Chapter 135 – The First Round

Bonus Chapter

As the various teams began taking their assigned positions under the direction of tournament staff and judges, Alexander shifted his attention toward one of the massive screens hanging above the arena.

The tournament bracket was displayed across it. Alexander leaned back in his seat and studied it carefully.

There were 50 schools participating in the Final Phase, which created a rather obvious mathematical problem, as 50 didn't fit neatly into a standard single-elimination bracket, yet it wasn't that big of an issue; Alexander and Emma had already considered how to solve it and settled on a 64-slot bracket divided into four regions.

It was a fairly common tournament structure, and more importantly, it solved the problem without requiring them to create some bizarre custom format. After all, the 64-slot format was a perfect power of two, which prevented competitive imbalances and ensured a smooth, predictable single-elimination schedule. 

So, 50 teams occupied fifty of those slots, and that left 14 empty positions, resulting in an equal number of first-round byes. Naturally, those byes hadn't been handed out randomly; They went to the schools that had performed the best during the Qualifying Rounds.

Alexander's eyes moved across the bracket starting with Region I.

Seattle Rainier High School vs Denver Summit High School.

Phoenix Desert Ridge High School vs Newark Ironwood High School.

Cleveland Lakefront Private School vs Charlotte Blue Ridge High School.

Detroit Lakeside High School vs Richmond Dominion Academy.

Miami Palmetto High School vs Nashville Cumberland High School.

And then the three teams receiving byes.

Promethean Academy.

Dallas Lone Star High School.

Philadelphia Liberty High School.

Alexander smiled slightly when he saw his own school and muttered, "Heh, the Promethean Academy's team remained undefeated throughout the Qualifying Rounds, so they naturally got a bye..."

A first-round bye meant Promethean didn't have to immediately throw itself into a duel after the tournament started and, more importantly, it gave them time to observe their possible opponents and develop strategies to counter them.

Then Alexander continued reading, focusing on Region II.

Chicago Lakeshore High School vs Atlanta Peachtree High School.

Indianapolis Jefferson High School vs Hartford Kingsley High School.

Baltimore Chesapeake High School vs Oklahoma City Red Rock High School.

Milwaukee Badger High School vs Louisville Churchill Private Academy.

Charleston Palmetto Institute vs New Orleans St. Augustine Catholic School.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

St. Louis Gateway High School.

Portland Willamette High School.

All three receiving byes.

Alexander's eyes paused briefly on Xavier's School while thinking, 'So they did pretty well during the Qualifiers... Oh, well, as long as they limit themselves to playing Duel Monster and do not cause problems, I'm fine.'

Their result wasn't exactly surprising considering who was teaching those students; Alexander suspected they had access to some rather unconventional forms of training.

He moved on to Region III.

Birmingham Jefferson High School vs Minneapolis North Star High School.

Jackson Magnolia High School vs Des Moines Hawthorne High School.

Las Vegas Silver Star High School vs Salt Lake Wasatch High School.

Manchester Granite State High School vs Charleston Appalachian High School.

Massachusetts Academy.

Little Rock Central Heights High School.

Honolulu Kaimana High School.

Wichita Prairie View High School.

Four byes.

Alexander raised an eyebrow while thinking, 'As expected, Emma's Massachusetts Academy got one too. Everything she does, she aims for the top.'

Considering the quality of some of the schools participating, that was probably going to be a particularly interesting region.

Finally, he reached the last section, Region IV.

Anchorage Northstar High School vs Billings Yellowstone High School.

Albuquerque Sandia High School vs Wilmington Brandywine High School.

Boise Clearwater High School vs Cheyenne Frontier High School.

Fargo Red River High School vs Providence Narragansett Academy.

Omaha Heartland High School.

Portland Casco Bay High School.

Sioux Falls Black Hills High School.

Burlington Green Mountain High School.

Another four more byes.

