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Here we are in the finals of the 2006 European Championships. Both of these players have come a long way over the last two days to get to this spot and neither of them were intending to go down without a fight. |
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Dario Longo needs no real introduction. He has proven himself to be one of the most consistent players in the game, winning his National Championship twice, in 2004 and 2006. Not only that, but he also made the Top 8 of the 2005 one! |
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The 2006 European Championships have certainly been a big success for Italy, but unfortunately, it is up to one countryman to knock the other out of the competition at this point. |
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Check out the Top 8 decklists here! |
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This is it. The final round of the Swiss pairings before the Top 8 of the European Championships, and in the feature match area we have Darren Walsh, the Irish National Champion vying for a position in the Top 8 with Swede Sam Sendani-Sedghi, one of only two players to go undefeated on Day 1 of the competition. |
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“The winners are the tops,” remarked Adrian sagely as he shuffled up Koen’s patriotic orange-sleeved deck. |
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As a world super-power, Europe sometimes seems a little divided. Unlike the United States, where each individual state (generally) speaks the same language and enjoys a similar cultural heritage, Europe is a patchwork quilt of languages and cultures. |
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Going into round 10, we have another National Champion at the feature match table, and one who is in formidable form. |
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For round 9, we have a match between the two countries who appear to be performing the best in the European Championships thus far. |
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When I heard that Guan, the Dutch Champion for 2005, was playing Macro Cosmos here today, I was really tempted to cover it as soon as I could. |
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For the final round of Day 1 of the European Championships, there are two Italian players facing off for the coveted position of being undefeated going forward to Sunday’s play. |
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At this precise moment in time, England are 0-0 in their quarterfinal match in the World Cup against Portugal. The last time we won was 40 years ago. The nation, and Shane, is hungry for a second course. |
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Following a deck check in which Robin was informed he had misregistered and couldn’t use Call of the Haunted for the rest of the event, Dorau maintained his advantage, winning both the roll, and having all the monsters on the board in the early game. |
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Around the tournament venue today there are a great many flags. Some of them are being carried around simply to fulfill a sense of national pride. Others, though, have been awarded for bigger achievements. |
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The Yu-Gi-Oh! metagame at the 2006 European Championships is full of interesting contrasts. |
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Kevin Arathoon is something of a free thinker on the UK Yu-Gi-Oh! scene. While others were playing Black Luster Soldier decks, he was busy beating people with burn. Today, where the Chaos monsters are of the Sorcerer variety, he has a rather nifty creation featuring rather more than its fair share of tribute monsters. |
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At the beginning of round one, the excitable Guy Israel had somehow lost a little of the bounce from his step. |
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There have been many long journeys to the 2006 Yu-Gi-Oh! European Championships, but few can have been much longer than the road trip that began on Thursday for various members of Team WHAM(!). |
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