- Who is
your favorite player?
- I
have several:
-
At big events it is Shawn Brown. He
always beats me, but they are great
games. Thanks Shawn! All those beatings
made me a better player.
-
At my local it is Christian Edelman. He
makes me laugh while playing, and is a
great player. Thanks Christian!
- A
player from Ohio that I respect is
Mitchell Tanonetti. He is a great player
and a nice person. I watched him play in
several regional top 8s. I learned
watching him play. Thank you Sir!
- Where do
you play locally?
-
Thanks for the chance to plug my favorite
local.
Superior
Sports Card
211 E. 5th
Ave Tarentum, PA 15084
(724)
224-5060
The owner
Drew is a Great Guy. He runs yu-gi-oh for the
young kids, and other players. Hobby League,
advanced, traditional etc. They also have some
of the world’s best Magic players there. They
also run Magic tournaments. I watched a Magic
scholarship tourney there. Last plug. He sells
other sports cards, Hockey, Baseball, Football,
etc. & many other collectables. It is a 1-stop
shop!
-
What all did
you do to get into the second day at National?
- I had
help. Paul Obeldobel built my deck. It was
made for my play style. He knows me best and
the deck played to my strengths. Also note:
Paul loan me like almost every card in the
whole deck. Thanks Paul! Steve Obeldobel is
probably the best thinker I have ever
met. He gave me some great strategies. When
I sit and practice/watch him play he is
amazing. He doesn't get to play that often,
or he would probably excel at the
game. Thanks Steve! My 10-year old son
Jonathan, and his friend Mark Obeldobel got
us hooked on the game. I'm not sure if I
should thank them or blame them for the
addiction. Thanks boys! Play testing against
different decks and styles was very
important. Dar (soon to be Obeldobel) was
great. She could switch from deck types and
styles like flowing water. The only problem
was she kept beating me! Thanks Dar! Lastly
Christian Edelman. He will probably be
surprised to see his name here, but I owe
him a big thanks. I talked with him for @ 25
minutes the week before nationals. I
listened to everything he said. He inspired
me beyond belief. He also convinced me of
what I needed to do, how to do it, and what
to expect. Christian was dead right. Thanks
Christian!
-
I was
standing next to you at nationals when they
called your name. I saw you, but how did you
feel?
- It
was special. Everyone that plays this game
wants to make it to day 2 at Nationals. I
was able to live the dream! Finishing in the
single digits at the biggest Yu-Gi-Oh event
of the year was as good as it gets. Your
congratulation on being #9 was something
I’ll always remember. Tony, you are the best
in Pennsylvania, and an excellent player
within North America. Thank you Tony!
-
Some people
would say you were just a random. What do you
say to them?
- I
always do analysis after a tournament. I
played people whose ratings averaged over
3100. I had the second best tiebreakers
because of my opponents. You can’t random
your way by 10 great players. I look at my
own rating and I see 2007 Yu-gi-oh US
Nationals round 11! There are less than 50
people in the US that can say they made it
to that level at a US National. Trash talk
is easy. I read trash posts about Bryan
Rochenbach, Emon Ghaneian, and others. Do me
a favor trash talker(s). Get there, and beat
them. When I play I look at my
opponent. When I played Bryan the intensity
in his eyes was incredible. I think that was
one thing that made him play so great day
2. When I played Emon I looked at him. I saw
him cheat. The judge gave him a
warning. I’ll let JaeLove speak about Emon.
-
What is your
least favorite part of the game?
- Don’t
get me started Tony. I have a running feud
with US Nationals Head Judge Jerome McHale,
and UDE about stacking. I played in a local
regional with Jerome as head Judge. In
between games my opponent turned his cards
over. He set them on the table in three
piles. They were monsters, spells, and
traps. He then arranged his cards how he
wanted them while they were face up! I
called Jerome and I’ll quote him “It is
stupid for him to do that, but it is OK as
long as he gives them to you to shuffle.” I
spoke to UDE for @ 1 year about it and they
agree with Jerome. I have made an appeal to
Konami in Japan. In the mean time tell them
Jerome said you could stack! It also made me
feel good to make day 2 for personal
reasons. I volunteer at a local Toys R Us,
locals, and Superior to play against younger
kids. I also have some matches setup with
special needs children. They get a kick out
of it. We play for cards. The kids pick the
card they want before we play. I have lost
Raiza, Pegasus, Mobius, Zaborg, Treeborn
Frog, and others. Thanks for donating the
cards Drew! Everyone should let a 6 year old
win a match. It gives you a different view
of what the game is we are actually
playing. You can see excitement in their
eyes! Sometimes I’ll ring for a tie, but
they always seem to win next game. Go
figure. I think with volunteering, promoting
fun, and my stance on stacking, I represent
everything that is good in the game. Jerome
and UDE had to eat some Crow at nationals
when they called my name at number
9. (Interestingly I was the only one of the
top 16 players that did not get a copy of
the 16 decks list the night before day 2
competition. I was also given the wrong time
to show up for day 2. I took it all in
stride.)
-
I also
had three bad experiences with an online
store called the Riverside Gym. They are in
Kentucky. I bought FOTB Raizas from them at
a presale price of $7.99. They stiffed
me. After the set was released they told me
Raiza was a short print, then they told me
they didn’t get any, then they stopped
answering the phone. Wasn’t Raiza selling on
ebay for @$20+? They stiffed me other times
and I just want to say they are not a group
that I trust.
-
Any last
comments you would like to make?
-
Congratulation to everyone that made top
16. It's a great accomplishment. But…
-
Congratulations to Adam Corn. Even tough I
was happy with my finish that day, I
remember back to a regional I played
in. That day I was undefeated. Afterwards I
quoted a line from the Movie Cars for my
friends. Like Lightning McQueen I said 1
winner, 202 losers! They laughed for about
10 minutes. Adam you are the one winner and
there were 694 losers!
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