Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship will return for first time in four years as part of 25th Anniversary celebration

Japan is going to see an influx of legendary duelists this year.

Image via Konami

More than four years after its last showing, Konami is officially bringing back the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship as a full, in-person event in Japan this August. This will be part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise’s larger 25th-anniversary celebration and will include three different sections of competitive Yu-Gi-Oh!

Recommended Videos

There is no set date for the event yet, likely due to Konami’s reluctance to lock in a time after three straight years of cancelations due to concerns around COVID-19 and other health and safety protocols.

However, the company has confirmed the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG will be joined by Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel as an official section of the World Championship.

Duel Links has been featured at previous events, but this will be the first World Championship with Master Duel included since the newest game’s launch in Jan. 2022. This will fully transition Master Duel into a competitive title tied to the wider Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) too, with details about each bracket and qualifications to come.

In addition to this, Konami has also teased an upcoming special promotion for the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise’s 25th-anniversary project.

The popular media property will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Feb. 4. Various products based on this milestone will be released throughout the year both physically and digitally across various Yu-Gi-Oh! games, like the upcoming Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition and various legacy reprints. 

You can expect product details to drop for 25th-anniversary collabs and releases in the coming weeks, along with more info on the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship.

Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.