In a major announcement, Konami has revealed a lot of details on this year’s Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2023, which will also be multi-platform and multi-format! This means that the tournaments for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG will be separate from other smash-hit digital formats Master Duel and Duel Links.
The 2023 Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship will also be the first in-person championship since the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a major announcement in its own right. We still have no information on what kind of regulations will be in place, but they are bound to be announced at some point in the future.
The location for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship was revealed to be the Tokyo Big Sight – Japan’s largest international exhibition center, with 40 meeting areas and an approximate capacity of 138000 people. Clearly, Konami is looking to make a statement with their in-person TCG tournament return – fitting for a World Championship stage. Any qualified player can compete for the bragging rights of being the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG “King of Games” on 5-6 August.
Master Duel and Duel Links Get a World Stage
Master Duel will also receive massive amounts of attention from Konami, as the game has been a massive success and is responsible for a steady income of new players to the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! due to its steady player base. The first stage of qualifiers will begin (in-game) on 16 May at 12:00. The winners of this stage will then advance to the regional qualifier, which will begin (in-game) on 29 May at 13:00. The winners of that bracket will advance to a final 3v3 or 5v5 Team Battle format showdown – Master Duel’s newest mode.
Duel Links has also been receiving attention from players as a more light-hearted format of Yu-Gi-Oh with some pretty neat and interesting mechanics. This combination of special rules offers a whole new style of play and empowers some non-meta decks – something which players love and appreciate. The first stage of the 2023 Duel Links World Championship qualifiers begins on May 30th at 12:59 and will last all the way to June 12th. Those who advance from the 1st stage will compete at the regionals, which start on June 9th at 13:00. Players who rank the highest in the regional stage will be invited to the Finals.
Konami has also confirmed that all Duelists who made it to the final stages of the qualifiers will be invited to championships in Europe and Oceania. The Yu-Gi-Oh! European Championship already has a date and a location – it will be held on 30 June lasting until 2 July, at the Jaarbeurs exhibition center in Utrecht, Netherlands. No details for the Oceanic Championship have been released at this time.