Until then,
peace out!
We are now in the final match of 2011 greek national championship! After 8 rounds of swiss, 2 knockout games and something more than 12 hours in duration, this tournament has finally come to an end. This final duel will be a Gravekeeper's mirror match. We had our eye on Bountaloudis all day today but Iliadis might hold the advantage here as his main deck is better teched for the mirror match. Let's see who will be the best Gravekeeper's player at the end of day and become the national champion!
Iliadis won the dice roll and will play first.
Initial hand of Iliadis: Effect Veiler, Caius the Shadow Monarch, Gravekeeper's Recruiter, Dark Hole, Torrential Tribute.
Iliadis drew Sever Tools of the Bandit, set Recruiter and two spell or traps and passed.
Bountaloudis activated Mystical to destroy Seven Tools, then set a monster and 3 cards to his backrow.
Iliadis tributed Recruiter for Caius but Bountaloudis activated Warning to negate the summon. He added another Recruiter to his hand and passed.
Bountaloudis flipped Assailant! He normal summoned Descendant without using priority but Iliadis activated Torrential. Bountaloudis chained Seven Tools to negate it then attacked with both monsters for 3000 damage.
Iliadis drew Commandant. He activated Dark Hole to clear the field and then normal summoned Commandant but attacked into Prison.
Bountaloudis set a spell or trap and passed.
Iliadis drew Effect Veiler. He normal summoned Recruiter and pressed for 1200 damage.
Bountaloudis set another card to his backrow.
Iliadis drew Prison, then attacked into Bountaloudis' Prison and set his own before passing.
Bountaloudis set another spell or trap.
Iliadis drew Stele and passed.
Bountaloudis activated Pot of Duality to reveal Royal Tribute, Gravekeeper's Spy and Necrovalley. He added the Spy to his hand and set it.
Iliadis drew Spy and set it as well.
Bountaloudis flipped his Spy but Iliadis used Veiler on it. However, Bountaloudis used his Book of Moon to his Spy to ensure that its effect will pass. He special summoned Recruiter in defense position and set another monster before ending his turn.
Iliadis drew Gale. He flipped his Spy to special summoned Recruiter. He normal summoned Gale and tried to tune it with Spy for Black Rose but Bountaloudis flipped Oppression and negated the summon! The life points were 5000-3000 with Iliadis leading.
Bountaloudis drew for his round and passed now locked down by his own Oppression.
Iliadis drew Commandant. He activated Stele for Spy and Recruiter. He set the Spy and passed.
Bountaloudis set a spell or trap and passed.
Iliadis drew Mirror Force and set it. He set another monster and passed back.
Bountaloudis drew a card and passed.
Iliadis drew Pot of Duality and revealed Royal Oppression, Seven Tools and another Duality. He added Duality to his hand and passed play to Bountaloudis.
Bountaloudis normal summoned Descendant and tributed Recruiter to destroy Iliadis' face-down Prison. He added another Recruiter to his hand and passed back.
Iliadis drew Solemn Judgment. He activated Pot of Duality to reveal Solemn Warning, Necrovalley and Descendant. He took Descendant and normal summoned it with priority to tribute Recruiter to destroy Bountaloudis' Solemn Judgment. He added another Descendant to his hand. He flipped his set Recruiter and tribute it to destroy Torrential Tribute. Bountaloudis opted not to activate it. Iliadis got another Descendant from his deck. The Descendants on the field traded in battle and he set one spell or trap before ending his turn.
Bountaloudis drew and set a monster, then passed.
Iliadis drew Rite of Spirit. He set it and set a monster as well.
Bountaloudis drew and activated Stele for Descendant and Recruiter. He flipped his set Recruiter and normal summoned Descendant, tributing with priority the Recruiter but Iliadis used his second Veiler on the Descendant. He added Commandant to his hand, set a spell or trap and ended.
Iliadis drew Prison. He summoned Descendant but Bountaloudis activated Warning. Iliadis chained Solemn Judgment to let the Descendant remain on the field. He flipped his set Commandant and tributed it with priority for the Oppression. Then he flipped his Spy to special summon Assailant in attack position and tributed it to destroy his opponent's set Spy. He tributed the Spy as well to destroy another set Spy. Finally, he activated Rite of Spirit to special summon a Spy and tribute it to clear the last obstacle in his way. Descendant attacked directly for game!
Iliadis led the game to a prolonged battle where he managed to draw all the tech he needed to win the first duel. On the other hand, Bountaloudis got locked down by his own Oppression. Both players dive to their side decks and the second duel will start with Bountaloudis playing first.