Alexander leaned back as none among those schools caught his eye, at least not yet.

Everything was where it was supposed to be.

Fifty teams. Four regions. Fourteen byes. One eventual champion. And somewhere at the end of all this, one school would walk away as the Inter-School Duel Monsters Champion.

He briefly wondered how much the eventual winner would change the perception of their school, but that wasn't something he needed to worry about yet.

The first matches were already beginning, so Alexander shifted his attention away from the bracket.

The first thing he noticed was that Emma had made a significant change compared to the Duel Monsters Grand Prix.

The Grand Prix had featured a single main table with one raised platform, one pair of featured duelists and one primary broadcast feed, which ensured that everyone watched the same duel and story, but this tournament was different.

There were four raised platforms around the arena, one for each region, and each had its own cameras, lighting, screens, staff, and judges.

Alexander stared at them for a moment as he let out a "Huh."

It was an interesting choice, as there were obvious disadvantages with this setup.

With four matches taking place simultaneously, the broadcast audience couldn't focus on everything.

A viewer watching one match could easily miss an important play happening somewhere else. A particularly exciting duel could be happening on another table while the broadcast was showing a slow, defensive match. And if the viewer wasn't paying attention, they could potentially lose track of which teams were even fighting.

The Grand Prix had been much simpler. One table. One duel. One story. Everyone watched the same thing.

But there were advantages too, and Alexander understood what Emma was trying to accomplish.

The broadcast team now had options.

If one match became boring, they could cut to another. If one duel suddenly turned into an intense back-and-forth battle, they could switch the cameras there. If a player pulled off something spectacular, the broadcast could immediately capitalise on it. All this made it much harder for the overall event to become stale. On top of that, even if the audience actually missed an important play, they could simply make use of the replay feature to allow them to watch it and understand.

For the people actually inside the arena, the problem was even smaller, as live spectators could simply choose which match they wanted to watch.

Overall, it was an improvement over Alexander's version, something that Alexander himself acknowledged and filed in his mind to review later as he nodded slowly and thought, 'Emma didn't just copy the Grand Prix. She took the concept and refined it, possibly raising it to a whole other level. She is not only breathtaking, but she is also frighteningly sharp...'

In the end, he leaned back in his chair and commented, "Not bad."

Julia glanced at him and asked, "What?"

"Nothing." Alexander smiled and said, "Just appreciating the setup and taking notes to improve it in the future."

With the tournament finally underway, Alexander decided to stop thinking about logistics; for once, he was going to simply enjoy the duels.

He watched the nearest screens for a few moments before something immediately caught his attention.

The decks, more specifically, the deck builds.

Alexander's eyes narrowed as he watched one of the matches. 'Oh...'

He looked at another table, then another, before he smiled, 'Hehe... this is interesting.'

The Duel Monsters Grand Prix had clearly influenced the competitive scene, a lot.

He recognised variations of several successful strategies almost immediately.

Johnny's explosive Machine deck was everywhere, not the exact same build, obviously, as most players had modified it to suit their own preferences, but the basic concept was unmistakable.

Aggressive Machines. Explosive turns. Huge damage output.

Alexander spotted another player using a Dragon-based strategy where Chuck's influence was immediately obvious.

Dragon decks had always been extremely popular since the very first Duel Monsters Grand Prix, and with Chuck's consistent results in those major tournaments, it is natural that several players adapted the core concept into their own strategies.

Then there were Stall/Burn decks, and Alexander instantly recognised Sasha's influence there.

Several duelists were using defensive strategies designed to slowly drain their opponents of their LP rather than overwhelm them through raw attack power, while stopping them from playing the duel how they wanted.

Then he noticed something that made him sigh.

Disruption and Hand Destruction.

Ginny's strategy had apparently become popular too.

Alexander watched a player deliberately stripping cards from their opponent's hand before building toward their own board to further disrupt their opponents and advance toward their own win condition.

