Round 3 was where the tournament started getting heavier. No more free breathing room, no more casual warm-up duels. Every match had that feeling of “one bad set, one bad attack, one bad read, and your tournament starts falling apart.”
The fourth round was not played as a full round. Instead, only the match for first place was played, so this post covers the Round 3 matches first and then closes with the final match. Results are kept at the end, so watch first if you do not want spoilers.
Round 3 - Efra vs Gaona
This match opened with a clean contrast: Efra trying to keep the game moving with Dekoichi, Don Zaloog, Thunder Dragon and removal, while Gaona leaned into Gravekeeper pressure, Necrovalley, Rivalry of Warlords and annoying flip monsters.
The first duel had a lot of little exchanges that mattered. Gravekeeper's Guard bounced pressure back, Ring of Destruction punished an early summon, and Creature Swap turned the board into a mess. From there, the match kept shifting between control pieces and direct pressure.
The later games got more uncomfortable. Banisher of the Radiance, Jinzo, Necrovalley, Rivalry and Heavy Storm all showed up at different moments, and one of the biggest swings came from a Metamorphosis line into King Dragun. It was not a clean match. It was one of those games where both players keep asking “is this enough?” and the answer keeps changing.
Round 3 - Epydemius vs Kztoor
This one was much more direct. Big bodies, battle traps, Skill Drain attempts, Brain Control swings, and a lot of monsters getting thrown into each other until somebody finally ran out of board.
Epydemius started with the kind of opening that looks scary on paper: Giant Orc into Deck Devastation Virus. Kztoor had to play through hand reveals, graveyard pressure from Kycoo, and a series of monster trades involving Berserk Gorilla, Goblin Attack Force, Zombyra and D.D. Assailant.
Nimble Momonga bought time, Torrential Tribute reset the table, and both players had moments where they looked ready to steal the duel back. But this match was always dangerous because the board never stayed small for long. One Brain Control, one Premature Burial, one clean attack sequence, and the whole duel could flip.
Round 3 - Arena vs Angel
This was probably the weirdest match of the round in the best way. Arena brought the heavy monster package with Mausoleum of the Emperor, Reasoning, Monster Gate, Horus, Jinzo and Dark Magician of Chaos. Angel answered with a normal monster engine, Heart of the Underdog, Order to Charge, Unexpected Dai and Black Luster Soldier.
The first duel already showed what kind of match this was going to be. Spirit Reaper stalled, Heart of the Underdog started threatening extra cards, Morphing Jar blew everything open, and Black Luster Soldier appeared early enough to make the table nervous.
The second and third duels went even harder into the nonsense. Mausoleum paid life points to cheat out tribute monsters, Dark Magician of Chaos recycled Brain Control, Monster Gate found bodies at exactly the kind of moments that make people complain, and Horus LV8 turned one answer into nothing. It was ugly, explosive, and very NeoGoat.
Round 3 - Grondal vs Castro
This match was slower and more annoying. Not bad annoying. Real NeoGoat annoying. Dekoichi, Tsukuyomi, Night Assailant, Sinister Serpent, Scapegoat, Sakuretsu, Ring of Destruction, Nobleman and small direct attacks that slowly became impossible to ignore.
The first duel had Don Zaloog doing Don Zaloog things early, ripping cards while tiny bits of damage kept adding up. Castro had answers, but the pressure kept coming back in small pieces. The game became a grind over who could keep one monster alive long enough to matter.
The second duel had a strange Creature Swap start, trading Sinister Serpent and Cipher Soldier, and from there the game turned into a long fight over value. Dekoichi drew cards, Swords of Revealing Light bought time, Ring punished Airknight, and Kycoo eventually became a huge problem because the graveyard started to matter more and more.
Round 3 - El Vic vs Pipe
This match had a different pace. El Vic leaned on the HERO and plant engine, while Pipe had the usual pile of removal, traps and Chaos pressure waiting to punish anything too cute.
The first duel opened with Lonefire Blossom climbing into Sylvan Hermitree, but Pipe had Raigeki Break and Dust Tornado ready to cut off the early setup. For a moment it looked like Pipe had stabilized with Breaker and Blade Knight, but Miracle Fusion changed the shape of the duel fast. Nova Master came down, started threatening cards, and suddenly every battle phase mattered.
The second duel was tighter and nastier. Night Assailant punished the first attack, Marshmallon forced a strange Ring of Destruction and Solemn Judgment sequence, and Prisma plus Kycoo gave El Vic a way to keep pushing without overextending too much. Pipe still had Lily, Thunder Dragon, Solemn and Torrential floating around, so the duel never really felt safe.
Pending Match - Charly vs Tona
This pairing was listed as pending in the log, so there is no match video or duel breakdown included here. If the replay shows up later, it can be added as an update.
The Final Match for First Place - El Vic vs Efra
And then came the only match played as Round 4: El Vic vs Efra for first place.
This was not just another match in the list. This was the last table standing. El Vic had already shown that the HERO engine could turn small setups into big swings, especially with Miracle Fusion turning used monsters into real pressure. Efra had the Chaos shell, Thunder Dragon fuel, Monarchs, Don Zaloog, Jinzo, Tsukuyomi and the kind of removal package that makes every normal summon feel like bait.
The first duel started fast. El Vic pushed early with Wildheart, UFO Turtle and Hydrogeddon, forcing Efra to answer instead of sitting comfortably behind setup cards. Efra fought back with Exiled Force, Smashing Ground and a Premature Burial line that led into Zaborg. Then Miracle Fusion entered the table and the game suddenly became about whether Efra could survive long enough to land the big Chaos threat.
That threat did appear. Black Luster Soldier hit the field at one of those moments where the whole duel seems like it is about to collapse. But the answer was waiting. The final match was not going to be decided by one big monster that easily.
The second duel was the real grind. Don Zaloog started ripping cards, Miracle Fusion tried to swing the field back, Ring of Destruction blew up a Gaia before it could take over, and both players kept trading the exact cards that looked like they were about to win the game. Torrential Tribute cleaned up a Spy board. Bottomless answered another Black Luster Soldier. Call of the Haunted, Mirror Force, Swords of Revealing Light, Raigeki Break, Pot of Greed and Heavy Storm all took turns making the duel look almost over.
But it still was not over.
By the time the match reached the third duel, both decks had already shown the same message: nothing stays safe. Prisma started the pressure. Gravekeeper's Spy tried to slow it down. Royal Decree threatened to shut off traps, then Breaker removed it. Wildheart kept attacking through the usual trap nonsense. Lonefire Blossom found Sylvan Hermitree. Then Efra found the kind of midgame line that makes a final feel like a final: Brain Control, tribute, Jinzo, and Tsukuyomi turning the combat math into a nightmare.
El Vic still had plays. Don Zaloog forced a discard. Bottomless was still around. Kycoo tried to matter. But Jinzo and Tsukuyomi kept asking the same question every turn: can you really survive one more battle phase?
That is the kind of final this was. Not clean, not pretty, and not decided in the first big swing. It dragged both players through removal, traps, fusion pressure, Chaos threats and tribute monsters until finally there was no more room left.
Final Result
In the final match for first place, Efra defeated El Vic.
A good closing match for the event: El Vic pushed hard with HERO pressure and Miracle Fusion lines, but Efra survived the scary turns, answered the biggest threats, and closed the tournament with the Chaos/Monarch grind doing exactly what it is built to do.
Congratulations to ShadowEfra for taking first place. Solid run, good reads, and enough patience to survive that final. Well deserved.
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