Steven Adair of Los Angeles’s Team Hustle has done it! After defeating Phillip Fitchew’s amazing Sacred Crane deck in the quarterfinals, Adair, went on to face Sang Bui in the semis. After finally breaking his drought of Top 8 performances, Sang played hard and well, but Adair still managed to defeat the veteran duelist. Finally, Joshua Moreno’s amazing comeback from a game loss penalty in the quarterfinals was drawn to a close, when Adair finished him off in game three of a match that all came down to topdecking!

Adair wins the second-largest Shonen Jump Championship of all time, claiming a brand-new laptop, piles of Shadow of Infinity packs, a copy of the Des Volstgalph championship promo card, and the title of Shonen Jump Champion!

The resolution of Shonen Jump Long Beach is going to give competitive duelists plenty of things to contemplate as the April 1 format approaches. Sand Moth, which arguably won the final match for Adair, is most definitely a tier one card, and many other pieces of tech have emerged over the course of the weekend. But more significant is the pace of play we saw in competition—slow decks lost, and fast decks won. While the past few months have belonged to conservative players, both finalists displayed ruthless aggression throughout all of their matches this weekend, and that’s a trend that we’ll doubtlessly see more of in the next few months. Piercing monsters made a huge impact as well, with duelists finally shaking off the bonds of Spirit Reaper. Exarion Universe, Airknight Parshath, Gravekeeper’s Spear Soldier, and even Saber Beetle all saw play at top tables, and Spirit Reaper’s days as a format-defining card may very well be numbered.

Shonen Jump Championship Long Beach is over, but we’re just two weeks away from Baltimore! The best of the best will show up to throw down and strut their stuff in a brand-new Advanced format. It all kicks off on Saturday, April 8, so mark that weekend down on your calendars and get ready for a whole new paradigm of dueling!