Initial hand of Iliadis: Mystical Space Typhoon, Caius the Shadow Monarch, Mirror Force, Seven Tools of the Bandit, Gravekeeper's Commandant.
Bountaloudis kicked off the second duel with 4 set spells or traps.
Iliadis drew Stele. His Mystical hit a Dust Tornado. He normal summoned Commandant but attacked into Prison. He set 2 spell or traps and passed.
Bountaloudis summoned Commandant and pressed for 1600 damage.
Iliadis drew Prison and he set it.
Bountaloudis attacked and Iliadis activated Prison. He chained Seven Tools but so did his opponent. Commandant was removed and Bountaloudis set another card to his backrow.
Iliadis drew Effect Veiler and passed.
Bountaloudis passed back.
Iliadis drew Solemn Judgment and set it but lost it to Mystical in the end phase.
Bountaloudis drew and passed again.
Iliadis drew and set another spell or trap.
Both players picked up speed and do nothing than draw, pass and sometimes set a card in their back row, for the next 2-3 turns. So, we reached a situation where Iliadis has 6 cards in his hand and 3 cards in his backrow and Bountaloudis has 5 set spell or traps and 4 cards in his hand.Bountaloudis tried to free space in his backrow and activated Dust Tornado but selected his opponent's set Mystical which he chained to destroy My Body as a Shield. He then activated Pot of Duality to reveal Cyber Dragon, Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Recruiter. He selected the Recruiter to add to his hand and passed.
Iliadis drew Warning, set it and passed back.
Bountaloudis drew and passed, as well.
Iliadis drew Recruiter and set a monster.
Bountaloudis special summoned Cyber Dragon, then used Nobleman to remove the set Recruiter. He summoned Recruiter and attacked directrly with both of his monsters. He set 2 spell or traps and ended his turn.
Iliadis drew Cyber Dragon. He special summoned. Bountaloudis let it pass. After a bit of thinking he fusion summons Chimeratech Fortress Dragon with the 2 Cyber Dragons. He ran over Recruiter and Bountaloudis got another from his deck. Life points were 2100-6200 with Bountaloudis leading.
Bountaloudis activates Dark Hole on his turn. He normal summoned Recruiter but Iliadis activated Solemn Warning to negate the summon and drop to 100 life points! Bountaloudis set one more spell or trap and passed.
Iliadis drew Spy and set it to end his turn.
Bountaloudis activated Stele for 2x Recruiter. He summoned Recruiter and attacked into Spy! Warning negated the effect and destroyed the Spy.
Iliadis drew for his turn and special summoned Cyber Dragon. He then normal summoned Gale and used its effect to halve Recruiter. He tuned both of his monsters for Scrap Dragon but Bountaloudis activated another Warning! However Iliadis had another Cyber Dragon to follow up and Bountaloudis is forced to use Solemn Judgment on him and drop to 700 life points!
Bountaloudis drew for his round and summoned another Recruiter but when he tried to attack directly Iliadis flipped Mirror Force (His last remaining defense, a set Compulsory Evacuation Device)! He searched his deck for a Commandant and a Descendant and ended his turn with a set spell or trap.
Iliadis drew and activated Pot of Duality to reveal Book of Moon, Puppet Plant and Gravekeeper's Spy. He added Puppet Plant to his hand and proceeded to summon it and attack for game!!!
Alexis Iliadis is the 2011 Greek National Champion!!!
We are in the semifinals and it comes down to these two close friends who travelled all the way to Athens from Thessaloniki to face each other for a ticket to the finals! Alexis Iliadis is a relatively new player seeking to make a name of his own. To do that he has to overcome the reigning National champion in a match that pits Gravekeeper's against X-sabers. Let's see if Iliadis has what it takes to dethrone the champion!
Anestakis won the dice roll and will go first in the game.
Initial hand of Iliadis: 2x Gravekeeper's Spy, Caius the Shadow Monarch, Gravekeeper's Stele, Gravekeeper's Assailant.
Anestakis set a card to each zone and passed.
Iliadis drew Recruiter. He set Spy and passed back.
Anestakis set another monster and ended his turn.
Iliadis drew Book of Moon. He flipped his Spy and special summoned Descendant without using priority. Anestakis let it pass. He then tributed Spy to destroy the set Solemn Judgment of his opponent. He tributed Descendant for Caius and removed a set Darksoul. Then set one spell or trap and passed.
Anestakis set another monster and passed.
Iliadis drew Dark Hole and set a monster to end his turn.
