In a surprise twist, four Chimeratech Overdragon decks made it to Day 2 here at Shonen Jump Championship Orlando. Out of a Top 8 that included Chimeratechs, Gadgets, a Monarch deck, and one Creature Swap deck, Paul Lyn’s Ancient Gear Chimeratech deck (nicknamed “Rusty Bucket of Bolts” by his teammates) has won it all!

Paul Lyn’s first challenge here today was to overcome Team Rampage’s Ivan Flores in a mirror match. While both duelists were running versions of Chimeratech OTK, Lyn’s was developed for stall power and lockdown potential — Flores’ build was optimized for pure speed. After losing out in the first duel, Lyn came back to win two games straight and move on to the semis. There, he had to face the Gadget stylings of John Brewer. Brewer was using an offbeat version of Fifth Gadget that included cards like Banisher of the Radiance and D. D. Designator, but for all his clever tricks he just couldn’t stop Lyn’s Machines.

His last match saw him face off with Mark Vazquez in a Shonen Jump final that pitted two Southern Florida natives against each other. He defeated Vazquez’s Monarch deck in a 2-0 blowout that ended with Chimeratech Overdragon swinging on Mobius and Thestalos for game!

While everyone believed that this weekend would be a big one for Machines, and Gadgets did take third and fourth place, I don’t think anyone saw this coming. Paul Lyn’s victory will certainly give duelists across the globe something to ponder as Shonen Jump Collinsville approaches. For now, congratulations to second and third place winners, Mark Vazquez and Chris Evans, and a special congratulations goes out to Paul Lyn for his innovative strategy and Shonen Jump Championship victory!