Hi Pojo!

I just got back from Yu-Gi-Oh! Nationals and had an amazing time. I also met a lot of new faces for the first time and had a lot of fun dueling and trading. I just wanted to make a few points and end with some pretty pictures.

1) The rumors about a 5 on 5 team battle are true. We ran a draft format tournament featuring many of the top players in the USA. A huge crowd was gathered around for all of Friday evening and it was definitely amazing being able to feel the energy as each player played.

Team 1: Jeff Jones (Team Captain), Hugo Adame (Team CORETCG/Comic Odyssey), Augustin Herrera (Team Kamikaze), Paul Levitin (Team Overdose), and Jarel Winston.

Team 2: Adam Corn (Team Captain), Billy Brake (Team Kamikaze), Austin Kulman, Mario Matheu (Team CORETCG/Comic Odyssey), Ryan Spicer (Team Kamikaze)

The two team captains rolled and drafted the top players in order. I did coverage of the matches and will be posting each match in the weeks to come along with pictures and links to Youtube footage. Refer back to some of the older team battles, some of which were the most amazing "underground" matches in history. I really think the coverage on Pojo helped shape Metagame's direction and gave exposure to the deserving cream of the crop.

Team Savage vs Team Odyssey: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/FeaturedWriters/JAE/2005/4-6.shtml

While Team Savage ended up being more hype than results, this team battle really started the craze. At the very next event in Houston, there were literally dozens of teams proudly wearing their shirts and wanting to partake in battles.

Battle for North America: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/FeaturedWriters/JAE/2005/8-23-1.shtml

This battle showed everyone the skill involved with established players such as Wilson Luc and Sang Bui versus previously unheralded players such as Kyle Duncan, Max Suffridge, and Matt Peddle who later became superstars.

East v. West: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/FeaturedWriters/JAE/2005/12-12.shtml

This battle marked the end of the Comic Odyssey/Team Savage era. Many of the top players from the West Coast clashed with the emerging East Coast stars. Anthony Alvarado proved he was one of the greatest players (if not the greatest) by defeating 6 of the best players in North America consecutively. This list of victims included Emon Ghaenian, Wilson Luc, and Ryan Hayakawa.

Battle for North America 2: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/FeaturedWriters/JAE/2006/8-15.shtml

This was my favorite team battle from all of Pojo history. It featured the undoubted best players in the game at the time at their peak form.

Take a gander at all of Pojo's illustrious history. Coming up in the next week or so, the latest chapter in Pojo team battles will be written, featuring inside looks at how these players achieve such consistent success!

2) I will be writing a report about my tournament experience on my blog, go-YGO.com.

3) Enjoy the pictures and have a great week.

If you have enjoyed all of my writing on Pojo.com, please visit my blog at http://go-YGO.com.