Chapter 109 – The Faces of the Grand Prix

The short break eventually came to an end.

The remaining Duelists had been given enough time to eat, drink, recover from the exhausting rounds of the morning and, perhaps most importantly, reconsider their strategies. Now there were only 32 of them.

The judges called the players back onto the tournament floor and one by one, the remaining Duelists returned to their assigned tables while the tournament staff verified the pairings and ensured that everything was ready for the next stage.

The atmosphere was noticeably different from the beginning of the Grand Prix.

Yesterday, most of the competitors had been strangers to the audience, but today that was no longer the case.

The spectators had watched these people duel.

They knew their decks, they knew their personalities, they knew which competitors played aggressively, which ones preferred defensive strategies and which ones had already produced spectacular upsets; and because of that, the remaining Duelists were no longer completely anonymous competitors; they were becoming the stars of the tournament.

Alexander returned to the ESPN commentary area, where Mike Patrick was already waiting.

"Welcome back," Mike said as Alexander sat down.

Alexander smiled a bit and replied, "Good to be back."

Mike glanced at the tournament floor and asked, "Ready for another round?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good, because our first Feature Match has a name you might recognise."

Alexander looked toward the monitor.

The moment the name appeared on screen, he smiled.

VIRGINIA POTTS VS KEVIN MORRISON

Mike immediately noticed, "Ah. I see that smile."

Alexander sighed, "Please... Don't start."

"Virginia Potts. Another one of your friends."

"Yes."

"And one of the Duelists that has earned a reputation in this tournament for being particularly... devious."

Alexander considered his answer before he admitted, "That's a polite way of putting it."

Mike laughed while the camera showed both competitors sitting across from each other as they prepared their decks.

Mike looked toward Alexander, "Tell us about Virginia."

"She's a very smart and capable Duelist," Alexander explained. "She's also one of the people who knows quite a bit about Duel Monsters in general since she is one of my closest friends. Unfortunately, that put her in a position to hear about some of my most outlandish ideas, and I believe she made use of some of them to create something... unpleasant..."

Mike raised an eyebrow, "Unpleasant?"

"For the opponent... I'm fairly confident the audience is gonna love it."

"Ah."

Alexander smiled and continued to explain, "Her strategy focuses heavily on disrupting the opponent's ability to actually play their cards."

"So rather than beating them quickly..."

"She prevents them from doing anything."

Mike chuckled and observed, "That sounds terrifying."

"It can be."

Then Mike asked, "What about her opponent Kevin Morrison?"

Alexander then thought about it for a moment before he said, "He is using a Deck very similar to the winner of the previous Grand Prix, Victor Von Doom. It is a deck that, rather than simply overwhelming opponents with powerful monsters, focuses on recycling resources and gradually building toward a decisive finishing attack with Summoned Skull as its ace."

Mike nodded and said, "I see... We have observed quite a few similar builds throughout this Grand Prix."

The two Duelists tossed a die to decide who would start; Ginny won and decided to go first. Then, when they drew their opening hands, Alexander immediately recognised the expression on her face as she looked almost guilty.

He knew that look, and it gave him the intense feeling that something terrible was about to happen to her opponent.

After a bit of hesitation, Ginny activated Card Destruction, which made both players discard their hands and draw new ones.

Mike explained the basic effect for the audience while Alexander watched Ginny's next move.

Immediately after that, she activated Confiscation. She paid 1000 Life Points, and her opponent's hand was revealed; then Ginny selected one of the most crucial cards, and it went to the Graveyard.

Before her opponent could properly recover, she followed up and activated Delinquent Duo.

Another 1000 Life Points disappeared from her total, and two more cards left her opponent's hand, a random one and a chosen one.

By the time Ginny was finished, she had paid 2000 Life Points, but her opponent's opening hand had been devastated as only two cards remained, and neither looked particularly useful.

Mike stared at the monitor, "Holy hell...! Well..."

Alexander winced seeing that scene and said, "Yeah."

At the same time, he thought, 'Holy crap... What a deadly hand she just drew... I'm seriously pitying that poor soul...'

Ginny then set a card in her back row, but her next move was even worse as she activated Monster Reborn and Special Summoned Cosmo Queen, Ginny's new boss monster with massive 2900 ATK, from her Graveyard that was sent there by Card Destruction.

While the audience reacted with shock and awe, Mike stared at the screen before he observed, "She just summoned a 2900 ATK monster after obliterating most of her opponent's hand."

"Correct."

"And her opponent hasn't really had the opportunity to do anything."

