11:27 PM: Jimmy Pendravis
I met Jimmy this morning when he came up to tell me how much he’d enjoyed my article on over-extension. Clad in a Berserk Gorilla t-shirt, this was a player after my own heart! I chatted with him a bit, and learned that he was eight years old and had qualified for Nationals this year.
Jimmy’s been playing since he was five, before he could really read the cards. As is often the case, playing Yu-Gi-Oh! helped improve his reading and math skills. He took fourth place at a Regional on December 18. A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Jimmy isn’t going to let the distance between Virginia and California dissuade him from Nationals—he’s earned the invite and he plans to take advantage of it!
Because of his age, he does get underestimated a lot. At a the Regionals that earned him his invite, his round 6 opponent sat down, looked at him, and laughed. Jimmy got the last laugh and beat him soundly. “He stood up and said ‘I can’t believe I lost to a noob!!’” Noob is as noob does, and there’s no arguing with a Nationals invite. At age eight, Jimmy is the youngest player I know of to have ever qualified, so I’ll be sure to check in on him at Nationals and see how he’s performing.
10:40 PM: Top Table Update, Round 10
This is it! The final, absolute, last round of the day. Who’s in the running?
Table 1: Jonathan LaBounty (9 wins) vs. Nareg Torossian (8 wins)
Table 2: Kevin Cavanaugh (8 wins) vs. Steven Kinate (8 wins)
Table 3: Peter Parsons (8 wins) vs. Shane Scurry (8 wins)
Table 4: Anthony Alvarado (8 wins) vs. Chris Pittao (8 wins)
Table 5: Virgil Kong (8 wins) vs. Chris Winkler (8 wins)
Table 6: Wilson Luc (8 wins) vs. Brent Yetter (7 wins)
Table 7: Bobby Chamber (7 wins) vs. Carlos Santiago (7 wins)
Table 8: Nikatas, Katsourakis (7 wins) vs. Vinnie Neang (7 wins)
As always, there’s only room at the top for eight players. It’s been a long day and plenty of players have put up a good fight—we’ll soon see who will be back tomorrow.
9:45 PM: Top Table Update – Round 9 (take 2)
Let’s try this again.
Table 1: Jonathan LaBounty (8 wins) vs. Shane Scurry (8 wins)
Table 2: Bayron Alamanzar (7 wins) vs. Chris Pittao (7 wins)
Table 3: Cory Dickerson (7 wins) vs. Wilson Luc (7 wins)
Table 4: Ramon Liriano (7 wins) vs. Nareg Torossian (7 wins)
Table 5: Peter Parsons (7 wins) vs. Alan Su (7 wins)
Table 6: Anthony Alvarado (7 wins) vs. Luis Marillo (7 wins)
Table 7: Steven Kinate (7 wins) vs. Roy St. Clair (7 wins)
Table 8: Toni Tjandra (7 wins) vs. Chris Winkler (7 wins)
Some changes here, and some new faces at the top—who’s going on to the top tables in round 10?
9:10 PM: Round 9, Take 2—Roll It!
Just when we thought we’d all be out of here by 10:00, due to a computer error, we’re looking at a do-over of round 9. Frantic cheering ensued from those who lost, groans from those who won, but there’s nothing we can do. We’re going to do it all again.
The feature match that slipped through the cracks was a good one, though, so rather than pass on it completely, I’m going to give you a quick recap of it here.
Paul Levitin was paired up with Luis Morillo, and Luis went first. He gained the advantage early on, and finished up the first duel with a win in only a few minutes. Both players shuffled and side decked, and Paul opened up with the usual set monster, set trap.
