2013 was a strong year for Yu-Gi-Oh. Wind-Ups dominated the end of the September 2013 format. "Pure Mermail" Water, as introduced by Billy Brake and Jeff Jones at YCS Miami, became the best deck in the early stages of the March 2014 format. During that same timeframe, North America got to experience sealed play at a premier event for the first time at YCS San Diego, where Konami introduced the multi-format event into Yu-Gi-Oh with Battle Pack on Day 1 and Constructed on Day 2. Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy came out not too much later, a set that has to be considered the strongest of all time with the four Dragon Rulers, the "babies", [ccProd]Sacred Sword of Seven Stars[/ccProd], [ccProd]Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack[/ccProd], [ccProd]Maldolche Hootcake[/ccProd], [ccProd]Spellbook of Judgment[/ccProd], [ccProd]Geargiagear[/ccProd], [ccProd]Constellar Sombre[/ccProd]s, [ccProd]Evilswarm Kerykeion[/ccProd], [ccProd]Noble Arms of Destiny[/ccProd] and many others. The support was so strong that even after the "baby" Dragon Rulers were banned, they continued to dominate the format, as evidence by Merlin S. from Germany, who became the third European to win a premier event in the United States. I attempted to even the score, for this year at least, by becoming the first American to win in Europe at YCS Turin, using Geargia loaded with maindeck anti-Dragon cards. During the rule of the Dragons, we also had the first ever ARG Circuit Series event take place in Ft. Worth, Texas. The prizes and coverage these events offer are sure to change the competitive landscape of Yu-Gu-Oh forever.
But most importantly, this year has seen a lot of players put together quite a career resume, nevermind that it happened in the same calendar year, and that's the purpose of this "article": to recognize and congratulate those whose hard work has paid off. Let's begin by congratulating the well deserving Champions:
CONGRATULATIONS 2013 CHAMPIONS
North American Events
YCS Miami: Travis Smith
YCS Austin: Oscar Zelaya
YCS San Diego: Angel Ascencio
YCS New Jersey: Tyree Tinsley
YCS Toronto: Edward Kuang
YCS San Mateo: Merlin Schumacher
ARG Ft. Worth: Patrick Hoban
ARG Columbus: Sean McCabe
ARG Worcester: Jerry Williams *
ARG St. Louis: Kevin Silva
European Events
YCS Bochum: Alpay Engin
YCS Lille: Long Dao *
YCS Brussels: Michel Gruner
YCS London: Patrik Rieder
YCS Turin: Samuel Pedigo
Latin & South American Events
YCS Santiago: Jose Valarde
YCS Costa Rica: Jorge Luis Campos Valverde
World Championship Events
North American WCQ: Patrick Hoban
Latin American WCQ: Alejandro Vivaldo Reyes Suarez
South American WCQ: Carlos Andres Perez Padilla
European WCQ: Chris Bountaloudis
World Championships: Shin En Huang
BEST PLAYERS of 2013
Next up—who were the strongest performers of the year? As you’d expect, you’ll see many of those that were on the list above again below.
When it comes to each player’s legacy, all we’ll really remember are their tops, wins and how they made us feel. But on a more micro scale, I feel as though it’s important to recognize a player’s performance on a deeper level. To try to avoid bias, I came up with the following system and I feel like it’s a fairly accurate way of comparing the success of players to one-another. Remember this is just for fun and the main purpose of the list isn’t to put them up against one-another, but to recognize all of them for a job well done during 2013.
2-points are given for each top at a premier event, 1-point for each win during the single elimination rounds and an additional prestige point for each win or Worlds appearance. An *asterisk denotes that the player has been either banned by Konami or disqualified from an event. (I completely removed Simon He for his offense, and probably should have taken out some of the others, as well.) If two players had the same amount of points, ties were determined through (a) the presence of prestige factor(s), (b) quantity of tops, (c) quality of tops and if everything remained equal, the edge generally went to the European player since they have less events (and opportunities to accrue points).