Anestakis flipped Hamster and special summoned Darksoul in face-down defense position. He normal summoned Fulhelmknight but Book of Moon flipped it face-down.
Iliadis drew Mystical. He flipped his set Spy to special summoned Descendant. He normal summoned Recruiter and tributed it to destroy the unknown set monster: it was another Darksoul. From Recruiter he got Commandant and eventually Necrovalley from his deck. Caius destroyed Hamster and Descendant destroyed Fulhelmknight. He set Mystical and ended his turn. Anestakis searched his deck for Pashuul.
In his turn, he activates Dark Hole. He followed up with Boggart Knight to special summon Pashuul in defense position. He attacked with Boggart and set a spell or trap but lost it in the end phase to Mystical (Gottoms' Emergency Call). He searched for another Pashuul and passed.
Iliadis drew another Necrovalley. He activated Dark Hole and then Stele for 2x Spy. He activated the field and set one Spy to end his turn.
Anestakis normal summoned Pashuul and used Mind Control to take Spy. He flipped it and synchro summoned Brionac. Brionac attacked directly and he set one spell or trap before passing.
Iliadis drew Gale. He normal summoned Assailant and switched Brionac in defense position to destroy it in battle.
Anestakis set a monster and passed.
Iliadis drew Descendant. He normal summoned Gale, attacked with it into Emmersblade and Anestakis special summoned another. In main phase 2 he halved Emmersblade then synchro summoned Arcanite Magician in defense position and destroyed the two cards of Anestakis.
Anestakis set a monster and passed.
Iliadis drew Pot of Duality. He revealed Rite of Spirit, Necrovalley and Royal Oppression and added Oppression to his hand. He set one card to each zone and passed.
Anestakis set a spell or trap and passed back.
Iliadis drew Stele. He flipped his set Spy and special summoned Recruiter. He normal summoned Descendant tributing Recruiter with priority for the set monster. Hamster was destroyed and he added another Recruiter to his hand. Spy and Descendant attacked directly and then tributed Spy for the set spell/trap. Anestakis chained his Book of Moon to flip the Descendant face-down.
Anestakis drew and set 2 cards to his backrow.
Iliadis drew Dimensional Prison. He flipped Descendant, normal summoned Recruiter and attacked with both monsters. Anestakis was only able to chain Mystical to destroy Necrovalley and take less damage but after seeing his next draw he scooped.
Iliadis wins the all-important first duel! Let's see if he'll be able to win the second duel as well and advance to the final!
Initial hand of Iliadis: Gravekeeper's Stele, Pot of Duality, Caius the Shadow Monarch, Solemn Judgment, Necrovalley.
Anestakis went first and started things off with a set card in each zone and Closed Forest!
Iliadis drew Seven Tools of the Bandit. Pot of Duality revealed Commandant, Recruiter and another Duality. He took the Recruiter and set a monster and 2 spell or traps.
Anestakis flipped his set Hamster to special summon Darksoul in face-down defense position. He normal summoned Boggart Knight and special summoned Pashuul in defense position. He tuner Hamster and Pashuul for Barkion but Iliadis activates Solemn Judgment! Anestakis chains Seven Tools but Iliadis has a Seven Tools as well and Barkion is destroyed! Boggart attacked into Recruiter and Iliadis added another to his hand.
Iliadis drew Necrovalley and set the Recruiter.
Boggart Knight destroyed it and Iliadis took his last Recruiter from his deck to his hand. Anestakis set one card to each zone and ended his turn.
Iliadis drew Cyber Dragon. He special summoned it and ran over Boggart Knight, then tributed it for Caius but Anestakis flipped Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror.
On the following turn, Anestakis normal summoned Emmersblade and attacked into Caius to special summon Pashuul in defense position. He then flipped his set Darksoul and tuned his monsters for a massive Naturia Beast (with the boost from Closed Forest)! He set a spell or trap and in the end phase he searched his deck for Emmersblade.
Iliadis drew Effect Veiler. He normal summoned it, tuned it to Caius for Black Rose Dragon but Anestakis activated Solemn Warning! On his turn he flipped Darksoul and attacked with both monsters for game!
Anestakis shuts down Iliadis plans in the second duel with Closed Forest! The semifinal will move on to a third duel! Iliadis will go first in the final duel of this match.
Initial hand of Iliadis: Seven Tools of the Bandit, Dark Hole, 2x Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Commandant.
Iliadis drew Gravekeeper's Descendant. He used Commandant to get Necrovalley and activate it and then set a card to each zone.
