The “Best Four Days in Gaming” are drawing to a close, but the action is far from over!
2005 Belgian National Champion Guy Israel stunned the world yesterday when he went undefeated, claiming the top-ranked spot in Day 1. He’s up against Sergio Zamorano in what appears to be a Machine beatdown mirror match, but looks can be deceiving. Zamorano’s deck is packed with an unconventional number of Monarchs, and win or lose, it seems they’ll be the deciding factor.
Of the many competitors who played Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest yesterday, Billy Brake was the one to make it to the Top 16. Where Jeff Jones, Corey Defeo, Roberto Martinez, and many more stumbled, Brake made it all the way. But now he’s up against the man who was once one of the most feared duelists in the game! Jerry Wang is back in Top 8 action, and he’s packing the proven Machine beatdown. It should be a great matchup for Brake, but superior Top 8 experience and the unpredictability of Jerry’s style (fondly nicknamed “The Wang Factor”) may just prove to be too much.
Canadian star Lazaro Bellido will go head-to-head with returning Top 8’er Victor E. Reinert, pitting Perfect Circle against T-Hero. Bellido narrowly lost to Jessy Samek in the finals of Philadelphia a few months ago, and now he’s wielding the deck that defeated him. But this is a classic matchup that could go either way, and Reinert is not to be underestimated. We’ve got a classic Destiny Hero showdown, and it’s confirmation that Aster’s monsters are far from over in this format.
Next, Corey Roberts will duel Darelle Reese, in a Monarch match that will see Perfect Circle take on Card Trooper Monarchs. Which is the best Monarch build? That’s been a debated topic all format long, and today we’ll have another piece of evidence in favor of one of the two strategies.
Shane Scurry brought an unconventional Tomato Engine beatdown deck to the fray this weekend, and he’ll play John Meyers and his Trooper Monarch build in the first round of the Top 16. Scurry should be well-prepared for this matchup, armed with superior experience and likely anticipating this matchup. If Meyers can overcome his opponent this morning it will go a long way toward establishing himself as a star. Can he succeed, or is Scurry on his way to yet another Shonen Jump title?
Kenny So, owner of Comic Odyssey, has finally made it to Day 2 of a Shonen Jump! Years of attempts have finally paid off, and now he’s up against Jon Moore’s Trooper-less Monarch deck in round 1 tomorrow. Moore’s underdog status may overshadow his substantial experience and intuition, but he may get a chance to let his natural talent shine in this match.
Finally, rising star Jeff Paura has made an impressive showing yet again with his T-Hero deck, armed with Crush Card Virus. Coming off Top 8 showings at both Shonen Jump Detroit and the US National Championships he’s carrying a huge amount of momentum, but this time he’ll tackle his biggest challenge yet: the one — the only — Fili Luna, perhaps the best duelist this format!
Deck checks are being completed and the competitors are being seated. Machine beatdown, Perfect Circle, T-Hero, Trooper, and Trooper-free Monarchs, plus three rogue decks, have all made it to the Top 16. Welcome to Day 2 of Shonen Jump Championship Indianapolis!