Day 2 will consist of the remaining two (2) rounds of Single-Elimination play featuring the remaining Top 4 Duelists from Day 1.
A.Tournament Format
- Each round consists of one (1) Match (first Duelist to win/lose 2 out of 3 Duels).
- After the Swiss Rounds are complete, there will be a cut to the Top 8.
- Day 1 of the World Championship will consist of seven (7) rounds of Swiss tournament play plus the Quarter Final round – eight (8) rounds in total.
- Day 2 will consist of the remaining two (2) rounds of Single-Elimination play featuring the remaining Top 4 Duelists from Day 1.
B.Deck & Deck List
- Duelists may only use the Deck which they registered for the World Championship.
- Cards that are not listed on the submitted Deck List cannot be used.
- Cards switched from the Side Deck to Main Deck or vice versa must be returned to the original Deck prior to the beginning of each Match, as written on the Deck List.
- Duelists are not allowed to swap cards in their Main Deck from the Side Deck in the 1st Duel of a Round (Match).
C.Time Limit
- The Time Limit for each Swiss Round is 45 minutes.
- The Time Limit for the Semi-Finals is 55 minutes.
- The Championship Match does not have a time limit, but Duelists are expected to play at the proper pace and slow play penalties will be enforced as needed.
- This includes intervals between Duels (time used for Side Decking and shuffling), and the time that it takes a judge to make a ruling or for translators to translate Duelists’ questions. (Depending on the situation, the Judge may opt to extend time, but this is not guaranteed.)
- Both Duelists are responsible for playing at an acceptable pace so that the Round ends before the Time Limit.
D.Slow Play
- Duelists will be penalized for delaying the game. Duelists who repeatedly delay the game are subject to upgraded penalties.
- Duelists who take excessive time to perform actions, or make repetitive actions, may receive penalties, even if the delay is unintentional. Penalties are given by a judge, usually beginning with a “Warning.”
- Duelists must inform a judge if they feel their opponent is causing a delay.
- This includes intervals between Duels (time used for Side Decking and shuffling), and the time taken by Duelists to ask questions, and time taken to resolve any issues. (Depending on the situation, the Head Judge may opt to extend time, but this is not guaranteed.)
- Both Duelists are responsible for playing at an acceptable pace so that the Round ends before the Time Limit.
- Slow Play penalties come with a minimum time extension of three (3) minutes, unless the Match is already in End of Match procedure.
E.End of Match Procedure - Swiss Rounds (DAY 1)
If the Match does not finish within the round time limit, the result will be decided by the following End-of-Match procedures:
Swiss Round End of Match procedures should follow these three (3) rules:
Rule #1:
If time is called while Duelists are in the middle of a Game, the current Game must have a decision (Win, Loss, or Draw)
Rule #2:
Once the current Game has concluded with a decision, determine the winner of the Match by determining the number of Game Wins (or Game Losses) each Duelist has for the current Match. The Duelist with the most Game Wins will win the Match.
If both Duelists have the same number of Game Wins, or if time was called in between games of a Match when both Duelists had the same number of Game Wins, then the Match is a Draw.Rule #3:
If a win condition occurs during End of Match Procedures, that Duelist wins the current Game.Keeping these three (3) rules in mind, please follow these instructions when proceeding to End of Match procedures:
- Continue with the current Phase of the Game. Once the Phase is over, stop the Game.
- Determine a Game Winner at this point, with the Duelist with the most Life Points winning the Game. During Swiss Rounds, if both Duelists’ Life Points are the same, the Game is a Draw. Compare Game Wins with the Duelist with the most Game Wins winning the Match. If the Game Win totals are the same, the Match is a Draw.
Draws may only occur during the Swiss portion of a tournament and only during End of Match procedures.
Duelists may not choose to end a Match in a Draw. Intentionally choosing to end a Match in a Draw, playing in a manner designed to end the Match in a Draw, or stalling to have a Match end in a Draw, is against tournament policy and could result in a Disqualification.