Anestakis set a monster and passed.
Iliadis drew Pot of Duality. He flipped Spy to special summon Recruiter and normal summoned Descendant. Recruiter was tributed to destroy the set monster (Hamster) and he added another Recruiter to his hand. Descendant and Spy attacked directly.
Anestakis set one card to each zone and passed.
Iliadis drew Necrovalley. The Pot of Duality revealed Torrential Tribute, Dimensional Prison and Assailant. He added Torrential to his hand then normal summoned Recruiter and tributed it with priority for the set monster (Darksoul). Descendant and Spy attacked directly once more.
Anestakis drew for his turn and scooped revealing a hand full of monsters!
Anestakis drew a bad opening hand and lost the third duel and the match! Iliadis advances to the finals with 2-1!
It's time for the knock-out phase of the tournament! Eight players have made it this far but only half of them get to advance to the next round. We have Christos Mourikis with Six Samurai versus Alexis Iliadis with Gravekeepers. Now, let's see who will be the winner at the end of this!
Mourikis won the dice roll and will start first.
Initial hand of Mourikis: Upstart Goblin, Kagemusha of the Six Samurai, Mirror Force, Enishi Shien's Chancellor, Six Samurai United.
Mourikis drew Hand of the Six Samurai. He activated Upstart and drew Giant Trunade. Then activated United, normal summoned Hand and set a spell or trap before passing.
Iliadis discarded Commandant for Necrovalley. He normal summoned Descendant then activated Necrovalley. He entered battle phase but attacked into mirror. He set 2 cards to his backrow and passed.
Mourikis drew Royal Oppression. He activated Trunade then played again United. He normal summoned Kagemusha and synchro summoned Shi En. He send United to the graveyard to draw another and Kizan. Then he special summoned Enishi, activated the second United, special summoned Kizan and attacked with everything for 6500 damage. He set one spell or trap and passed.
Iliadis activated Necrovalley again and Mourikis let is pass. He normal summoned Gale, halved Shi En and attacked him but Kizan was sacrified in his place. He set 3 cards to his backrow and passed.
Mourikis drew Double-Edged Technique. Enishi destroyed Gale with its effect and Shi En attacked directly.
Iliadis is left with 1250 life points. He set one card to each zone and passed.
Mourikis drew and summoned Kagemusha. He sends United to the graveyard to draw Signal and Trap Dustshoot. He tuned Enishi and Kagemusha for Scrap Dragon then targeted his set Double-Edged and Necrovalley with Scrap Dragon. He tried to chain Double-Edged but could not summon any monsters because Necrovalley was still in play until Scrap Dragon's effect resolved. Scrap Dragon declared an attack but Iliadis activated Compulsory. Shi En negated it but Iliadis chained Mirror Force to destroy both monsters! Mourikis set a spell or trap and passed.
Iliadis flipped his set Spy but Mourikis chained Oppression. Iliadis used Seven Tools to negate Oppression. He special summoned Descendant without priority. He normal summoned Recruiter and attack with everything. In main phase 2 he tributed Recruiter to destroy the set Dustshoot and take Commandant and finally Necrovalley from his deck and activate it.
Mourikis drew Kizan. He used Signal to get Kagemusha, normal summoned it and special summoned Kizan. He synchro summoned Naturia Barkion and attacked Spy for game!
Mourikis put pressure on Iliadis early in the duel and it paid off! Both players check their side decks and soon we move to the second duel.
Initial hand of Mourikis: Cyber Dragon, Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, 2x Dust Tornado, Six Samurai United.
Iliadis set a card to each zone and passed.
Mourikis drew Double-Edged Technique. He special summoned Cyber Dragon and attacked into Spy. Iliadis special summoned Recruiter. Mourikis set 2 cards in his backrow to end his turn. Iliadis used Mystical to destroy Dust Tornado in the end phase.
Iliadis tributed Recruiter for Caius to remove Cyber Dragon and add Commandant to his hand. He discards Commandant for Necrovalley. Then attacked directly with Caius for 2400 damage and activated Necrovalley.
Mourikis drew Hand of the Six Samurai. He activated United then normal summoned Hand and special summoned Kizan. He drew Signal and Reinforcements from United. Hand was tributed to destroy Caius and Kizan attacked directly.
Iliadis special summoned Cyber Dragon and ran over Kizan. He set a spell or trap. In his end phase Mourikis used Dust Tornado to destroy Necrovalley.
Mourikis drew Dark Hole. He used Signal for Kagemusha and Reinforcements for Kageki. He summoned Kageki, special summoned Kagemusha and then tuned them for Shi En. Shi En ran over Cyber Dragon for 400 damage.
