7,443 Yu-Gi-Oh! players compete in largest card tournament ever

By Sanj Atwal
Published
split image of yugioh players and yugioh special card

A total of 7,443 people competed at a recent Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in Tokyo, making it the largest trading card game tournament ever.

The event, organized by Konami, was the 10th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Japan.

It also set a record for the most entrants in a trading card game tournament, which is a similar but more specific record that only includes participants who are playing in the same venue at the same time.

The previous record was a 2012 Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in California which involved 4,364 players.

thousands of yugioh players inside a venue

All participants (aka duellists) were randomly matched with an opponent in the tournament’s first round.

Each duel had a time limit of 25 minutes, although some ended in under five.

The losers were eliminated while the winners progressed to the next round, with there being a total of 16 rounds altogether.

However, no one went home empty-handed: each entrant was given a limited-edition card to commemorate the event.

limited edition yugioh card

The winner of the final was a man named Yutaro Takahashi, who said: “I am happy to be a champion! It was thanks to the practise with my friends whom I met through ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG.’ I will do my best to win the next event as well!”

Shunsuke Kazama, the voice actor of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime’s protagonist Yugi, shared a congratulatory message to everyone who participated in the record-breaking tournament: “Congratulations to all the duellists for being recognized by Guinness World Records.

“I believe that this record was only possible due to the cooperation and strength of bonds between each and every duellist. As a result, I think the Yu-Gi-Oh! card games will deepen the unity and bond between duellists, and an even more amazing world awaits.

“I believe that your passion will continue to be passed on to us for many years to come and will become a road to all of us duellists. Dear duellists, please continue to keep your pride in your heart and keep pushing forward.”

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