F.End of Match Procedure - Single-Elimination (DAY 1 Quarter-Final, and Day 2 Semi-Final and Final)
If the Match does not finish within the round time limit, the result will be decided by the following End-of-Match procedures:
Single-Elimination End of Match procedures should follow these three (3) rules:
Rule #1:
If time is called while Duelists are in the middle of a Game, the current Game must have a decision (Win, Loss, or Draw)
Rule #2:
Once the current Game has concluded with a decision, determine the winner of the Match by determining the number of Game Wins (or Game Losses) each Duelist has for the current Match. The Duelist with the most Game Wins will win the Match.
If both Duelists have the same number of Game Wins, or if time is called in between Games of a Match while both Duelists have the same number of Game Wins, they will begin a new Duel with specific guidelines.
- Neither Duelist may use his or her Side Deck. If time was called in between Games of a Match and at least one Duelist has already accessed his or her Side Deck, then both Duelists may use their Side Deck.
- Duelists must use a random method (die roll, coin flip, etc.) to choose who will go first.
- The Duel will continue for a total of four (4) turns, two (2) turns for each Duelist, unless a Duelist manages to win the Duel before the four (4) turns have concluded.
•A “turn” is defined as the start of the Draw Phase until the end of the End Phase for a single Duelist. - Once the four (4) turns are completed, Life Point totals are compared and the Duelist with the highest Life Point total wins the Match.
- If both Duelists’ Life Points are the same after the four (4) turns are completed, then play will continue on a turn-by-turn basis, with the Duelist with the most Life Points at the end of a turn being declared the winner of that Game.
Rule #3:
If a win condition occurs during End of Match Procedures, that Duelist wins the current Game.
Keeping these three (3) rules in mind, please follow these instructions when proceeding to End of Match procedures:
- Continue with the current Phase of the Game. Once the Phase is over, stop the game.
- Determine a Game Winner at this point, with the Duelist with the most Life Points winning the Game. During Single-Elimination, if both Duelists’ Life Points are the same at the end of the current Phase (Step 1 above), finish the current turn. If both Duelists’ Life Points are the same at the end of the turn, then play will continue on a turn-by-turn basis, with the Duelist with the most Life Points at the end of a turn being declared the winner of that Game.
- Match Draws cannot occur during Single-Elimination Rounds.
G.Dueling Procedures
Conduct each Duel with the following procedures:
- Shake hands with the opponent.
- Each Duelist reveals the number of cards in their Extra Deck and Side Deck.
- Each Duelist must thoroughly randomize (shuffle) their Deck where the opponent can see.
- Each Duelist will use the overhand shuffling method.
- A Duelist cannot look at, check, or order the cards when shuffling.
- A Duelist cannot pre-sort their Deck (sorting Monsters/Spell/Trap, etc.) without fully randomizing the Deck afterwards.
- After the Deck is thoroughly randomized, it must be presented to the opponent. The opponent must randomize (shuffle) the Deck further and then return it to the original owner.
- The owner must then “cut” their Deck, then present it to the opponent who must “cut” the Deck again and then present it back to the original owner. No additional randomization may be done to the Deck after this point by the owner or the opponent.
- If a Duelist is resolving multiple search effects in a turn, they will not shuffle after each individual search effect. Instead, they will wait until all search effects are completed, and then shuffle their Deck.
- To remove confusion about whether or not the Deck is randomized, Duelists will be provided with a two-sided card which will indicate “Randomized” or “Not Randomized,” depending on which side is displayed. While the search effects are being carried out, the card should indicate “Not Randomized.” After all searches are completed, the Deck should be randomized (shuffled) and the card turned to indicate that the Deck is now “Randomized.”
- This should be done prior to the resolution of any effect that requires the Duelist to draw from the Deck, or at the end of the turn.