Iliadis special summoned another Cyber Dragon. He then used Puppet Plant to take control of Shi En. Mourikis tried to chain Double-Edged technique but Iliadis had Solemn Judgment! Iliadis attacked with everything for game!
Iliadis equals the game! A third duel will be needed to see who is going to advance to the semifinals!
Initial hand of Mourikis: Kagemusha of the Six Samurai, Mind Crush, 2x Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai.
Mourikis decided to play first in the final duel of the match. He drew Musakani Magatama, normal summoned Kagemusha and special summoned Kizan and Grandmaster. He tuned Kagemusha and Kizan for Barkion and set 2 cards to his back row to end his turn.
Iliadis discarded Commandant for Necrovalley but Mourikis used Mind Crush to send it to the grave and reveal Solemn Judgment, Royal Oppression, Puppet Plant, Gravekeeper's Assailant and Caius the Shadow Monarch in his hand. He used Puppet Plant to take control of Grandmaster and tributed it for Caius to remove Barkion. Caius attacked directly and set 2 spell or traps before passing.
Mourikis drew Kageki and passed.
Iliadis activated Pot of Duality to reveal Necrovalley, Commandant and Mystical. He took Mystical then summoned Assailant and attacked with both of his monsters.
Mourikis drew and activated Upstart to draw Nobleman of Crossout. He set Kageki and Nobleman but Iliadis used Mystical in the end phase to destroy it.
Iliadis drew Commandant and discarded it for Necrovalley. He activated the field spell card and attacked with both of his monsters for game!
Iliadis beats down Mourikis with Puppet Plant and Caius to move on to the semifinals with 2-1!
We have reached the final swiss round and we will focus on a bubble match. Tato is the most successful Chaos Plant player today and Mpeis is playing Six Samurai. Both players are at 6-1 and a win here is vital for a top 8 finish. Tato wins the dice roll and will play first.
Initial hand of Tato: Lonefire Blossom, Monster Reborn, Foolish Burial, Return from the Different Dimension, Mystical Space Typhoon.
Tato drew Seven Tools of the Bandit and immediately started his combos. He normal summoned Blossom, tributed it to special summon another and tributed the new one to summon Dandylion. Monster Reborn for Blossom and tribute Dandylion to special summon Spore and 2 tokens to his field. He tuned Spore and one of the tokens for Formula Synchron to draw Mystic Tomato. Then removed the Blossom in his graveyard to special summon Spore back to the field and tuned it with the remaining token and the other Blossom for Stardust Dragon! He set 4 cards to his backrow and ended his turn with a very comfortable setup.
Mpeis drew and asks his opponent for the effects of Shooting Star. After a lot of thinking he activates mystical targeting a face down card and Tato lets it pass. Foolish Burial was destroyed. He then activated Dark Hole and Stardust negated it. He followed up with Signal for Spirit of the Six Samurai and normal summoned it. He special summoned Grandmaster and equipped Spirit to him but when he attacked Formula, Tato activated Mystical to destroy Spirit. Formula was destroyed, and Mpeis set a spell or trap before passing. Tato brought back Stardust.
Tato drew Effect Veiler. He normal summoned Tomato. Stardust ran over Grandmaster and Mystic Tomato attacked directly.
Mpeis drew and set one more spell or trap.
Tato drew Pot of Avarice and attacked directly with both of his monsters.
Mpeis drew. He activated Double-Edged Technique but Tato chained Seven Tools to negate it. He set a card to each zone and passed.
Tato drew another Pot of Avarice. He activated Return but Mpeis used Oppression to block it. Stardust destoyed the set monster and Tomato attacked directly.
Mpeis drew Gateway and scooped revealing his set Double-Edged which was now dead due to the Oppression.
Both players had drawn into god hands, since Mpeis had the Shi En plus Oppression combo in his opening hand, but only the player who won the dice roll managed to put his plans to motion. Tato is leading the match with 1-0.
Initial hand of Tato: Solemn Judgment, Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, Mystical Space Typhoon, Seven Tools of the Bandit and Debris Dragon.
Mpeis kicked off things with Signal for Kageki and then Upstart Goblin. He drew into Gateway! He normal summoned Kageki to special summon kagemsha and then special summon Kizan. He synchro summoned Shi En and then used his bushido counters to search his deck for Grandmaster and Hand. He set one spell or trap and passed.
