Mijail Flores, from Peru, with his Wind-Up Deck beat his opponent, Vladimir Parra, from Colombia, who was playing his Inzektor Deck.

New Dragon Duel Champion, Mijail Flores!

In third place is Wylmer Llanco from Bolivia, playing his Chaos Dragon Deck and in fourth is Cristopher Rodriguez from Ecuador with his Inzektor Deck.

From the left: Mijael, Vladimir, Wylmer, Cristopher

As the Top 32 progress for the Main Event, those born 1999 and later are also Dueling away, with the Top 4.

Vladimir Parra (12-year-old from Colombia, Chaos Dragon) vs. Wylmer Llanco (13-year-old from Bolivia, Chaos Dragon)

Vladimir Parra advances to the Finals.

Mijail Flores (10-year-old from Peru, Wind-Ups) vs. Cristopher Rodriguez (12-year-old from Ecuador, Inzektors)

Mijail Flores advances to the Finals.

Vladimir (front left), Wylmer (front right), Mijail (far left), Cristopher (far right)

This weekend marks the second weekend of World Championship Qualifiers in the Americas - this time for South America, in Bogota, Colombia.  Countries being represented include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and of course, Duelists from host country, Colombia.

Welcome to the South American World Championship Qualifier!

The closest neighbor, Ecuador, has 22 Duelists represented, followed by Venezuela with 12, Peru with 9, Brazil with 6, while Argentina, Bolivia and Chile all have 2 Duelists each.  Good luck to everyone, and may the best Duelist win!  Here are the National Champions from the respective South American countries:

Meanwhile, for the first  South American Dragon Duel (Duelist born 1999 or later) World Championship Qualifier, we have Duelists represented from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.  Who will represent South America at the very first Dragon Duel World Championship?

National Dragon Duel Champions of South America!

Here are the Dragon Duel Champions from South America:

We have a Dragon Duel Champion to represent Central America at the very first Dragon Duel World Championship!  His parents are VERY excited, although it looks like it’s Dad who is going to Japan with his son.

12-year-old Brandon Medrano Palumbo, a native of Mexico D.F., his home store being our Official Tournament Store, Monster Sprim, beat Johan Perez Quezada with his Macro Rabbit Deck 2-1.  Johan, who traveled from Leon Guanajuato, was playing his Inzektor Deck.  If you read an earlier article, you may remember that he is 11 years old, and has only being playing for the last year.  To all of you aspiring Duelists, get your Deck together, the next Dragon Duel WCQ is just a year away!

Brandon (left) vs. Johan (right)

We had a quick chat with the Top 3 Dragon Duelers.  11-year-old Marco, far left, was playing an Inzektor Deck that he built himself.  He came from Costa Rica, and also played in the Dragon Duel at the WCQ in Costa Rica last year, and placed 5th.  He loves Yu-Gi-Oh! because it makes you concentrate.  He got into the game through the Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! series on TV – his favorite character is Yugi!  His message to aspiring players: “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you just have to try to do the best you can!”  I’m sure we’ll be seeing him next year at the Dragon Duel WCQ too!

11-year-old Johan, who has been playing for 1 year, came in second with his Inzektor Deck that he built himself.  He also got into the game through the Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! series on TV – his favorite is also Yugi.  He especially likes the artwork on the cards.  His message?  “Never give up!!”  I’m sure we’ll be seeing him at next year’s Dragon Duel too!

And finally, the Champion, Brandon, from Mexico D.F., got into the game through his older cousin.  He built his own Macro Rabbit Deck.  He just played in the Dragon Duel Mexican WCQ, and has also played at Regionals, and is really looking forward to going to Japan to Duel against lots of great Duelists.  And his message to aspiring Duelists is to put effort into Dueling, and to not give up!  See you in Japan, Brandon!

Brandon (left), Johan (center) and Marco (right)

Meanwhile, the Central American Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier has begun, with the Top 4 Duelists from yesterday invited back to represent Central America at the inaugral Dragon Duel World Championship in Tokyo, Japan.

At Table 1 is Brandon Medrano Palumbo (left), with his Dino Rabbit Deck, against Kevin Vargas Olivares, also playing a Dino Rabbit Deck.

Medrano Palumbo (left) vs. Vargas Olivares

Brandon advances to the Finals!

At the other Table is Johan Perez Quezada (left) with his Inzektor Deck, against Marco Ruiz Campos, also playing an Inzektor Deck.  So we know the finals are going to be Dino Rabbit vs. Inzektors!

Medrano Palumbo vs. Vargas Olivares

Johan advances to the Finals.

In July of last year, the U.S. National Championship was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most of the Duelists there were trying for one of the 4 spots to represent the United States in the World Championship held in Tokyo, Japan. But at the same time, a young up-and-coming Duelist was winning his Duels in the 12-and-Under National Championship. After several rounds, Naveen Shankar from Maryland emerged as the 12-and-Under National Champion. His prize? A special Winter Trip to Japan! Read more…

KDE:  How old are you and where are you from?

NAVEEN:  I turned 13 on January 7^th, and I am from Silver Spring, Maryland.

Read more…

Naveen Shankar

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