This was another lightning-fast duel. The cards flew and there was plenty of back-and-forth jousting for the lead, but in the end, Morillo scooped about two minutes into the game after a draw that wasn’t going to protect what was left of his dangerously low life points. Paul went on to a spectacular win in game 3, coming back from behind with after a gutsy, full-speed-ahead onslaught. Faced with two Sheep tokens, Paul had one set back row card on his field and no monsters. He summoned Bazoo, boosted it to 2500 ATK, brought a fallen D. D. Warrior Lady back to the field with Premature Burial, and attacked one Sheep token with her. He opted to remove it from play, removing his Warrior Lady in the process. Huh? Destroyed tokens don't go to the graveyard anyways. But then, he activated his one set spell or trap, which was Return from the Different Dimension! It brought back Reaper, Slate Warrior, Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, and the D. D. Warrior Lady that Paul had removed from the game moments before. He would get to attack twice with the Warrior Lady in a single turn! Reaper hit the last Sheep, Slate Warrior, Bazoo, Dekoichi, and D. D. Warrior Lady all attacked directly, and Paul stole the match from Luis!
It was a match worth watching, and for that reason, we can’t just let it fade away.
8:20 PM: Top Table Update, Round 9
There’s only one more chance after this to secure a spot in the Top 8. Who’s currently in the running?
Table 1: Jonathan LaBounty (8 wins) vs. Roy St. Clair (7 wins)
Table 2; Virgil Kong (7 wins) vs. Ramon Liriano (7 wins)
Table 3: Chris Pittao (7 wins) vs. Shane Scurry (7 wins)
Table 4: Steven Kinate (7 wins) vs. Peter Parsons (7 wins)
Table 5: Anthony Alvarado (7 wins) vs. Nareg Torossian (7 wins)
Table 6: Bayron Alamazar (7 wins) vs. Kevin Cavanaugh (7 wins)
Table 7: Mike Pianka (6 wins, Scrub Brush Challenge competitor) vs. Chris Winkler (7 wins)
Table 8: Chris Evans (6 wins) vs. Keith Gibson (6 wins)
There’s several people who’ve lasted it out for several rounds. That could all change with the next, and final round . . .
7:45 PM: Team Nexus Saves The Day
Because Team Nexus decided to leave early, they were able to give me a ride back to the hotel to grab the forgotten camera battery charger. As you look at the pictures from here on out, say a fervent thank you to Simon Sangpukdee, Feroze Ramcharan, and Frank DeBrito, for without their kind assistance, there wouldn’t be any more pictures. Those guys just can’t stop doing favors for people, can they?
7:30: Team Onslaught
Six members of this nine-member team took a five-hour road trip down from New Jersey to try their luck here in Baltimore. So far, two members are making very strong showings around the top tables, so things could work out very well for them! Present today are Matt Garzone, Kevin Cespedes, Ramon Liriano, Joseph Lombardi , Joe Kazhdan, Joe Abell. The team has been together for over a year, although some members were added more recently.
“We’re all friends, and we like playing together. It makes it easier to get cards and go places.” Three of the team are qualified for Nationals, and if they keep playing like this the rest won’t be far behind.
7:20 PM: Top Table Update, Round 8
It’s coming down to the wire, and players sitting at these tables are going to have to fight hard to stay in the running.
Table 1: Bayron Almanzar (7 wins) vs. Jonathan LaBounty (7 wins)
Table 2: Shane Scurry (7 wins) vs. Roy St. Clair (7 wins)
Table 3: Luis Marillo (6 wins) vs. Mike Pianka (6 wins, a Scrub Brush Challenge competitor)
Table 4: Keith Gibson (6 wins) vs. Toni Tjandra (6 wins)
Table 5: Matt Garzone (6 wins) vs. Ian Hasty (6 wins)
Table 6: Nikatas Katsourakis (6 wins) vs. Steven Kinate (6 wins)
Table 7: Anthony Alvarado (6 wins) vs. Ben Sirichotiratana (6 wins)
Table 8: Chris Evans (6 wins) vs. Chris Winkler (6 wins)
6:40 PM: Ian Estrin, The Face Of Upper Deck
Ian Estrin, is truly a giant among those present here today. I’m not referring merely to his sky-blottingly tall stature—I’m talking about all that hard work and dedication that helps carry these events. =He sits at his computer and he looks up rulings and he consults with the judges and talks to the players and generally works himself to death to ensure that we have a good time at every Shonen Jump. He represents Upper Deck Entertainment with cool competence and quiet dignity. And for this, we thank you, Ian Estrin. What would we do without you?