Tato drew Puppet Plant and used it to take control of Shi En. He then activated Mystical to destroy the face down Reinforcements of the Army of his opponent. He normal summoned Lyla, ran over Kizan with Shi En and attacked directly with Lyla. In main phase 2 Lyla destroyed Gateway and Tato set 2 cards in his backrow. In the end phase Shi En was returned to Mpeis and Lyla milled Gorz, Monster Reborn and Giant Trunade.
Mpeis special summoned Grandmaster and ran over Lyla, then Shi En attacked directly. He set a spell or trap and passed.
Tato summoned Doomcaliber Knight.
Mpeis summoned Hand and tribute it to take Doomcaliber with it to the graveyard. He special summoned Kizan and attacked with everything for game!
Mpeis equals the score! We move on to a third and final duel.
Initial hand of Tato: Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, Charge of the Light Brigade, Mystical Space Typhoon, Torrential Tribute and Solemn Warning.
Tato drew Debris Dragon. He activated Charge to mill Ryko, Caius and Trap Dustshoot and add Ryko from his deck to his hand. He normal summoned Debris to special summon Ryko and then Synchro Summoned Iron Chain Dragon. He set 3 cards to his backrow and passed.
Mpeis activates Signal for Hand which he normal summoned it on the field. He special summoned Kizan but Torrential Tribute cleared the field. Then he activated Dimensional Fissure and set 2 cards to his backrow.
Tato drew another Pachycephalo. He normal summoned it and attacked directly.
Mpeis tried to normal summon Kizan but Solemn Warning stopped him and Kizan was removed.
Tato drew Chaos Sorcerer. Pachycephalo attacked directly and then he set Ryko.
Mpeis set a monster and passed.
Tato drew Dandylion. In standby phase Mpeis flipped Rivarly of Warlords but Tato used Mystical to destroy it. He then flipped Ryko but Mpeis activated Warning to negate the summon.
Mpeis set another card to his backrow on the following turn and passed back.
Tato drew Mystical and set it.
Mpeis activated Reinforcements of the Army to add Kagemusha to his hand. He normal summoned it and flipped the set Kageki. Kageki attacked Pachycephalo and Tato activated Mystical to target one of his opponents face down cards. Mpeis used another set card, a Magatama, to protect his other set card and negate Mystical. Pachycephalo was destroyed and Kagemusha attacked directly. In main phase 2, he thought for some moments and then he synchro summoned Shi En after he noted that there were 1 light and 1 dark monster in his opponent's graveyard.
Tato drew Mind Crush. He special summoned Chaos Sorcerer in attack position and removed Shi En with its effect. Then normal summoned Pachycephalo and attacked directly. He set a spell or trap before passing.
Mpeis drew and normal summoned Kizan. Kizan ran over Pachycephalo and in main phase 2 he activated Double-Edged for Kizan and Hand. Hand tributed Kizan to destroy Chaos Sorcerer and in end phase it self-destructed for 1600 damage. Time was called at this point. Life Points were 4500-2400 with Tato leading.
Tato drew Gorz and passed.
Mpeis drew to one card in his hand and Tato with 2 cards in his hand (Gorz and Dandylion) activated Mind Crush declaring Grandmaster and he got it right!!! Kizan attacked directly and Tato dropped Gorz!
Next turn Tato drew Chaos Sorcerer then summoned Dandylion and attacked with everything for game!
A risky Mind Crush payed out extremely well for Tato and clinched the final duel in his favor! Tato overcame Mpeis with 2-1 to secure a place in the top 8!
Koltoukis is one of the few remaining players in the tournament with 6 wins and he is playing Twilight! Let's see how he will fare against Pantelidis playing Frognarch.
Initial hand of Pantelidis: Fishborg Blaster, Pot of Avarice, Spirit Reaper, Effect Veiler, Enemy Controller.
Pantelidis won the dice roll and started the match. He drew Archlord Kristya, set the Fishborg and passed.
Koltoukis kicked things off with Solar Recharge discarding Lyla to draw 2 cards and mill Mystical and Gorz. He followed up with Gold Sarcophagus for Judgment Dragon. Then he normal summoned Ehren and kicked Fishborg back to the deck. He set a spell or trap and in end phase milled Glow-Up Bulb, Plaguespreader Zombie and Monster Reincarnation!
Pantelidis set Treacherous Trap Hole and Spirit Reaper and passed. But the Trap Hole was destroyed in end phase by Mystical.
