The sun has risen here in Detroit, and the Top 16 are ready to play off!

First up, first seed Cody Miller takes on Brian McDonald, in a match that pits Machine beatdown against Monarchs. But this matchup isn’t what it seems: what would normally be a highly advantageous match in favor of Miller’s Machines is complicated by McDonald’s use of Mother Grizzly, which will help him seek out Treeborn Frog and compensate for his hindered Brain Controls.

Next, James Neumann takes on Ted Kruzsely in a Machine beatdown mirror match. Kruzsely is running a pair of Banisher of the Radiance in his main deck, but they won’t help him here, and could cost him ground in the race to build a focused offense. Kruzsely’s also using Sakuretsu Armor instead of Widespread Ruin, and that’s going to cost him.

Jeffrey Paura and Shawn Kuchta will face off in another mirror match, this one pitting two of the Top 8’s three T-Hero builds against each other. Paura has the advantage in game 1, armed with Crush Card Virus, but Kuchta has the ability to side into Horus the Black Flame Dragon and Royal Decree, something that served him well all Saturday. Games 2 and 3 could see domination from the young Nexus star.

Jonathan Labounty duels Jeremy Frierson in what may be a vicious crush match. Frierson is playing Trooper-less Monarch, with two Brain Control, two Soul Exchange, and two Sakuretsu Armor. Labounty is running Machine beatdown, and is going to absolutely punish Frierson for those cards. If Labounty doesn’t win here, I’ll be surprised.

John Meyers may fare better, when he pits his Trooper Monarch build against Michael Cordero’s Machine beatdown. Meyers is running a minimum of targeted effects, and is running Widespread Ruin, so he may be well-equipped to take down Cordero. Still, this is a matchup that is inherently in Cordero’s favor, and Meyers’ work is cut out for him.

Next, Ryan Gamble plays Andre Borges, taking T-Hero against Perfect Circle Monarchs. Borges’ deck is the only Perfect Circle build in Day 2, the last of what appears to be a dying breed, but with Perfect Circle somewhat off the radar of competitive duelists he could be a solid wildcard pick today.

Then, Matt Peddle takes on Fili Luna’s build of Machine beatdown, the deck he created for 2007 Canadian Nationals, against Miguel Albarran. Peddle is the originator of the deck he’s using, but Albarran is running Trooper-less Monarch, and is packing a pair of main decked Electric Virus, a creative and deadly twist. A win here over Peddle would be huge for Albarran, and huge for Electric Virus.

Finally, Fili Luna takes on Jason Lynch, playing an aggressive deck with Crush Card Virus against Lynch’s Trooper-less Monarch. Crush Card Virus puts this match straight into the pocket of Luna, at least if he can draw it, and experience is on his side. Again, a win here from Lynch would be a huge upset, and would work wonders for his reputation.

The Top 16 are preparing for competition, so get ready for some intense feature matches! The top decks of the format are all here, and today we’ll see which one reigns supreme. In mere hours we’ll have a brand new Shonen Jump Champion — stay with us to see who it will be.