In the past month I’ve traveled to three different countries to report on three season-ending tournaments, and each one has been completely different. Invitation rewards, tournament schedule, and even the trophies have varied drastically between the Canadian National Championships, US National Championships, and this weekend’s European Championships. Let’s take a look at the path that led hundreds of duelists to Italy here today, and the gauntlet they’ll have to run to earn the title of European Champion.
A grand total of 688 duelists were invited to this event, from countries all over Europe. There were four ways to qualify: through your country’s National Championship, your National ranking, your Continental ranking, and by special invitation. Make the Top 8 of your National Championship and you received an invite. Then, the top players by ranking in each country were also awarded invitations — the number of invites given for National ranking was scaled dynamically depending on the size of your country’s playing community. Currently the ballpark quotes I’ve found are 16 to 32 players per country, though I think some countries may have had fewer rankings invitations.
If you didn’t get an invite through either of the first two methods, then you might have still managed to get an invitation by being a highly-ranked duelist on an all-of-Europe basis. The top 150 duelists in Europe not already qualified were awarded invitations as well, bringing some balance for highly-competitive countries with larger communities.
Finally, noted former champions like the reigning World Champion Dario Longo and former World Champion Markou Miltiadis received special invites. Worldwide fame and superior performance in the name of Europe? It’s good for some perks here and there, deservedly so.
Speaking of perks, there are some awesome prizes and participation incentives reserved for those who compete here this weekend. Everyone who competes receives an attractive shirt that marks them as a 2007 European Championship competitor. Duelists and judges receive a commemorative coin struck especially for this event, and I really can’t express how cool these are: pictures don’t do them justice. On one side, the Yu-Gi-Oh! logo is featured front and center, with the words “European Championship 2007” emblazoned around it. On the other side, “Torino Italy” is written in bold lettering. Both sides of the coin feature a border-detailing made of tiny “GX” logos, which circles around the entire outside of the coin. This pattern is capped off by a stylized take on the Dual Academy jacket strap, similar to that used on the Toys “R” Us Throwdown Dorm Patches. They look awesome, and will surely be a treasured keepsake for anyone participating in or judging at this event.
Take a top placing tomorrow, and you’ll earn something even cooler: a hefty medallion with which to signify your achievement. Essentially larger versions of the participation coins, the medals feature the same back-and-front design and the same GX-styled border detailing. They’re about five times the size of the coins, and come in a very nice lined case.
But it gets cooler! The winner this weekend will get to carry off what might be the most attractive Yu-Gi-Oh! trophy of all time. Molded especially for this event, only one exists, and it’s crafted of Plexiglas and what I’m told European craftsmen refer to as “all-silver.” The trophy consists of a metal back and front with a Plexiglas core: a solid metal trophy would shatter in the case of a sizable impact, and this thing has been built to stand the test of time.
The reason? Check out the back of the trophy and you’ll get your answer. The back features six removable inlays, each of which are marked with a year. In the upper left you can see the name of 2006’s Champion, the Netherlands’ Vincent Wielandt. That’s right: this trophy will be awarded cup-style, and kept for at least the next five years as a reminder of the European Championships’ prestigious history. When this trophy is filled with Champions in 2011 Vincent’s spot on the back will be retired to the 2012 champ. This trophy represents a new piece of Yu-Gi-Oh! history, and there’s only one word to describe it: gorgeous.
So, what stands between one lucky competitor and a spot on that trophy this weekend? Flat out, one of the longest, two-day, season’s end Championships yet. Today, hundreds of duelists will battle through seven rounds of Swiss play. The Top 128 at the end of the afternoon will proceed to Sunday, and another gauntlet of Swiss-style elimination awaits them. Tomorrow’s preliminary competition will be five rounds long, and from there a cut to Top 8 will be made and playoffs will take place. Three rounds later, we’ll have a new European Champion.
Hundreds of hopefuls, two days, and fifteen rounds total. In 36 hours, four duelists be qualified for Worlds in San Diego, and one will have earned the title of European Champion.