yu-gi-oh at conclave

YU-Gi-Oh! YCS Challenge Conclave 2013 Limerick Tournament Report

Having been talked a lot about amongst the Irish Yu-Gi-Oh! community, there was high expectations for the day with people from all over Ireland travelling to Thomond Park for the chance to win a trip to the up coming YCS London. Some of Ireland's best players travelled to the event, each sporting their own variations of the current meta decks (including the newly released and highly popular Dragon Rulers), as well as a few rogue decks hoping that they're unexpected appearance would give them the edge on the day. All in all, there was a very good turn out and players were getting exited as registration was coming to a close.

Round one saw some nerves kick in as people made ruling mistakes and misplays but all were resolved very quickly and without dispute by players. By the end of the round only 2 games went into time and were resolved without any questions. By the end of round 1, nerves were beginning to settle and players were becoming focused on the prize.

Round two was more relaxed and players were very concentrated and professional. Just the same as round one, there were a couple of rulings around timing with different effects but they were all handled quickly and with a decent amount of ease. The round went by relatively easily with only a few judge callings and by the time the end of the round was called, there was only one game remaining. Time on the round was called and they settled the gaame quickly without any problems.

By round three, players had all become fairly aware of the rulings around the more complicated situations within their won decks, which meant there was only one or two judge callings to settle queries that players had around newer card timings but were all resolved near instantly. Due to most of the top bracket seeing more experienced players, there were little to none ruling errors, however the games did take a little longer and when time was called, there were a couple of games left to be finished. After all of these games had been finished, the players were allowed to take a break as they had travelled from all over the country to be at the tournament early in the morning.

After the break for food and rest, players came back relaxed and ready for even more competitive Yu-Gi-Oh!, not forgetting what was on the line. The players were all rearing and ready to go so when the Round four was announced, players were seated and playing immediately with a great amount of professionalism. By the time time was called, there were two games remaining that had taken a bit of time. After prompting, the players were forced to play faster and the round was ended with players beginning to see who would be top bracket and those hopeful few to be making that all important top cut.

With round 5 being the final round, there were some very heated games, which meant there were a few ruling mistakes and questions but all were resolved. With the final round of swiss approaching an end there was one question on everyone's mind, is this enough for me to have made the cut off. With time being called a few games had gone into time and when all were resolved and results entered into the system, it was time to announce the Top 8 who would be battling it out for the flight to London's Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series to be held later this year.

The Top 8 Standings (in no particular order):
Mungo Harris
Ben Arolugun
Michael Mooney
Stephan Byrne
David Stapleton
Adam Hayes
Adam Essa
Connor Fitzgerald

Top 8 Playoffs
Mungo Harris vs Michael Mooney
Adam Essa vs David Stapleton
Ben Arolugun vs Stephan Byrne
Adam Hayes vs Connor Fitzgerald

These playoffs took a bit of time due to the serious level of play required however, considering the level of concentration that is required at the level of competition they were at, they all played through their matches without any level of prompting from the judge. By the end of the first round of playoffs, 4 players remained hopeful in their quest to winning the Conclave YCS London Challenge.

Mungo Harris vs Adam Hayes
Adam Essa vs Ben Arolugun

The top four playoffs were played full of intensity and after prompted to play faster, the players had played their way through to the Finals, seeing Mungo Harris playing against Adam Essa.

Mungo Harris vs Adam Essa

The finals were very intense, however both players were very tired after a day of competitive and it all ended with Adam Essa extending his hand to his opponent after game one due to a misplay and tiredness taking over.

All in all, the day went fantastically and was enjoyed by all. After their photos being taken for the Local Limerick newspaper, awards were handed out and players were began to make their way home, went for food or just stayed to unwind and enjoy the other games that were on display at the gaming convention.

Congradulations to Mungo Harris and all of us will routing for him at YCS London!