It’s been a good year for Organized Play, hasn’t it? Hundreds of Regionals tournaments, massive turnouts at Sneak Preview Weekends, exciting Nationals events in several countries, the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships, and of course, the Shonen Jump Championship Series. Not quite a year old, this series has garnered lots of attention from players, judges, and the media, and this trend is bound to continue into the late summer and fall. There are several tournaments in the series, so if you haven’t made it to one yet, you’ll get your chance. Keep an eye on the tournament schedules to find out when there will be a Shonen Jump Championship in your area.
However, one of your best chances to play in a Shonen Jump Championship will be in Indianapolis this summer at Gen Con Indy. One of the year’s largest gaming conventions, Gen Con draws gamers of all kinds from all parts of the world and packs them into one convention center for four days. With so many other Yu-Gi-Oh! events to participate in as well—multiple Regionals, Win-A-Box tournaments, and side events like Booster Drafts—this Shonen Jump Championship event is not to be missed.
If you’ve never been to a Shonen Jump tournament, you’ve probably at least heard about them. If you’ve checked out the coverage we’ve had on Metagame.com, you can’t help noticing that Shonen Jump events are big. Attendance at these events ranges from around 200 to over 700 players! Nowhere else can you find the excitement and intense energy that you’ll find at a Shonen Jump Championship. There are players from all over the country (and occasionally from outside it), well-known teams, and new teams hoping to capture the spotlight. There are individual players with exciting new deck ideas, experienced players who’ve seen and done it all, and even a fair amount of brave players who choose a Shonen Jump event as their first Organized Play experience. There’s nothing else quite like it, and everyone should take the opportunity to experience it at least once.
And prizes—let’s talk about those prizes. The prize payout at a Shonen Jump event matches everything else about it. In other words, they’re big and exciting. First place gets a high-end laptop computer, an uncut sheet of ultimate rares, a very handsome trophy and an incredibly rare promo card. Cyber Stein has had its time in the spotlight, and a brand-new card will be unveiled for the first time at the Indianapolis Gen Con event. Prizes for second through eighth places could be iPods, Nintendo DS and Playstation PSP handheld gaming systems, and PS2s. Booster packs are awarded for a substantial part of the rest of the event, usually down to at least thirty-second place. You know you want a shot at all of that!
There are some strategies that will help you get the most out of the event, and I’m going to pass a few of them along. The first thing I’ll tell you is to pre-register for the event, make sure you have your event ticket, and arrive early for registration. The lines to register can stretch on and on and on, up to and beyond the registration time cutoff, and the later you arrive, the longer you’ll have to stand in them. You don’t want to miss out on the tournament by being late!
Arrive at the venue when registration opens, if not before, and have your event ticket and your UDE Tournament ID number ready so you can get registered without a hitch. You can get a decklist ahead of time as well, so if your deck is ready, bring that along and make sure it’s completely and legibly filled out. This will save you some time and trouble. If you need tokens, or if you’re using cards that require die rolls or coin flips, make sure that you’ve got those items as well as a way to keep track of life totals.
Once you’re registered, you can walk around, meeting people and talking to other players, or you can sit down and make some trades. Remember, if you’ve handed in your decklist, it’s too late to change your deck. If you haven’t, and you make some changes to it, make sure to clearly alter your decklist before handing it in. Now it’s time to relax, find a spot to hang out, and soak up the atmosphere! There certainly is a lot of action.
Make certain that you keep an eye on your things. It’s a crowded event and it’s easy to forget something, lose it, or unfortunately, have someone take it off your hands. Your best bet is to avoid bringing a lot of stuff with you, like huge backpacks, bags from the exhibition hall, or an excessive amount of boxes and binders. It will be very crowded in the event area, and the less you’re dragging around, the better. Drop off extra items in your car or your hotel room before you head to the tournament, so you won’t have to worry about them.
One of the best things about a Shonen Jump event is the judge staff. Most Tournament Organizers will spend a lot of time and money to get the best judges they can, so you should definitely avail yourself of our services! If you need a ruling to be clarified or some help in sorting out a chain, raise your hand and we’ll be there to help.
These events are really busy, so most judges won’t be able to answer too many casual questions not related to the games in progress, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if there is some time between rounds and you see a judge that isn’t busy. Be prepared to be reasonable, though. Don’t bring in a four-page list of rulings scenarios you’ve always wondered about, because we probably won’t be able to get you through it. Always remember to treat the judge staff with respect. It’s a long day for us as well.
Keep in mind that the event might start a bit late. That can happen when hundreds of people are all trying to register at once. Aren’t you glad you got there early and you aren’t still in line? Anyway, once the event begins, you’d better get prepared for a long day. There’s nothing like a Shonen Jump Championship to test your endurance! The average Shonen Jump has nine rounds, and I’ve been to two that had ten! There are a lot of match slips to enter into the computer, and there are bound to be several outstanding matches in a field that large, so there are usually some delays in between rounds. This is often a good time to grab a quick bite to eat or take a bathroom break. Just don’t wander far from the event itself—you don’t want to miss your next round!
As the rounds move on, you’ll need to keep your wits about you. Each matchup is going to give you a chance to learn something about your deck as well as the deck across from you. You’ll get a phenomenal amount of practical play experience at a Shonen Jump Championship, since you’ll see decks, plays, and combos that you’ve never seen before. Even if you’re in a mirror match, see what your opponent does with the same kinds of cards in the same kinds of situations—you can use this opportunity to gain some valuable insights. It’s easy to get locked into one approach and not notice other possibilities when you aren’t playing against inventive, challenging opponents on a regular basis. Both wins and losses will teach you a lot about how your deck performs and how it can be improved.
You will find your performance is better if you make sure to get some food regularly and stay hydrated. That can be difficult in a long event without lunch or dinner breaks, especially when the food choices nearby tend towards the hot dog, nachos, and soda variety. Use the time between rounds (or when you finish up early) to take care of yourself, and remember that an occasional break to get out of the event hall, walk around, and breathe some fresh air can revitalize you if you feel like your energy’s slipping.
Shonen Jump Championships are certainly enormous, but they don’t have to be overwhelming. The play experience and the fun of the event itself make it worth the trip to compete. Making it through all those rounds is a real accomplishment, regardless of how highly you place. These Championship events are truly in a class by themselves, and you should definitely take the opportunity to experience one for yourself. Who knows—maybe you’ll even end up in the coverage right here on Metagame.com!