Consistency is a huge issue when you’re trying to evaluate the strength of a single player—and even more so when you’re gauging the level of challenge presented by an entire metagame. As such, I figured I’d break down the past fourteen Shonen Jump Champion Top 8s. I want to look at who’s made the Top 8 and how many times, and then use that info to demonstrate how intense today’s field is. The following are the players who have made the Top 8 in multiple Shonen Jump Championships, by my quick count.
5: Theeresak Poonsombat
4: Paul Levitin*, Wilson Luc*
3: Carlos Santiago*
2 Jerry Wang, Mario Begay, Ryan Hayakawa*, Bryan Coronel*, Eric Wu, Anthony Alvarado*, Jae Kim*, John Jensen, Juan Cardenas*, Michael Fukuyama*
It’s a pretty short list, huh? At the top sits the 2004 United States Champion, Theeresak Poonsombat. The irony is that Poonsombat has never won a Shonen Jump Championship, despite being the most consistent player as far as Top 8 finishes are concerned.
Paul Levitin has tied Wilson “Mr. Shonen Jump” Luc with an amazing four finishes, and both are present today, trying to match the legendary Poonsombat’s total. Just below them is Carlos Santiago, Levitin’s teammate who may be set to come into his own here today.
Of the twelve duelists that have made the Top 8 more than once, twelve are currently approved for competition. The amazing thing, and the reason that this article is appearing here today instead of being part of the normal Metagame.com coverage, is that of those thirteen duelists, eight are here today. Literally two-thirds of the best duelists in the game are here to duke it out.
This is by far the biggest showing of celebrity players we’ve ever seen, and there are also a plethora of duelists who have made the Top 8 once and are looking to add their name to the prestigious list above with a Day 2 finish this weekend. A lot of these players have histories together: Paul Levitin and Carlos Santiago are teammates, Juan Cardenas, Ryan Hayakawa, and Wilson Luc are all representing Comic Odyssey, and Coronel and Alvarado are from Team Overdose. Many of them have clashed before, too. Jae Kim probably wouldn’t mind a rematch with Anthony Alvarado after losing to him in the finals of Shonen Jump Charlotte, and there are lots of potential rematches like that one. Will we see any? Here’s hoping. The last few rounds of Day 1 should provide us with some incredible feature matches.
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
PS. If you’re wondering who else has made singular Top 8 appearances, check out the following list.
Matt Peddle
Jesse Twohig
Daryl Gessler
Cas Stomphorst
Chris Mark
Nareg Torossian
Justin Gillison
Brent Yetter
Kris Perovic
Brian Long
Mike Stavinohn
Daniel Fitzgerald
Jason Holloway
Quincy Gordon
Ryan Cerda
Marcial Bode
Lazaro Bellido
Dale Bellido
Augustin Herrera
Brice Thompson
Josh Kavalauskas
Jonathan Navarro
Kirk Leonhardt
Angel Flores
Feroze Ramcharan
David Gross
Emon Ghaneian
Elton Cho
Keanson Ye
Mike Rosenberg
Evan Vargas
Nate Neidelbeck
Chad Justice
Craig Carver
Ernesto Menchaca
David Stivender
Stephen Clavelli
Rhymus Lizo
Mary Triatafilidi
Roberto Martinez
Jimmy Bueno
Kyle Duncan
Tyrome Cox
Donald Meadows
Taylor Brasswell
Christian Martinez
Augusto Mota
Robert Lim
Osman Ortiz
Luke Chen
Michael Fukuyama
Ian Wingrove
Freddie Garcia
Mario James
Raymond Purnama
Michael Vasquez
Ray Ruballos
Patrick Smith
Roy St. Clair
Bryan St. Clair
Gustavo Reyes
Ross Nappi
Dwayne Nunez
Vincent Tundo
Andrew Ferdeloa
Matt Zaabadick
James Laurent
James Coleman
Steve Shockley
Daniel Savage
Gerard Ramirez
Henry Ke
Miguel Flores
Hugo Adame
Patrick Holmes
George Mean
John Umali