It’s over! Shonen Jump Championship Phoenix has drawn to its conclusion and we have a brand new champ. After more than two years and nine Top 8s, Theerasak Poonsombat is a Shonen Jump Champion!

Running a Machine Beatdown build studded with several of his signature cards plus Crush Card Virus, T mowed down opponent after opponent in the Swiss rounds. In the Top 16 he played his first match against Matt Gibson, a duelist armed with the deck T created, Destiny Hero beatdown. He triumphed over his own creation and moved on to tackle Fili Luna in an intense, four-game mirror match where both competitors pulled out all the stops.

T overcame another mirror match in the semifinals, when he went up against Phoenix local Ivan Ayon. After a showdown of six Card Troopers in the first duel, T went on to defeat Ayon 2-0 in short order.

He then proceeded to utterly destroy US Nationals’ Runner-Up Bryan Rochenbach in the finals! Unfortunate draws for Rochenbach let T sweep the last match in just five turns, ending the tournament with an explosive finish: Ring of Destruction on his own Cyber Dragon. With the flip of a single card, T had finally captured the title that eluded him all these years.

Our congratulations go out to everyone who competed at Shonen Jump Championship Phoenix, especially Theerasak Poonsombat. Today, one of the most genuine, creative, and sporting players this game has ever seen finally scored his long-deserved win.

Congrats, T. You earned it.