He couldn't help smiling, 'Good job, Ginny.'

Then he saw it, the Yata Lock. The absolutely dominant strategy that defined the entire competitive landscape of Yu-Gi-Oh! in his other self's memories and became so universally played and hated that it forced the creation of the game's very first Forbidden list.

Alexander's expression immediately changed as he muttered the iconic quote, "Ah shit... Here we go again..."

Julia looked over. "What?"

"Nothing."

He continued watching as a player was running a variant of Katherine's Yata Lock strategy.

Alexander stared at the screen while thinking, 'No matter the world, you'll always find those kinds of people...'

Apparently, some people simply looked at a terrifyingly oppressive strategy and decided that they wanted to inflict it on other human beings.

Alexander shook his head, 'Those sadists...'

And then there was Victor's build.

His deck had remained popular despite him not participating in the second Grand Prix, but Alexander wasn't surprised as Victor's deck had been exceptionally consistent.

It could recycle resources. It could gather advantage. It could maintain pressure without running out of gas. It wasn't flashy in the same way as Johnny's Machine deck or some of the more explosive strategies, but it worked, and in competitive play, consistency mattered.

Alexander also spotted a few brave souls using variants of Lucia and Dante's gambling-based decks.

He stared at one player rolling dice while thinking, 'Those people are either incredibly confident or completely insane. Only a legendary gambler like Dante or someone with insane luck like Lucia could actually successfully use those kinds of cards, as they are way too inconsistent.'

Of course, not everyone was copying the Grand Prix's most successful players, and there were plenty of original decks too.

Alexander was actually quite happy about that, 'That's how a real competitive scene should develop.'

The Grand Prix had created something bigger than a collection of famous duelists; it had created a competitive environment.

Players watched one another. They studied strategies. They copied successful ideas. They modified them. They created counters. And eventually, they created something new.

Alexander smiled, then he looked back at the bracket, at Region I.

His attention settled on the first match.

Seattle Rainier High School vs Denver Summit High School.

Alexander's expression became more focused as the winner of this match would face Promethean Academy in the next round.

That made it considerably more important.

He leaned forward and muttered, "Let's see what you've got."

The Tag Duel was already underway, and Alexander immediately began analysing both teams.

Seattle Rainier High School's strategy wasn't bad; in fact, it was surprisingly straightforward.

Both duelists were essentially using the same deck build.

Alexander understood the reasoning behind it, as there was no need to worry about conflicting strategies, and both players knew exactly what the other deck was trying to accomplish because they had the same win condition.

They understood the same combos. They knew what resources their partner wanted. And because both players were essentially running the same strategy, they also understood how the other person was likely to react.

For a Tag Duel, that wasn't a bad idea, as there was something comforting about knowing exactly what your partner was capable of.

The problem was equally obvious.

Alexander narrowed his eyes and declared, "The decks share the same weakness."

Julia looked toward him. "Hm?"

"Seattle."

She looked at the screen and said, "They're using the same deck."

"I know."

"And?"

Alexander pointed toward the field and explained, "If their opponent figures out how to counter one deck, they've basically figured out how to counter both."

Julia considered that and quickly came to a conclusion, "That's bad."

"Indeed..."

There was no diversification. No alternate strategy. No second deck designed to cover the weaknesses of the first. This meant that if Seattle's strategy was disrupted, both players would struggle simultaneously.

Alexander looked at Denver and instantly noted that they had taken the opposite approach.

One of their duelists was almost entirely focused on aggressive plays while the other was focused on support.

Alexander's eyes brightened, and he commented, "That's better."

Julia looked at him and asked, "Why?"

"They're actually complementing each other."

The aggressive player was constantly pushing forward. The support player protected him, supplied resources, and created opportunities for him to continue applying pressure.

Neither deck was trying to accomplish the same thing; instead, they were built around each other's strengths.

Alexander nodded approvingly. "That's how you build a deck for a Tag Duel."

