It’s time! Yesterday, Teleport Dark Armed Dragon dominated the field and put a whopping thirteen duelists into the Top 16. Joining them are two Lightsworn builds and one more lone Gladiator Beast deck in the hands of local favorite Eric Ing. His Gladiator build is light-years ahead of those we’ve seen before, packing plenty of main decked tech for the TeleDAD matchup. An upset here today is definitely possible.
Today we’ll see Adam Corn take on Rajvir Singh in the Top 16, as Corn takes TeleDAD against Lightsworn. Corn’s playing Solemn Judgment just as he did last weekend, but Singh is packing triple Royal Decree, and if he can lock it in early Corn may be in trouble.
Next, two rising stars will go head-to-head in a TeleDAD mirror match, as Vinh Nguyen duels Maurice Cariaso. Cariaso’s build is an edgy, teched-out version of the new classic that takes a variety of risks: that will either pay off big in this match, or cost him his life in this tournament.
Next, we’ll see the second of two Lightsworn duelists in action, as the first-ever Shonen Jump Champion John Umali competes against newcomer Jonathon Martz. Umali’s Lightsworn build is well-teched for Teleport Dark Armed, packing three D.D. Crow and two Compulsory Evacuation Device. Experience and tech seem to be on Umali’s side.
Speaking of experience, Shane Scurry is back in his first Shonen Jump Championship since Indianapolis, and he’s taken TeleDAD all the way to Day 2! His opponent is Chris Hentz, another TeleDAD duelist, and a win here for Hentz over the two-time Shonen Jump Champion would be a big upset.
Next we have a big feature match to kick off the morning: Washington’s own Austin Kulman versus Cesar Gonzalez! Gonzalez has proven himself to be one of the most consistent duelists in the world right now, but this is Kulman’s first big showing at a major tournament since he won the US National Championship. He’s back, he’s hungry, and he’s the king of the unexpected win — Gonzalez might have met his match.
We saw George Saavedra duel Kulman in a feature match yesterday, and though that match didn’t exactly go Saavedra’s way (Kulman blew him out in about three turns total), he’s back today in the Top 16 despite that. He’ll duel Nathan Strand in another TeleDAD mirror match.
Shonen Jump regular Alonzo Peters flew under the radar yesterday, quietly creeping his way into Day 2 with Teleport Dark Armed. His opponent, Tora Uy, is playing a TeleDAD build that’s extremely similar card for card — this one is anybody’s game, but experience is definitely on Peters’ side.
Finally, Gladiator Beast duelist Eric Ing will duel one of the deadliest competitors in the Top 16 — Austria’s Claudio Kirchmair! Kirchmair took fourth place at the World Championships this year, and traveled here from Europe strictly to duel in this weekend’s tournament. His trip was clearly worthwhile, and victory here today would be a first for the Shonen Jump circuit.
Deck checks are being completed and the Top 16 round is just minutes away — Welcome to Day 2 of Shonen Jump Championship Seattle!