed it up with Wave-Motion Cannon, too! A set monster concluded the turn. Welch checked his graveyard, activated Pot of Avarice, and shuffled back Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, two Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and two Banisher.

He activated Lightning Vortex, discarding Cyber Dragon to destroy Adame’s Gardna and Morphing Jar. He then flip summoned Magician of Faith, targeting Mystical Space Typhoon in his graveyard, and Adame flipped Torrential Tribute! It wiped the field and Adame lost his set Sangan, searching his deck for another Gardna. Welch got back his Typhoon and had Raiza the Storm Monarch in his hand: he could have bumped the Cannon, but now he had nothing to tribute! Everything rode on the Typhoon.

Sure enough, Welch activated Mystical Space Typhoon and destroyed the Cannon. Play passed to Adame. He set a monster quickly and ended, one turn away from getting his Ceasefire.

Welch summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and Adame destroyed it with Pulling the Rug. Welch immediately extended the handshake, with no out to Ceasefire!

Hugo Adame wins a knock-down drag-out brawl, struggling for 67 minutes in a 40 minute round to move on undefeated!