Yesterday the collected duelists amassed here in Turin, Italy, to duke it out in the first seven rounds of Swiss-style competition. Today the Swiss rounds continue, with five more matches standing between us and the Top 8 playoffs!

Big names in contention today include former Belgian Champions Guy Israel and Wim Eliano, reigning German Champion Vittorio Wiktor, the United Kingdom’s Duncan Tang, reigning European Champion Vincent Wielandt, and the World Champion, Team Overdose’s Dario Longo! London’s James Pennicott, Irish Champion Brian Dunne, and Finlandian Champion Alexander Trivedi continue to hang in there too, holding out hopes for the 5-0 showing they need to make today to get to the playoffs.

Once a duelist does make it to the Top 8, the pressure just increases. Only the final four duelists will qualify for the World Championships, so the sixth round today could very well be the most dramatic of the weekend. From there, two more rounds will determine who takes home the ultimate prize: the title of European Champion, and infinite glory for a duelist’s country.

Italian, German, Belgian, Swiss, French, British, Portuguese, and Dutch duelists still remain in the Top 32, so it’s anybody’s guess which nation will lay claim to the Championship this year. Almost half of the Top 32 is Italian. With the second largest player community in Europe and the venue being on Italian soil, they most definitely have the advantage, but the day is young and anything could happen.