After four years of absence and online replacements, Konami is bringing the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship back to its true, in-person format from Aug. 5 to 6 in Tokyo, the company announced today. And while the main event is always going to be the physical card game, Master Duel is going to steal the spotlight as it makes its debut on the global stage.
The event will take place at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center and will feature three separate tournaments for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links, and the first Master Duel WCS. This will be the first time the WCS returns to an in-person format since 2019.
For all three events, Konami is hosting WCS 2023 Qualifiers, but Master Duel is going to be a little different than anything players have seen before. While the TCG and Duel Links will run as regular events, Master Duel’s WCS Finals will be in Team Battle format.
A Team Battle means each Master Duel player who qualifies for the WCS as regional representatives or “Top Duelists” will bring two other players from that region to compete alongside them as a team of three. This will result in a tag-team situation where teams face off in a three-on-three matchup of three separate duels to see who comes out with the most wins in a best-of-one clash between all three players simultaneously.
The only restrictions on that are players must be at DLv. MAX in the game and they can’t team with other regional reps. Additionally, anyone who qualifies for the WCS can only compete in one of the tournaments. The number of Top Duelists will vary between regions.
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For Master Duel, the WCS 2023 Qualfiiers will function in a similar two-stage format to the Duelist Cup starting with an initial run from May 15 to 28. The actual qualifier stage will sit at the end from May 25 to 28. The final rankings will be announced on June 9.
Duel Links will follow that with its own qualifiers from May 30 to June 11, and the official TCG will run on the usual qualifier format. More details for all three games and their WCS qualifiers will be shared in the coming weeks.