Koltoukis summoned Card Trooper. Milled Ryko, Gold Sarcophagus and Foolish Burial for its effect but as he tried to enter battle phase Pantelidis used Veiler on Ehren. Then he put one card on top of his deck to special summon Plaguespreader and tune all his monsters for Trishula. Trishula remover Pot of Avarice from the hand of Pantelidis, the set Spirit Reaper and the Veiler in the graveyard. Finally, he entered battle phase and attacked directly for 2700 damage.
Pantelidis drew Raiza and passed.
Koltoukis added Judgment Dragon to his hand and then removed Gorz and Lyla from his graveyard to special summon Chaos Sorcerer. He attacked directly with both of his monsters and ended his turn.
Pantelidis drew and scooped.
Ehren and Trishula shattered Pantelidis' plans and helped Koltoukis to win the duel. After some quick side decking we move on to the second duel.
Initial hand of Pantelidis: Giant Trunade, Raiza the Storm Monarch, Battle Fader, Effect Veiler.
Pantelidis drew Cyber Dragon and passed.
Koltoukis activated Solar Recharge with Garoth as cost to draw 2 and mill Tragoedia and Allure. Another Recharge with Lumina for 2 more cards and mill Lyla and Nobleman of Crossout. He then ended his turn.
Pantelidis drew Caius, set Trunade and passed.
Koltoukis normal summoned Plaguespreader and tried to attack directly but Pantelidis used Battle Fader. Main phase 2 he removed Tragoedia and Garoth for Chaos Sorcerer and removed Battle Fader from the field. He followed up by synchro summoning Stardust Dragon and passed.
Pantelidis drew another Caius. He special summoned Cyber Dragon then tributed it for Raiza to bounce Stardust and attack directly for 2400 damage.
However, Koltoukis had another Chaos Sorcerer which he removed his first Sorcerer and Lumina from his graveyard, to special summon it. Pantelidis used Effect Veiler to his effect and when he tried to special summon Plaguespreader from his graveyard, he chained D.D. Crow to remove it.
Pantelidis drew Dark Dust Spirit. He tributed Raiza for Caius to remove Chaos Sorcerer and attack directly.
Koltoukis drew to 5 cards in hand. He activated Monster Reincarnation with cost Wulf for Lyla. Then used Dark Hole to destroy Caius. He normal summoned Lyla, attacked for 1700 damage and then used its effect to destroy Giant Trunade. In the end phase he milled Charge, Veiler and Jugdment Dragon.
Pantelidis drew Archlord Kristya and passed.
Koltoukis ended his turn and milled Ehren, another Judgment Dragon and Ryko with Lyla.
Pantelidis drew and set a monster.
Koltoukis activated Foolish Burial for Wulf and special summoned it to the field. Then activated Nobleman of Crossout to remove the face down monster! Wulf and Lyla attacked directly and when Pantelidis saw his next draw he scooped.
Pantelidis' hand was clogged with tributes in the second duel and Koltoukis managed to win the match 2-0!
Participating in this year's greek national championship we have former yugioh world champion Miltiadis Markou! After almost 4 years of inactivity he has returned back to action. He is playing Six Samurai, a deck he picked up just the day before. Let's see how well he can adapt his game to match the skill of Nikos Houris(top16 ycs Bochum). Both players are at 4-1 and a win here is necessary to sustain the possibility of a top 8 finish.
Initial hand of Markou: Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, Kagemusha of the Six Samurai, Mystical Space Typhoon, Reinforcements of the Army and Call of the Haunted.
Houris won the dice roll and will go first in the game. He opened with Pot of Duality revealing Royal Oppression, Gravekeeper's Commandant and Gravekeeper's Spy and added Spy to his hand. He set a monster and 3 spell or traps to end his turn.
Markou drew Hand of the Six Samurai. He used Reinforcements to take Kageki from his deck and tried to summon it but Houris responded with Solemn Warning. He passed with no further plays.
Houris flipped Spy to special summon Recruiter. He tried to attack with both but Markou dropped Gorz from his hand on the first attack. He set one card to each zone and passed.
Markou drew Solemn Warning. He normal summoned Kagemusha and tried to synchro for a level 9 synchro before his opponent pointed out that he could not, with only two monsters. Markou has not fully adapted to synchro summoning yet! He then tried to attack Spy with the token from Gorz but Houris activated Mirror Force. He set 3 cards to his backrow and passed.
Houris flipped another Spy. Markou activated Warning but Houris had Seven Tools to let the summon pass. He brought Descendant from his deck and tributed Recruiter for his effect to destroy Gorz. From Recruiter he got Commandant and discarded it to get Necrovalley. He tributed both of his Spy to destroy the last 2 set cards. Markou chained Mystical to destroy Royal Oppression. Then he activated Necrovalley and attacked directly with Descendant. In main phase 2 he activated Stele to get 2x Spy from his graveyard and set one of them.
