We’re live at the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links World Championship, with the event taking place for the first time in four years back in Tokyo, the home of the game. Following Konami inviting players the world over, we now know who’s set to leave Japan’s capital city as the new Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links world champion. And trust me, it wasn’t close.
In terms of popular Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links decks for the competition, Speedroids have had a big day with many players bringing the top-tier archetype to the table, but we’ve also seen some Destiny Heroes – one for the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX nostalgia fans out there – plus Trickstar, Odd-Eyes, and Pendulum Magician decks performing well. It’s what we’d been anticipating going into the tournament, but the level of play makes these decks seem even more incredible than they might in the hand of any other players.
The first semi-final featured Moyster versus Takagi, with each bringing their best to the table, but Takagi took the win 3-2 thanks to the perpetually reliable Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. The second bout saw Yukoo overcome Sen. GaOV to set up a final between Yukoo and Takagi, with both showing us how little we really knew about the meta coming in the tournament by executing some unanticipated combos on the greatest stage. If you want to check out the action from Takagi’s semi-final, see out the stream down below and head to the 10:07:00 mark for the beginning of the match.
The grand final took place at Tokyo Big Sight, with Yukoo and Takagi participating in a best-of-five game. Unfortunately for Yukoo, it was a Takagi washout, with the latter winning three duels in a row to pick up his trophy. Takagi made the most of his second-turn advantage in the first round with some incredible Destiny Hero plays, following up with a showcase in the power of Speedroids, before finishing Yukoo’s chances with a slightly off-meta Crusadia deck.
You can check out the stream on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! Youtube channel to see all the action. The final showdown really is something to behold, with Takagi running rampant against the opposition. Of course, we feel for Yukoo, but just one look at Takagi’s game face in the arena, and it was clear the Korean representative was in trouble.
There you have it, all the highlights from this year’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links World Championship, with KC Cup qualifier Takagi leaving as the King of Games. While you’re here, get some extra context for this year’s events with our Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel World Championship coverage.