Yu-Gi-Oh! Just Broke Two World Records At The Biggest Trading Card Game Tournament In History

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Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the world's biggest trading card games, but did you know it held the Guinness record for the number of tournament participants? One more medal (or trophy? What does Guinness award?) for publisher Konami, which managed to break its previous record and set another at the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Japan TOKYO 2024.

The event, which was held at Tokyo Big Sight (aka the Tokyo International Exhibition Center) on April 28 and 29, marked the first time in the YCSJ’s ten-year existence that it spanned two days. In that time, Konami reports that 7,443 attendees registered for the competitive tour, which set the Guinness World Record for the most participants in a TCG tournament. The record-judging organization defines participants by how many people played against each other during the same block of time at the same location.

Additionally, that massive field of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Duelists—all Special Summoning Monsters and Activating Trap Cards—broke another record previously held by Konami. YCSJ TOKYO 2024 earned the honor of being the largest trading card game tournament (counting everyone who participated in the single-tournament event), surpassing the 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series held in Long Beach, California in March 2012.

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Guinness officials were on hand to present Konami with their certificates (ah, that answers my earlier question) during a special ceremony, which accompanied the crowning of YCSJ champion Yutaro Takahashi. Saying he beat a record-breaking 7,442 duelists is quite the boast, but a press release characterized the winner with some humility: “I’m happy to be champion! It was thanks to practicing with my friends whom I met through ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG.’ I’ll do my best to win the next event, too!”

Not all of the recent Yu-Gi-Oh! news is happy, as the publisher recently updated its rules in such a way that non-native duelists cannot place in the top ranks of competitive play or win tournaments. Konami has yet to confirm or deny that these were the intended consequences of the 2024 rules update, but it could be difficult or impossible for those living overseas in Japan to advance beyond a certain point of organized play.

If you want to stay up to date with all the expansions and booster packs coming to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG this year, Dicebreaker has you covered. Interested in some of the best cards from the latest pack, Legacy of Destruction? We've got that, too.

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