It’s over! 627 duelists gathered here at the Greater Columbus Convention Center this morning, competing for the title of US National Champion. Fourteen hours, ten rounds, and countless victories later, sixteen competitors now remain. Tomorrow, they’ll face off for a chance to represent the United States at the World Championships in Berlin.

The metagame here today was surprising. Gadgets comprised a shocking portion of the field, a read that seemingly no one but Jerry Wang was ready to make. Monarchs, Lightsworn, Dark Armed Dragon, and Gladiator Beasts made up the majority of the remaining field as expected, with rogue decks putting forth some showing but all in all not proving to be particularly successful.

The Top 16 field is truly impressive. Adam Corn will return tomorrow to defend his title against Shonen Jump Champion Michael Lux, in what’s sure to be an explosive match. Other top stars included Robert Ackerman, Shane Scurry, Chris Bowling, Hector Heras, and Miguel Garcia, while a number of up-and-coming duelists we featured earlier today made Day 2. Paul Blair’s innovative Monarch variant carried him to a Top 16 finish, while Philip Culver and Skylar Hunter both made Day 2 with Gladiator Beasts.

The field tomorrow pits plenty of veterans against some of dueling’s most promising new up-and-comers, and four of the final sixteen will go on to represent the US at Worlds. Tomorrow we’ll find out who those four lucky duelists will be, but for now, the Top 16 are retiring for a night of well-deserved rest. Join us tomorrow at 10 AM, as we see how the final four rounds of this tournament play out!