"Also correct."

"That's brutal."

Alexander sighed and admitted, "I may have taught her some of this."

Mike turned toward him and asked, "You?"

"Unfortunately."

"Why?"

Alexander thought about it before he honestly replied, "Because I thought the idea of deliberately preventing your opponent from playing the game would be amusing... for the audience."

Mike laughed and asked, "So you're responsible for this?"

Alexander raised his hands and said in a mock sarcastic tone, "I created every single card in this game... How can I possibly be responsible for any of this?"

Meanwhile, Kevin Morrison drew his card for the turn, but before he could even consider his next move, Ginny flipped her set Trap Card, Drop Off, and as a result, the newly drawn card was immediately discarded.

There was a moment of silence as her opponent simply stared at his useless hand and then at the field with a concerning empty gaze.

Alexander gulped slowly while thinking, 'That dude just had a small taste of the modern Yu-Gi-Oh!'s meta: "I play, you watch." Damn... I thought that a bit of trolling would make the whole thing more exciting; that's why I informed Ginny about how deadly those cards could be... but now, I'm starting to regret it... a bit...'

Mike burst out laughing, "I think his soul just left his body."

Alexander couldn't help laughing as well, and he agreed, "That's probably an accurate assessment."

In the end, Kevin simply ended his turn, unable to do anything before Ginny calmly started her turn.

Alexander shook his head and said, "To be fair, she got extremely lucky with her opening hand."

Mike looked at him, "So this isn't entirely a deck-building skill?"

"The combination we just saw required several specific cards to line up. The probability of drawing everything she needed is not particularly high. It is basically similar to having a full as an initial hand in poker."

"But she did."

"Yes." Alexander smiled, "And luck only matters when you know how to exploit it."

Ginny clearly did; she summoned Celtic Guardia and launched her attack, making Kevin's Life Points reach zero and, with that, the first Duel belonged to Virginia Potts.

The crowd reacted enthusiastically.

Mike praised Ginny's opening while Alexander explained why it had been so devastating.

The second Duel was considerably different.

Ginny's opponent had adapted.

This time, she wasn't able to completely destroy his opening hand before he established his strategy, and as a result, the duel became much more conventional.

For a while, Kevin began recycling resources, repeatedly moving important cards between his hand and Graveyard while slowly building toward a finishing sequence.

Ginny was forced to respond.

For the first time, Alexander saw genuine pressure on his friend's face as her opponent had managed to establish momentum.

Mike noticed it as well, and he observed, "Virginia seems to be in trouble."

"She's under pressure."

"Can she recover?"

Alexander watched the field carefully and declared, "She can."

"You're confident."

"I know her."

Ginny studied the field, then she smiled, and Alexander immediately understood that she had figured something out.

Her opponent was waiting for a specific card; Ginny knew it, and she wasn't going to let him have it.

Every time he attempted to establish the necessary sequence, she interfered.

A card was removed. A play was disrupted. A resource was forced out at the wrong moment.

Her opponent attempted to rebuild, but Ginny dismantled the setup again.

Eventually, the opening appeared, and Ginny took it, and as a result, the final attack connected.

Her opponent's Life Points reached zero once more.

Virginia Potts had won the duel and the match.

Mike shook his head, "That was impressive."

Alexander nodded and agreed, "She didn't simply overpower him nor cut off his chances before Kevin could do anything. Instead, she precisely dismantled his strategy piece by piece."

Mike glanced toward him, "You sound proud."

"I am." Then Alexander paused and added with humour, "But after seeing her first duel, I'm also seriously reconsidering whether I should ever play against her."

