Jorge Luis Campos Valverde Trumps Competitors at Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series in San José, Costa Rica

El Segundo, CA (April 23, 2013) – Hundreds of Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) players from across the globe spent this past weekend Dueling their peers hoping to earn the envious title of Champion at the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS), a premier-level Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG event from Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami). But at the end of the exciting weekend of play only one was crowned YCS Champion – Jorge Luis Campos Valverde!

The head-to-head battles started early Saturday as the First Round of the competition got underway. Playing hard all weekend, Duelists kept their eyes on the prize – a seat at Sunday's Final Round table. As the competition got more heated, Duelist after Duelist were ousted. With only two remaining, Campos Valverde took his place across from Paul Cooper at the coveted table.

The two top Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Duelists did not disappoint the large crowd as Duel after Duel proved that the two were indeed a perfect match for each other. A cool-headed 21-year-old Campos Valverde was optimistic that his HERO Deck would give him the edge, while Cooper was feeling that his Hieratic Deck would be unbeatable. Both players displayed some unique strategies and showcased the depth of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG but when the Final Round finished, it was Campos Valverde 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 – Continental of their region and much more!

On Saturday, Jonathan Duran (for Duelists born 2000 or later) expertly 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 – Continental. 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, Sebastian Rios bested a commendable line-up 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.