- If there is any question or concern about whether or not the Deck has been randomized, Duelists should call for a judge.
- A judge will make the final randomization during the Quarter-Finals on Day 1, and the Semi-Finals and Championship Match on Day 2.
- At the start of the Match, Duelists must roll a single die to determine who will go first. The Duelist that rolls the higher number on the die will have the choice of going first or second.
- This must be done before either Duelist draws cards for your starting hand.
- Each Duelist draws five (5) cards from the top of their Deck as their starting hand.
- Before drawing their opening hand, Both Duelists must decide who will go first.
If the Duelists draw cards before deciding who will go first, the Duelist who won the die roll will automatically go first. - The Duelist who loses a Duel of a Match chooses to go first or second for the next Duel in the Match.
- Before drawing their opening hand, Both Duelists must decide who will go first.
- Each Duelist may use their Side Deck to exchange cards in their Deck or Extra Deck (Side Decking) during intervals (time between Duels).
- The number of cards in the Deck and Extra Deck MUST match the same total as it was before a Duelist Side-Decked. After a Duelist has finished Side-Decking, they must reveal and verify the totals for their Side Deck and Extra Deck cards to their opponent.
H.Duelist Responsibilities
- If Duelists have a question or concern about a ruling, policy, or any aspect of the tournament, they must call a judge and follow the judge’s instructions.
- If either Duelist resolves a card effect incorrectly and continues with the Duel, Duelists should call a judge and follow the judge’s instructions to properly address the situation. No disputes will be accepted after the Duel ends.
- Both Duelists must pay attention to each other’s actions during the Duel, as both Duelists are responsible for maintaining the game state.
- Duelists are expected to perform their actions within a reasonable amount of time. Duelists who take excessive amounts of time to make their plays may be subject to penalties.
I. Hygiene
- Duelists are expected to be showered and appropriately groomed when they enter a tournament. Neglecting to wash or put on clean clothes contributes to an unpleasant atmosphere at the event, as the tournament can be crowded, and the day can be long.
- Duelists who neglect self-care to the point that they are negatively impacting the tournament may be asked to correct the issue in order to continue in the event.
WCS2023 Tournament Policy
The 24 Duelists in the WCS 2023 Finals will be the KC Cup 2023 Champion, the top KC Cup Points Duelists for 2023, and the WCS 2023 Regional Representative Duelists.
This tournament consists of two parts; the first half is the "1st Stage," and the second half will be the "Final Tournament" with those who had won through the 1st Stage. Each Round will be a best of 5 Duels, with Duelists using each of their 3 "Standard Decks" and 2 "Legendary Decks" in alternation.
Deck Rules
Duelists will construct 5 Decks that follow the guidelines below.
[General Deck-Building Guidelines]
- Main Deck - 20 to 30 cards
- Extra Deck - 0 to 8 cards
- Each Deck must have a different Legendary Duelist with a different Skill
- Duelists must follow the Forbidden/Limited List effective as of
- You can only have up to 3 copies of the same card across your 5 Decks. In addition, you can only have up to 1 copy of each Limited 1 card across your 5 Decks, up to 2 copies of each Limited 2 card across your 5 Decks, and up to 3 copies of each Limited 3 card across your 5 Decks. (This also applies to cards that are treated as having the same name as another card.)
- Cards you can only obtain 1 or 2 copies of in-game can only be included up to that number across your 5 Decks.
- Only cards, characters, and Skills added prior to the maintenance on can be used.
[Standard Decks]
Duelists must prepare 3 "Standard Decks," which are Decks that abide by the "General Deck-Building Guidelines."
[Legendary Decks]
Duelists must prepare 2 "Legendary Decks" based on the "General Deck-Building Guidelines" and the following guidelines below.
- Select characters from the Legendary Deck List
- Choose a Skill from the "Skills Allowed" for your Deck
- Incorporate "Required Cards" for the selected character
- Choose "Selectable Cards" you want in your Decks
Legendary Decks
Updated on July 19 (JST): Fixed the display of some Characters that were not shown in the Legendary Deck List.