Mike laughed, "That's probably a wise decision."

~~~▽~~~

The broadcast moved between the Feature Match and the other games taking place around the tournament floor.

With only 32 Duelists remaining, ESPN could afford to give considerably more attention to individual matches.

The audience had already become familiar with many of the competitors.

Dante Venturi continued his strong performance with his gamble-style strategy, where he reads his opponent and takes full advantage of the highly inconsistent "gamble cards".

The former semifinalist of the first Grand Prix showed that his success had not been a fluke.

Chuck advanced as well.

His aggressive Dragon deck continued proving that his theatrical personality wasn't the only thing making him dangerous.

Lucia Venturi continued to impress.

She was no longer merely Dante Venturi's granddaughter, as she had earned her place among the strongest Duelists remaining in the tournament herself. Her deck build is similar to her grandfather's, but their playstyle is completely different, as Lucia seems to be able to make the best of even the worst outcomes of her gamble cards' effects.

Sasha Mendez continued using her unusual Stall and Burn strategy, frustrating opponents who struggled to overcome her defensive cards while their Life Points slowly disappeared.

Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm, better known as Johnny Storm, was another Duelist who continued attracting attention.

His aggressive Machine deck produced spectacular turns, especially whenever he managed to combine Machine King with Limiter Removal.

The young Duelist seemed to be enjoying every second of it.

Alexander took another look when he learned the boy's name, and it didn't take long for him to realise that he was indeed the future youngest of the Fantastic Four, the one who would be known as the Human Torch, but he didn't react too much to it as he was slowly getting used to interacting and meeting with "Marvelous" characters.

Then there was Phillip Coulson.

Alexander kept an eye on him whenever the broadcast showed his matches.

Coulson wasn't using an especially exotic deck, as there was no spectacular gimmick that immediately separated him from the other competitors; instead, he seemed to possess something much harder to quantify.

He watched, he adapted, he predicted, and whenever his opponent revealed part of their strategy, Coulson adjusted accordingly.

Alexander found himself studying him more closely while thinking, 'Should I say as expected from a very competent spy...'

It didn't seem to be any particular card; it was the Duelist himself, as Coulson appeared to be exceptionally good at reading people.

Another name had also begun attracting attention.

David Garcia.

David's personality was almost as explosive as his Burn deck.

He talked constantly during his matches, celebrated every successful play and seemed to genuinely enjoy making his opponents nervous.

When his strategy began working, he made sure his opponent knew it. When his opponent managed to counter him, he laughed and tried something else.

He was loud, he was aggressive and, surprisingly often, he was effective.

The audience seemed to enjoy watching him.

Some because they liked him, others, perhaps, because they enjoyed watching someone finally defeat him.

Either way, David had become one of the recognisable faces of the tournament.

~~~▽~~~

Eventually, the last matches of the round began to conclude.

The tournament staff verified the results. The large screens updated. The bracket changed once again.

The Top 32 had become the Top 16.

Alexander watched the surviving names appear on the screen while thinking, 'Only 16 Duelists remain...'

The next Featured Match was already being prepared as the two competitors approached the table.

One was a young man in his twenties using a Harpie-focused deck, Evan R. Lawson.

His strategy revolved around building a field of Harpie monsters and exploiting their synergy, with Harpie's Pet Dragon serving as his ace.

His opponent was a young girl. She was a slight, youthful girl with a slim build and an open, expressive face. She had thick brown hair that fell to around her shoulders, usually worn loose or slightly tousled, and warm brown eyes that gave her an alert, curious look.

She still had the unmistakably awkward proportions of a growing teenager, more child than young woman, with a soft, youthful appearance that contrasted with the confidence and determination she was beginning to develop.

Her name was Katherine Anne Pryde.

Alexander expected to see a relatively conventional strategy, but he was wrong, very wrong.

The first few cards immediately caught his attention as it was a Spirit monster.

Seeing that, Alexander leaned forward, something that Mike noticed as he asked, "Something interesting?"

Alexander nodded and said, "Very. It seems that Katherine's deck rely on Spirit Monsters, cards with powerful effects that return to their owner's hand during the End Phase. That makes them difficult to maintain on the field, but it also gives them an unusual advantage, as the Duelist has to carefully choose when to summon each monster and time its return, but if done well, they become basically untouchable.'

Katherine appeared to understand that perfectly.

She wasn't simply playing Spirit monsters, but she was building an engine around them using the Spell Card Spiritual Energy Settle Machine to keep them on the field when she needed to.

Then Alexander noticed another card, Sinister Serpent, and his expression changed as he exclaimed, "That's clever."

Mike looked at him and asked, "Why?"

Alexander began explaining that Katherine was using Sinister Serpent to repeatedly pay the cost of Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, allowing her to maintain her Spirit monsters on the field without suffering their normal drawback, and Sinister Serpent had the very powerful effect of returning to the hand if it was in the Graveyard during the Standby Phase, making it an exception card for paying such a cost, as it becomes a free resource.

Mike nodded slowly, "So she's turning what should be a weakness into a resource."

"Exactly."

"That's nasty."

"Very."

Katherine continued setting up her field while her opponent tried to interfere, but it wasn't enough.

When she tributed two cards and set one monster on the field, the atmosphere around the table changed, even more so when Evan used Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, something that made Katherine grin.

Seeing that, Alexander immediately had a hint of what she was attempting, and unfortunately her opponent didn't, not yet.

