Going into this round, both players are playing for a slot in the Top 8. Joe is part of the well-established Trotters team, while Jonathan is playing in his first big tournament and doing rather well for himself.
Joe won the toss, and on turn 1, he set a monster and played Swords of Revealing Light, stopping attacks from his opponent for a while. However, Jonathan had Mystical Space Typhoon, allowing him to bash with a fresh new Berserk Gorilla. The Gorilla found out that Joe’s defense-position monster was D. D. Assailant. Jon also had a copy of Mirage Dragon that happily nibbled in for a few more life points.
Things were still looking pretty good for Joe. He had Breaker the Magical Warrior and a copy of Snatch Steal for Jon’s Dragon, clearing the way for some very big life total swings.
Jon’s answer wasn’t a great one in terms of card advantage. His Tribe-Infecting Virus was forced to kill his own Mirage Dragon. Luckily, he also had a copy of Sakuretsu Armor to set, which allowed him to deal with Breaker as well.
In this aggressive battle, the next swing came from a copy of Torrential Tribute that answered Joe’s D. D. Assailant. Joe then used Premature Burial to get Breaker back, but it was bounced by Jon’s Compulsory Evacuation Device. Jonathan then summoned Freed the Matchless General to his side, getting one attack with it before Joe had his Tribe-Infecting Virus put an end to that plan.
Jon’s next attempt to seal the deal came with a second copy of Berserk Gorilla, which found out about Joe’s techy inclusion of Mirror Wall. All of a sudden, the Gorilla was losing its fight with the Virus, and Joe was able to swing back for the win.
Joe wins Game 1.
Joe led off Game 2 with Delinquent Duo, which Jonathan duly negated with Magic Jammer. Joe was further stymied when his D. D. Warrior Lady ran into Sakuretsu Armor.
However, Joe quickly got his revenge—he played Bottomless Trap Hole on a flip-summoned Don Zaloog, and then he played Ring of Destruction on Jon’s D. D. Warrior Lady. Joe sent his own Don Zaloog straight to work against Jonathan and his deck.
A copy of Snatch Steal from Jonathan allowed for some beatings in return, but when Joe used Mystical Space Typhoon on his turn, life got back to normal.
When Jon’s Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer came out to play, the pace of the game slowed down a little as each player restocked. Joe played Pot of Greed followed by Swords of Revealing Light to give himself some time to form a concerted attack force.
While Joe had a copy of Graceful Charity that drew him into Heavy Storm and the killing machine that requires no name, his graveyard didn’t have the necessary Light and Dark monsters to allow for a final deciding attack. Instead, he set Magician of Faith and prepared to go digging with the Charity again the next turn.
Joe’s second copy of Graceful Charity also failed to find the monsters he needed, leading him to play Blade Knight instead. The Knight was met with Compulsory Evacuation Device. Meanwhile, Magician of Faith led the attack and plinked in for a little bit of damage.
After Blade Knight got bounced for a second time, Joe learned the error of his ways and decided to go for a weenie rush strategy. While Sinister Serpent and Spirit Reaper weren’t doing huge amounts of damage each attack, Jonathan didn’t have many life points left.
Jon summoned Berserk Gorilla to stem the tide, but it was trumped by Enemy Controller, which switched the Gorilla to defense position and destroyed it.
With the field clear, Blade Knight finally got to join the party for Joe, delivering the final blow.
Joe Whittaker wins!