Angel Ascencio Celebrates Win at Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series in San Diego, California

El Segundo, CA (April 8, 2013) – Hundreds of Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) players from the Western United States and Mexico converged in “America's Finest City” this past weekend to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS), a premier-level Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG event from Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami).

From Deck-building clinics for the novice player to the more competitive Main Event, the San Diego Convention Center was abuzz with anticipation and energy as Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Duelists prepared to take on their peers during the two-day event. Saturday's early rounds brought a new sealed-Deck format to day one – using Battle Pack: Epic Dawn booster packs, players constructed their Decks on the spot. Moving into Sunday, Duelists were able to use their own well-worn Decks, each hoping that it would be strong enough to take them to the Final Round.

As Sunday's Final Round neared, the players were pulling out all stops but only two advanced to the Champion's table where Angel Ascencio and Michael Steinman prepared to battle for the ultimate title of YCS Champion. The two top Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Duelists did not disappoint the crowd as Duel after Duel proved that the duo was indeed the best representation of the weekend's other impressive participants.

Ascencio was confident that his Merlantean Deck would take him to the Champion's circle, while Steinman was feeling just as assured with his Bear Deck. Both players displayed some unique strategies and showcased the depth of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. But when the Final Round concluded, it was Ascenscio that emerged victorious as the new YCS Champion!

In addition to the title of Champion, the winners also earned an amazing set of prizes that included an Ultra Rare Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry YCS Prize Card, an exclusive YCS Top Cut Mat, an invitation to the 2013 World Championship Qualifier tournament on July 13-14 in Chicago, Illinois and much more!



Additionally, on Saturday, Kenny Zhou (for Duelists born 2000 or later), from Indio, California, deftly out-played his Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG peers to earn a special Dragon Duel Champion's Medal, a 2013 Regional Game Mat, a Regional Deck Box and an invitation to his region's 2013 Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier. There, he can earn an invitation to the Dragon Duel World Championship to be played at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship August 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On Sunday, Ben Leverett beat out a worthy bunch of competitors to earn the same high honors.



Every Saturday morning, Duelists can watch the all-new Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL animated series as well as classic Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes on Vortexx on The CW programming block, the leading Saturday morning kids broadcast network in the United States. In Canada, Duelists can watch episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL every Friday and Saturday on YTV!

For more information on Konami or the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES, please visit www.yugioh-card.com or call 310-220-8630.


About The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is the #1 trading card game in the world with over 25 billion cards sold. It is a game of strategy, where players create individual Decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs. Two players engage in a Duel while using cards that represent powerful monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed Decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is the exclusive licensee and rights holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in North America and Latin America.


About KONAMI

KONAMI is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties and traditional trading card games. KONAMI's software titles include the popular franchises METAL GEAR SOLID, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers. KONAMI is also the manufacturer of the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, which has sold more than 25 billion cards worldwide. The latest information about KONAMI can be found on the Web at www.Konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by KONAMI can be found at www.konami.com