Yu-Gi-Oh Championship Series Comes to Charleston, South Carolina

El Segundo, CA (December 18, 2015) – The welcoming southern charm of South Carolina awaits Duelists from all corners of the globe as they arrive at the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS) Charleston event, presented by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KONAMI). The YCS is a traveling, premier-level Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) competitive tournament, a game made famous by the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV animated series.

On January 31st and February 1st, Duelists young and old, novice and veterans alike, will compete for a bounty of exciting prizes. The first place winner will receive an Ultra Rare version of the latest most sought-after prize card: Ascension Sky Dragon – one of the rarest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG cards in existence!

Hoping to be a part of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG history, Duelists will enter the Charleston Area Convention Center on Saturday morning believing they have the precise combination of luck and strategy for a shot at glory and prizes. Duelists will put their practice and Deck-building skills up against some of the best players the game has to offer for the chance to advance to the Final Round on Sunday and the opportunity to Duel for the title of YCS Champion.

With the newest products, the Secrets of Eternity booster set and the HERO Strike Structure Deck both to be released prior to the event, YCS Charleston will be an incubator of sorts for live game-testing as Duelists unveil brand new strategies and Decks. Duelists will need to devote extra attention to see how the inclusion of the new cards from these products impacts the YCS standings!

YCS Charleston will also be the second YCS to feature Duelists who have qualified for VIP treatment via the VIP Qualifier tournaments only available at Top Performing Official Tournament Stores (OTS). VIP Duelists will receive free entry to the YCS, reserved seating, additional match coverage, and a two-round bye in the Main Event. Duelists should contact their local OTS leading up to YCS Charleston to see if they will be holding a VIP Qualifier tournament or check the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG web site for store locations http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/specialevents/VIP_tournament-locations.html.

Pre-registration for YCS Charleston will run from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30th and registration will continue promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 31st. Upon registering, Duelists will receive five Secrets of Eternity booster packs for participating in KONAMI's YCS Charleston. Round One will start at 10:00 a.m. and the top ranked YCS finishers will earn invitations to participate in the 2015 World Championship Qualifier. Players will use their constructed Decks until the Top 16 are determined, then the Top 16 Duelists will draft cards from Battle Pack 3: Monster League and will use Decks built solely from this product to compete for the Championship. For those Duelists unfamiliar with drafting, KONAMI has created a series of helpful videos at www.youtube.com/user/OfficialYuGiOhTCG.

Event Address:
Charleston Area Convention Center
Exhibit Hall B & C
5000 Coliseum Drive
North Charleston, SC 29418
843-747-1882
http://www.charlestonconventioncenter.com

Accompanying the Main Event, KONAMI will be conducting Dragon Duels (for Duelists born in 2002 or later). The Dragon Duel tournaments on both Saturday and Sunday will be sealed, using Battle Pack 3: Monster League, where each Duelist is given 9 sealed Battle Packs to make a new Deck. The top four finishers in the Dragon Duel events will receive winners' medals, a Dragon Duel T-Shirt, and a 2015 Regional Game Mat. Top-ranked finishers will also win an invitation to the 2015 Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier. The two victors from the Saturday and Sunday tournaments will face off in a best 2 out of 3 match using their own pre-constructed Decks in the Advanced Constructed format, to determine the weekend's overall winner and a chance at the ultimate prize: to hoist the Dragon Duel Champion's trophy and the coveted title of YCS Dragon Duel Champion! Entry to the Dragon Duel tournaments is free to qualified players.

Additionally, a full range of Public Events such as Regional Qualifiers, 3 vs. 3 Team Dueling, ATTACK OF THE GIANT CARD!!, Win-A-Mat, Battle Pack, and Battle City Tournaments will be held through the weekend.

The Main Event winner, the two runners-up and winners of Sunday's two Public Event playoffs will each be awarded a YCS prize card. The Main Event winner will take home an Ultra Rare version of the Ascension Sky Dragon prize card, with the other winners bringing home Super Rare versions. Additionally, the top ranked Duelists will win a Top Cut Game Mat for this event that matches the artwork of the Ascension Sky Dragon card.

Prizing Information:

• 1st place – Ultra Rare Ascension Sky Dragon YCS Prize Card; Trophy; Paid travel to their World Championship Qualifier (if underage, then winner and guardian); YCS Top Cut Game Mat; PlayStation®4 system; and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier tournament
• 2nd place – Super Rare Ascension Sky Dragon YCS Prize Card; 32 GB Tablet PC; YCS Top Cut Game Mat; and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier
• 3rd place – Super Rare Ascension Sky Dragon YCS Prize Card; Xbox One console; YCS Top Cut Game Mat; and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier
• 4th place – Xbox One console; YCS Top Cut Game Mat; and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier
• 5th – 8th place – Nintendo 3DS XL system; Download code of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal World Duel Carnival; YCS Top Cut Game Mat and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier
• 9th – 16th place – 24 booster packs of Secrets of Eternity; YCS Top Cut Game Mat; and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier

If attendance exceeds 513 Duelists:

• 17th – 32nd place – YCS Top Cut Game Mat and an invite to their 2015 World Championship Qualifier

Duelists unable to participate in YCS Charleston can check out online coverage of the event provided by KONAMI staff at www.yugioh-card.com/en/events.

Duelists can watch all-new Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal episodes every Tuesday as well as all of classic Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's on www.yugioh.com in the United States. In addition, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal airs twice on Sundays on Nicktoons. In Canada, Duelists can watch episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal every Friday and Saturday on Teletoon! For more information on KONAMI, the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, please visit www.yugioh-card.com or call 310-220-8630 to speak directly with a Yu-Gi-Oh! customer support team member.

©1996 KAZUKI TAKAHASHI
©2011 NAS/TV TOKYO

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 subsidiaries, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. in Windsor, the United Kingdom. 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.