Jul 3, 2011
Summer is always an exciting time for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, and this year is no exception! Duelists from around the world will be gathering for the 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship in Amsterdam, Netherlands on August 13th, to test their skills in an elite tournament. But not everyone can enter this tournament. In fact, the road to this tournament is a long one. Only the luckiest and most skilled Duelists can participate in it.
The road to the World Championship begins with your closest friends and nearest tournaments. Duels against friends are usually casual. Friends let each other take back moves, and help practice to discover the best possible play in different situations. This lets them improve their skills for local tournaments – a Duelist’s most important training grounds. At those tournaments, Duelists can compete for prizes against people they become familiar with, in a friendly environment.
Once Duelists learn some of the finer points of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, they’re ready to leave their neighborhood and compete in some large-scale tournaments, starting with Regional Qualifiers. In Regional Qualifier tournaments, as many as hundreds of North American Duelists compete for invitations to participate in the World Championship Qualifier (WCQ) that will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 15th. Duelists can also win an invitation to compete in this prestigious tournament by placing in the Top 16 of a Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) tournament, or by winning a Regional Qualifier Public Event at a YCS. Duelists who haven’t qualified for the WCQ by the time the tournament rolls around still have one last chance to earn an invitation, by winning a Last Chance Qualifier in Pittsburgh on the Friday before the WCQ begins.
Lots of WCQs are held in different countries throughout the world, and each one is a little bit different. But they all lead to the same place – the victors can compete in the 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship. In the North American WCQ, the Top 6 Duelists earn invitations and paid trips to Amsterdam to compete in this monumental tournament.
Even if you don’t think you’re ready to win a Regional Qualifier or WCQ, you’ll still have a blast attending it and competing in it. One of the coolest things about showing up to a big tournament is being able to hang out with other Duelists who have the same hobby as you. The atmosphere of fierce but friendly competition is also exciting, and creates a tournament experience that most Duelists never forget.
There are plenty more tournaments coming up this summer, in addition to the 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship and the tournaments leading up to it. On August 6th, there will be a YCS in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a full year of new YCS events and Regional Qualifiers will follow. You can find upcoming tournament information here.