6:15 PM: Top Table Update, Round 7
Here’s a look at the top tables in Round 7. There are some big shifts here from where we were in round 6.
Table 1: Jonathan LaBounty (6 wins) vs. Ramon Liriano (6 wins)
Table 2: Ian Hasty (6 wins) vs. Roy St. Clair (6 wins)
Table 3: Bayron Almanzar (6 wins) vs. Peter Parsons (6 wins)
Table 4: Robert Ackermon (6 wins) vs. Shane Scurry (6 wins)
Table 5: Chris Evans (5 wins) vs. Nareg Torossian (5 wins)
Table 6: Quincy Gordon (5 wins) vs. Brent Yetter
Table 7: Anthony Alvarado (5 wins) vs. Richard Burgess (5 wins)
Table 8: Salvatore Diez Cansero (5 wins) vs. Michael Hamilton (5 wins)
5:15 PM: Team Xtreme
Despite sitting next to Jason all day, I don’t think I’ve been talking to enough Canadians. Fortunately, Team Xtreme came up for a pic and interview. With only three members (“What do you mean, only three? We only need three. We’re about quality, not quantity!”) Andrew Hayton, Rob Cedar, and Chris Pittao are a small team, but a strong one. All three members are qualified for Canadian Nationals. Rob took first at a Regional event, and the other two qualified at Shonen Jump events.
How do they feel about finally getting a Shonen Jump of their own? “It’s great to get one in Toronto finally. We won’t have to travel!” These guys are from Windsor, Ontario, and as Chris explained, “We haven’t got a card shop in town, so anywhere we go is a four- or five-hour drive. All we do is travel! We’ve been to two-thirds of this year’s Shonen Jumps.”
All members are playing Flip-Flop decks, with some side decking modifications. “There’s a lot of confused players out there today,” Andrew noted. “This is the first event after the format change, so there’s some weird decks out there.” “Yeah, there’s a lot of diversity,” Rob added. “People are playing all kinds of things.”
4:50 PM: Top Table Update
As of Round 6, the top tables looked like this:
Table 1: Roy St. Clair (5 wins) vs. Brandon Tyler (5 wins)
Table 2: Matt Garzone (5 wins) vs. Peter Parsons (5 wins)
Table 3: Robert Ackerman (5 wins) vs. Mike Pianka (5 wins and a Scrub Brush Challenge competitor)
Table 4: Feroze Ramcharan (5 wins) vs. Jonathan LaBounty (5 wins)
Table 5: Steven Kinate (5 wins) vs. Nareg Torossian (5 wins)
Table 6: Bayron Almanzar (5 wins) vs. Anthony Romanello (5 wins)
Table 7: David Daniels (5 wins) vs. Shane Scurry (5 wins)
Table 8: Greg Amari (5 wins) vs. Ramon Liriano (5 wins)
2:50 PM: Kris Perovic, Wannabe Reporter
Kris Perovic has taken over Jason’s seat, because Jason went to get food. He’s sitting here reading every word I type. He dictated the following: “I enjoy Kris’ company, and I hope Jason never comes back.” Sitting around and bothering the writers, reading their screens when they type—this is you do when you’re 2-2 at the end of round 4. Kris informs me that I’ve just broken his heart.
2:40 PM: Team GED
I covered Thai Bui and Team GED at the Durham Shonen Jump, and he mentioned that more of this international team would be getting together at Baltimore. Sure enough, they’ve got 4 players and one judge at this event, and they’re putting in a decent showing.
Brothers Alan and Barry Su, Will Potter, and judge Patrick Thunstrom accompany Thai at today’s event. The international idea is catching on—Thai mentioned that Pojo is working on putting together their own international team, realizing the benefits that come from a wide pool of playtesting. “It’s just talk at this point,” Thai explained. “We picked up a lot of stuff last year that’s hitting here now, when we were traveling in Asia.” That kind of strategy is bound to catch on, and Team GED will be at the events in Toronto, Philadelphia and Indiana. It’s rumored that the new international team is also slated to put in an appearance ad Shonen Jump Indianapolis, so internationally-influenced playtesting will get an even stronger focus.