Markou summoned Hand and destroyed Descendant after using Mystical Space Typhoon on Necrovalley.
However, everything was over next turn when Houris flipped Spy and special summoned another Descendant.
Houris' deck worked in perfection and got him the first duel of the match. Markou will play first in the second duel.
Initial hand of Markou: Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki, Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, Dust Tornado, Monster Reborn and Six Samurai United.
Markou drew Grandmaster of the Six Samurai. He activated United and then normal summoned Kageki to special summon Grandmaster. He drew 2 cards from United (Signal and Mystical). He set Mystical and Dust Tornado and ended his turn.
Houris set a monster and 2 spell or trap cards. But Markou destroyed both in the end phase! Torrential Tribute and Seven Tools of the Bandit were sent to the graveyard.
Markou drew another Dust Tornado. He used Signal to get a Kagemusha from his deck and summoned it to tune it with Kageki for Shi En. Grandmaster attacked into Recruiter and Houris got a Commandant from his deck. Shi En attacked directly for 2500 damage. He set the Dust Tornado and passed.
Houris activated Puppet Plant to take control of Shi En. He normal summoned Gale to halve Grandmaster and attacked with both of his monsters. Main phase 2 he tuned his monsters for Scrap Dragon. He then used Commandant to get Necrovalley from his deck and activated it. He set one card to his backrow and passed. Markou used the Dust Tornado in the end phase to destroy Necrovalley.
Markou drew Kizan. He activated Reborn to special summon Kagemusha. Then normal summoned Kizan and synchro summoned Brionac. Gorz was discarded to send Scrap Dragon back to the extra deck and Brionac attacked directly to drop Houris to 3200 life points.
Houris activated Pot of Duality to reveal Stele, Book of Moon and Solemn Judgment. He added Stele to his hand and used it to get Recruiter and Commandant back from his graveyard. He fetched another Necrovalley from his deck with Commandant and then activated it. He set one card to each zone and passed.
Brionac discarded the new draw (Kizan) to send the monster back to Houris' hand. Another direct attack for 2300 and Houris had only 900 life points left.
Houris drew and special summoned Cyber Dragon to defense position. He set another monster and passed.
Six Samurai United was discarded for Brionac for the set monster again and Brionac destroyed Cyber Dragon.
Houris set one card to each zone and passed.
Markou drew Forbidden Chalice. It was used for Brionac's effect again and when attacked Book of Moon was used to turn him face down.
Houris normal summoned Recruiter and run over Brionac.
Markou drew Puppet Plant and used it to take Recruiter and attack for game!
Markou managed to keep his opponent's monsters at bay and forced this match to a third duel!
Initial hand of Markou: Puppet Plant, Solemn Warning, Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, Gorz the Emissart of Darkness and Monster Reborn.
Houris kicked off things with Pot of Duality to reveal Gravekeeper's Spy, Compulsory Evacuation Device and another Pot of Duality. He took Spy. Then he set one monster and 3 cards to his backrow.
Markou drew Cyber Dragon. He special summoned it and attacked into Mirror Force. He set one monster and Solemn Warning to end his turn.
Houris flipped his set Spy but Markou used Warning to negate its summon. He pressed on special summoning Cyber Dragon and then normal summoned Assailant. Cyber Dragon destroyed the set Kizan and Assailant attacked directly. Markou opted not to special summon Gorz.
Markou drew Forbidden Chalice. He tried to activate Monster Reborn but Houris had Solemn Warning.
Houris attacked with Assailant. After a lot of thinking he decided not to attack with Cyber Dragon. In main phase 2 he discarded Commandant to get Necrovalley and activate it.
Markou drew Kizan. He normal summoned it then used Puppet Plant to take control of Assailant. Assailant attacked and destroyed Cyber Dragon after switching it to defense position. Kizan's attack was met with Dimensional Prison.
Houris drew and set a spell or trap. He decided to play it safe and wait for an out to a potential Gorz.
Markou drew Six Samurai United and passed.
Houris drew and set a monster.
Markou had to act. He drew Kageki and activated United. He normal summoned Kageki and used the United to draw one card. But he was unable to draw into something useful and Houris next turn flipped Recruiter and normal summoned Descendant to attack Kageki and win the match.
Houris played an excellent game and dodged Gorz to overcome the resistance of Markou and win the match 2-1!