What happened next proved that Alexander's hunch was correct, as Evan attacked Katherine's monsters, flipping it face up and revealing Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, whose DEF was higher than the attacking monster's ATK, inflicting battle damage to Evan while also activating Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's effect, then at the end of the turn it returned to the hand.

The next turn, Katherine drew, while Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's effect forced Evan to discard his whole hand; then she activated Raigeki to clear the field and followed up by summoning Yata-Garasu, and at this point, Alexander's eyes widened as he thought, 'Oh... SHIT!'

Mike noticed and asked, "Alexander?"

Alexander sent a pitying look at the poor Evan and said, "Lawson is going to have a very painful experience..."

Mike looked confused but still commented, "That sounds bad."

"Trust me... It is. He is going to experience the fearsome Yata Lock..."

Then Alexander explained the combination for the audience.

Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi could strip the opponent's hand away during the Draw Phase of the next turn it dealt damage, and Yata-Garasu could then prevent the opponent from drawing a new card if its attack successfully connected.

Because Yata-Garasu was a Spirit monster, Katherine could return it to her hand and summon it again later to avoid being destroyed, and as one can expect, the result was devastating.

Her opponent's hand disappeared, then his draw disappeared, then another turn passed, and Yata-Garasu returned, chipped Evan's LP, activated his nasty effect and safely returned to the hand, rinse and repeat. Every attempt to do anything was denied, as Evan could only watch as Yata-Garasu constantly chipped at his LP.

Mike stared at the screen, gulped out loud, and asked, "Is there any way out of this?"

Alexander quickly answered the question, "In theory, there can be answers depending on the exact board and cards available."

Alexander paused for a moment before he revealed, "But once the lock has been properly established, escaping it becomes extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible."

The audience slowly realised what was happening.

Evan R. Lawson's confidence disappeared, then frustration replaced it and finally, resignation.

He understood that he was no longer really playing the game but was just waiting for the inevitable.

Katherine's Yata-Garasu attacked again. The Life Points decreased a little, then the Spirit monster returned to her hand.

The cycle repeated.

Alexander watched with fascination, 'This is different from Ginny's earlier display. Ginny had devastated her opponent's opening hand through an exceptionally fortunate combination of cards and then exploited the advantage. But Katherine has constructed something far more deliberate and malicious... A deck designed to make the opponent's position progressively worse until there is almost nothing they can do. It isn't perfect, as the current card pool makes the strategy too inconsistent to guarantee success, but when it works...'

Alexander couldn't help being impressed.

Mike looked toward him and asked, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Alexander hesitated for a moment, then admitted, "Maybe a bit..."

"That's concerning."

"I created the game."

"That's not an answer."

Alexander laughed, "Yes, it is... It is so fun to watch how creative a duelist can become!"

~~~▽~~~

Another hour passed, and the remaining matches finally began to conclude.

One of the more entertaining matches of the round had been a Burn versus Burn confrontation.

Sasha Mendez eventually emerged victorious over David Garcia after a long battle in which both Duelists repeatedly attempted to manipulate their opponent's Life Points.

The audience had loved every second of it, then the final results were entered.

The bracket updated and only eight names remained.

Alexander stared at the screen.

The field that had once contained four hundred competitors had been reduced to eight.

Eight people. Eight Duelists who had survived everything thrown at them.

The names appeared one after another.

Virginia Potts.

Charles Irvin Zane.

Dante Venturi.

Lucia Venturi.

Sasha Mendez.

Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm.

Phillip Coulson.

Katherine Anne Pryde.

Alexander looked at the list.

Some of these names had been expected to reach this stage, but others hadn't.

Some had become fan favourites. Some had become feared. Some had become mysteries. And one name still bothered Alexander more than all the others.

Phillip Coulson.

He glanced toward the man on the tournament floor.

Coulson was speaking with his opponent, apparently congratulating him on the match despite having eliminated him.

There was nothing suspicious about the scene.

Nothing unusual, nothing that justified Alexander's concern and yet he couldn't help but ask himself, 'Why is he here?'

Alexander didn't have an answer.

Mike's voice pulled him back toward the broadcast, "8 Duelists remain."

Alexander looked at the screen once more and said, "Only the best of the best..."

The tournament had reached its final stage.

Whatever happened next, these eight competitors were no longer simply participants in the second Duel Monsters Grand Prix.

They were becoming the faces of competitive Duel Monsters, and this afternoon, the world would find out which one of them would become its second Grand Prix Champion.