Thai and Barry are both currently 3-0 going into round 4, and Patrick hopes to take his level 3 test tomorrow. Good things are in store for Team GED.
2:15 PM: Reporters and You
It’s kind of a challenge for us to work today. We’re basically right out on the floor, by the judge station, and everyone keeps coming over to ask us questions, try and give us match slips, ask where their table is, ask where to buy food, offering to buy Winged Kuriboh or asking to play with the Scrub Brush. Speaking of which, I just realized that someone put their leftover Chinese food down right in front of my computer! Hey, maybe we look a little bit like judges, but I’m positive we don’t look like a garbage can!
It does give us the chance to talk to everyone and keep track of how they are doing, though. The reporter area is a popular hangout, especially when we’re out in the open where people can reach us. Hey, stop reading over my shoulder, Kris Perovic!
1:45 PM: Team OldSchool
Shonen Jump events give local teams without much chance to travel a chance at the big time that more visible, well-sponsored teams enjoy on a frequent basis. One such team looking for glory at this weekend’s event is Team Oldschool. Hailing from Rockville, MD, four of their six members were out to represent today. Cody Buhler, Loryn Chen, Jonathan Chen, and Michael Tomasullo are here at today’s event, hoping to get their share of the hometown advantage that’s put players in the spotlight at past Shonen Jump events.
“We’re all pretty good, and hang out a lot at the local tournaments, so we decided to pull together and become an official team,” they explained. They can be found playing at both C&C Collectibles in Rockland, and Dream Wizards (PTO for this event) They also run the weekly tournaments at C&C Collectibles, so these guys put in a solid amount of time on the organizational side of Yu-Gi-Oh! This is the first Shonen Jump they’ve attended as a team, although they make frequent appearances at area Regionals.
The dueling world definitely needs all the tournaments it can get. Good luck to Team OldSchool, who are supporting the game from both sides!
1:30 PM: Scrub Brush Update
We’ve still got some Top 8 Challenge competitors in the running, as several are currently undefeated. Things are looking bleak for some of them, though . . . who will be the first to Scrub?
10:30 AM: The Metagame.com Top 8 Scrub Brush Challenge
Well, I’ve got nine takers for the Metagame.com Top 8 Scrub Brush Challenge, and that means there’s at least one guaranteed Scrub Brush just due to numbers! Meet our brave competitors and track their progress throughout the day. Who will live up to the promise to make the Top 8, and who will get Scrubbed?
10:00 AM: Team Wolfpac
I’ve seen a lot of these players at different events (they put in a strong showing at the Regionals attached to the Atlanta Pro Circuit), so it’s about time we had a chance to hear a little bit about them.
Team Wolfpac is a sizeable team, with fifteen members in total. Eight of them made the nine-hour road trip up from South Carolina to compete today. Representing the team at today’s event, we’ve got Jordan Hodges, Tracy Winbuch, James Burgess, Ian Hasty, Dakota Hickey, Mikey Cannon, and Daniel Brown.
These guys have been testing, traveling, and playing together for over a year, and have seven of their members qualified for Nationals. Will the San Francisco location hold them back? “Nope! We’re all still going to make it there.”
All the team members live in different towns, so they all bring different deck ideas to the table when preparing for an event. “We all tend to play different kinds of decks,” explained Jordan, “instead of running the same thing.” The team is currently without sponsorship, but wouldn’t mind getting it—“as long as we can get someone who’s worthy of us.” They’re here to make their mark, so keep an eye on this team as the rounds move on!
9:30 AM: What Happened to Spring?
The weather here yesterday was absolutely gorgeous! It was mid-70s, sunny, nice breeze, students walking around all over. And today? I walk out of my hotel room to find that it’s raining, and it’s chilly—and I didn’t bring an umbrella. It doesn’t look like it impacted the tournament at all, though. Plenty of players made it out here, so we should have another great event. Rain or no rain, we’ve got a great venue, lots of players, and the prospect of another exciting event.
. . . At least it’s warmer than it was in Durham.