The duel continued.

Seattle fought back as their strategy wasn't incompetent; they understood their own decks and communicated well. They even managed to disrupt Denver's offensive momentum several times, but every time they found themselves under pressure, the same problem emerged.

Both players had the same weaknesses, and Denver was beginning to exploit them.

Alexander watched carefully as Denver's support player created another opening, and the aggressive player immediately took advantage of it.

The field shifted, and soon Seattle's defences collapsed; then a few moments later, the duel was over.

Denver Summit High School had won the first Tag Duel while the crowd reacted with cheers and applause.

Alexander leaned back, "One victory for them... They are now close to winning the whole match."

Julia looked toward the Denver players. "They're quite good."

"They are." Alexander glanced at the Seattle side. "And Seattle isn't bad either. As expected from teams who overcame the Qualifiers."

"But Denver is better?"

"In this matchup."

He didn't want to make a broader judgment yet, as one duel wasn't enough.

Still, the result meant Seattle was now in a difficult position, as they now had to win the Single Duel; otherwise, their tournament would end immediately.

Alexander watched as the teams prepared for the next duel.

The Seattle player selected for the Single Duel entered the stage, followed by the player from Denver and before long their duel began, with the Seattle player starting first.

Alexander recognised the deck almost immediately and said, "Another variant of Johnny's Machine deck."

Julia looked at him. "He just played one card! You can tell that quickly?"

Alexander shrugged, "Pretty easily. He opened with Mechanicalshaser, which is a good Level 4 monster with its 1850 ATK, but there are much better options at his disposal, so the most plausible reason to use it is that he is using a Machine deck."

The duel began, and at first, Seattle's strategy looked promising as the Machine deck was designed to apply enormous pressure quickly, and the player using it clearly understood that but perhaps a little too well.

Alexander's eyes narrowed as the duel progressed, as the Seattle duelist began using Limiter Removal a little too recklessly.

Alexander frowned and observed, "That's dangerous."

The card was powerful, very powerful, as it outright doubled the ATK of all Machine monsters, but it came with consequences, as at the end of the turn the empowered Machine monsters would be destroyed.

The Machines could become devastatingly strong, but the player needed to understand when to push and when to hold back, and this duelist seemed to understand only the first part.

He kept attacking and kept increasing his offensive pressure, kept using Limiter Removal to force more damage without caring about his defences.

Alexander leaned forward and muttered, "Come on..."

The Seattle duelist pushed again and again, but he was so focused on ending the duel as fast as possible that he failed to recognise the opening he was creating for his opponent.

The Denver duelist barely survived the onslaught; then his counterattack came, and the Seattle duelist's Machines were no longer in a position to protect him as his excessive aggression had left him exposed.

The Denver duelist didn't hesitate and took advantage of the opening, and as a result, the field changed in an instant.

Alexander watched as the Seattle player's advantage disappeared, and a few turns later, it was over.

Denver Summit High School had won the Single Duel and, with it, the match.

The scoreboard updated.

Denver Summit High School - 2

Seattle Rainier High School - 0

The Denver team celebrated while Seattle's players stood silently at their table.

Alexander looked toward the tournament bracket as the result was already being updated.

Denver Summit High School advanced, which meant only one thing.

Alexander smiled and said, "Looks like our next opponent is decided."

Julia, who was focusing on another match, looked toward him and asked, "Denver?"

"Denver."

Alexander leaned back in his seat and studied the team that had just secured their place in the next round.

They weren't unbeatable, but they weren't bad either.

Their Tag Duel strategy was structured well; their decks complemented one another and, more importantly, they had demonstrated that they knew how to exploit an opponent's weakness.

Alexander's smile widened slightly as things were now getting interesting.

Promethean Academy had an opponent, and Alexander finally enjoyed some good duels without worrying about anything else.

The tournament had officially started, and it showed promise that it was going to be an exciting one.