(1) Patrick Hoban
Top 16: YCS Miami
Top 32: YCS New Jersey
Champion: NA WCQ
Top 04: YCS Toronto
Champion: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 08: ARG Columbus
Top 16: YCS San Mateo
Top 16: ARG St. Louis
(2) Michel Gruner
Champion: YCS Brussels
Top 02: European WCQ
Top 04: YCS London
Top 08: YCS Turin *
(3) Alpay Engin
Champion: YCS Bochum
Top 16: YCS Lille
Top 64: European WCQ
Top 02: YCS London
Top 08: YCS Turin
(4) Joshua Schmitt
Top 08: YCS Lille
Top 08: YCS Brussels
Top 64: European WCQ
Top 04: YCS London
Top 04: YCS Turin
(5) Long Dao *
Top 16: YCS San Diego
Champion: YCS Lille
Top 64: European WCQ
(6) David Keener
Runner-Up: North American WCQ
Runner-Up: World Championships
(7) Piyal Peiris
Top 04: YCS Bochum
Top 32: YCS Brussels
Top 16: European WCQ
Top 16: YCS Turin
(8) Paul Cooper *
Top 32: YCS Miami
Top 02: YCS Costa Rica
Top 16: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 04: ARG St. Louis
(9) Aaron Riker
Top 16: Miami
Top 06: North American WCQ
Top 08: World Championships
(10) Robbie Boyajian
Top 16: YCS Austin
Top 06: North American WCQ
Top 08: World Championships
(11) Frazier Smith
Top 32: San Diego
Top 64: North American WCQ
Top 16: YCS Toronto
Top 08: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 16: ARG Columbus
(12) Desmond Johnson
Top 04: YCS Miami
Top 32: YCS Austin
Top 16: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 08: ARG Columbus
(13) James Guerrero
Top 16: YCS Miami
Top 02: YCS New Jersey
Top 16: YCS Toronto
(14) Billy Brake
Top 04: YCS Miami
Top 16: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 04:YCS San Mateo
(15) Chris Bountaloudis
Champion: European WCQ
Top 32: YCS Turin
(16) Merlin Schumacher
Top 16: YCS Brussels
Champion: YCS San Mateo
(17) Jerry Williams
Top 04: ARG Ft. Worth
Champion: ARG Worcester
(18) Carl Manigat
Top 16: North American WCQ
Top 02: ARG Worcester
Top 16: ARG St. Louis
(19) Luca Chetoni
Top 04: YCS Lille
Top 16: YCS Brussels
Top 16: YCS Turin
(20) Galo Orbea
Top 16: YCS Austin
Top 04: YCS New Jersey
Top 16: YCS Toronto
(21) Vincent Ralambomiadana
Top 08: YCS Austin
Top 08: YCS Miami
Top 16: YCS Turin
(22) Tahmid Zaman
Top 16: YCS Miami
Top 64: North American WCQ
Top 16: ARG Columbus
Top 08: ARG St. Louis
(23) Federico Zoppini
Top 16: YCS Lille
Top 08: European WCQ
Top 32: YCS Turin
(24) Norberto Leon
Top 16: YCS San Diego
Top 04: North America WCQ
(25) Oscar Zelaya
Champion: YCS Austin
Top 16: ARG Ft. Worth
(26) Sean McCabe
Top 32: YCS Toronto
Champion: ARG Columbus
(27) Jovanny Castillo
Top 32: YCS San Diego
Top 16: North American WCQ
Top 16: YCS San Mateo
(28) Andrea Zenari
Top 16: YCS Bochum
Top 32: YCS Lille
Top 08: YCS Brussels
(29) Scott Page
Top 02: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 32: YCS San Mateo
Top 16: ARG Worcester
(30) Dalton Bousman
Top 64: North American WCQ
Top 08: ARG Ft. Worth
Top 16: ARG St. Louis
Yes, that is four Europeans occupying the second through fifth spots. If I counted correctly, there are 11 total Europeans. ARG is proud that a strong number of our own players performed strongly—including Patrick Hoban at the number one spot! What else stands out to you?
If you’re disappointed you’re not on this list, it’s either because (a) I missed some data (please comment below for yourself or a friend if somebody else belongs on this list!) or (b) you need to try harder! (You can do it; use this list as motivation!) 30-people is quite a few to recognize as is but they all deserve it. Congratulations to them all, and good luck to them and everybody else out there hoping to be among the best in 2014! The next stop for the Circuit is in Indianapolis, IN on January 11th for a 1K in 1 Day! Then, on January 18-19 it stops in Nashville, TN for a Circuit Series event!
Latest posts by Samuel Pedigo (see all)
- Game of Thorns - May 29, 2014
- January 2014 Prediction, in Accordance with the Prophecy - December 26, 2013
- Yu-Gi-Oh 2013 Recap & Recognition - December 23, 2013
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