Finals 1st Stage
Players will be paired in rotation with other players that have comparable DP as they play 6 Rounds in the 1st Stage.
Each Round consists of a Best of 5 Duels.
For each Round, Duelists will obtain +3 DP by winning, 0 DP by losing, and +1 DP by ending in a draw.
The 4 Duelists with the highest DP will proceed to the Final Tournament.
The ranking is determined in the following order.
- Highest DP
- Most Duels won
- Least Duels lost
- Highest average DP of opponents
- Highest average DP of opponents defeated
- Highest average DP of opponents' opponents
- Highest average DP of the opponents that opponents won against
- Total remaining Life Points across the Duels won
Final Tournament
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The Final Tournament will be a Single-Elimination tournament (Semi-Finals and Championship Match) between the top 4 Duelists from the 1st Stage.
The winner will be decided by the best of 5 Duels.
Semi-Finals will be held after the 1st Stage on and the Championship Match will be held the next day on
The Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL WCS 2023 Finals will be a Team Battle between teams of three.
Eight teams made up of representatives from each region will compete to be the champion.
The Finals consist of the 1st Stage and Final Tournament. The 1st Stage is a round-robin tournament with teams split into two groups. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Final Tournament
A match between two teams is called a "round." A round consists of each player playing one Duel against everyone on the opposing team.
Each round consists of three sets of three simultaneous Duels.
During rounds, players can talk with their teammates and watch their Duels after finishing their own Duels.
However, they cannot watch other teams' Duels or listen to other teams' conversations.
The winner of a round is the team that won the most Duels. However, if a team has won five or more Duels by the end of the second set, and has therefore already won the round, the third set will not be played, and all Duels in the third set will be counted as wins for the round-winning team.
If the number of Duels won is tied, the round-winning team will be decided by a Duel between the team representatives.
Decks
All Decks must follow the Forbidden/Limited List effective as of and consist only of cards available on that date.
Each player can use up to two Decks and can choose which of the two to use for each Duel. (Six Decks per team in total.)
- There can be at most three copies of each card across all of each team's Decks. If a card is Limited or Semi-Limited, only one or two copies respectively can be included across all of each team's Decks.
Example:
- If you put 2 copies of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" (not on the Forbidden/Limited List) in 1 of your Decks, you can only include 1 more copy across other Decks.
- If you put 3 copies of "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" (not on the Forbidden/Limited List) in 1 of your Decks, you cannot put any more copies in any of other Decks.
- If you put 1 copy of "Called by the Grave" (which is Semi-Limited) in 1 of your Decks, you can only include 1 more copy across other Decks.
- If you put 1 copy of "Crossout Designator" (which is Limited) in 1 of your Decks, you cannot include it in other Decks.
Each team can designate up to 3 "shared cards."
If a card is designated as a shared card, up to 3 copies can be included in each Deck.
If a shared card is Limited, only 1 copy can be included in each Deck. If a shared card is Semi-Limited, up to 2 copies can be included in each Deck.
Example: If you select "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" as a shared card, you can include 3 copies in each of team's Decks.
Finals 1st Stage
In the Finals 1st Stage, eight teams will be divided into groups, and a round-robin competition will be held among the four teams in each group.
The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Final Tournament.
The ranking within each group is determined by the following.
- Total rounds won.
- Most individual Duels won.
- Total Duels won by the team leader.
- If two teams have the same totals for 1 through 3, a Duel between the team representatives will be played to decide which team places higher. Representatives will be selected by a unanimous decision within each team.
Final Tournament
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The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Final Tournament for a total of four teams.
The four teams will compete in the Semi-Finals, with the two winning teams advancing to the Championship Match.
The winning team in the Championship Match will be the winner of this competition.
When the winning team is determined, all other Duels taking place at that moment will be terminated.
