A Report of the Heated Showdown Taking Place at Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2019!
The international Shadowverse tournament—the Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2019—was held on December 25 and 27. In this article, we’re putting a spotlight on the Grand Finals event, held on December 27!
Bringing a year of Shadowverse to a close! A tournament bringing together the best of the best!
The Shadowverse World Grand Prix is a tournament held every December since 2017 to determine the best Shadowverse player in the world. A total of 24 skilled players, such as winners of major tournaments held around the world, gather to compete for the grand prize of 110 million yen (1 million US dollars) and the title of the year’s best player.
At this year’s Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2019, all 24 players competed in 6 Swiss-style rounds (a tournament format where all participants play a fixed number of matches) on December 25. The eight players who fought their way through and managed to earn the best results advanced to the Grand Finals held on December 27.
The excitement stretches beyond the matches! Shadowverse fans gather in Sonic City.
The Grand Finals were held in Saitama’s Sonic City, conveniently located close to Tokyo. With support from the Saitama Foundation for Culture and Industry, a cosponsor of the tournament, as well as from Saitama Prefecture, Producer Yuito Kimura’s desire to give players and fans the experience of a world tournament in a theater facility was made into a reality. Even though the Grand Finals were held on a weekday close to the end of the year, many Shadowverse fans came to be a part of it!
The venue was full of other events and experiences in addition to the Grand Finals, such as a Take Two tournament where players could earn RAGE seeding, play areas where players could experience new cards prior to their release, a booth promoting tourism in Saitama where visitors could buy limited-edition Saitama specialties, and more. The scene was a lively one, even outside the tournament hall.
Who earned the glory of being the world’s best…?! The finals match between sasamumu and jupi / Qwert.
As Shadowverse fans packed the venue, sasamumu and jupi / Qwert were the two players to advance to the finals.
Neither player gave an inch in this best-of-5 match, with both players scoring 2 wins and 2 losses apiece. In the fifth and final round, sasamumu’s Natura Dragon deck defeated jupi / Qwert’s Natura Haven, allowing sasamumu to climb to the summit of the Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2019!
In a victory interview, sasamumu expressed his deep passion for the game by saying, “Shadowverse is my life.”
Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2020 announced!
During the event’s ending following the Grand Finals, Producer Kimura announced that the Shadowverse World Grand Prix 2020 will be held.Like this year, the winner will receive 110 million yen in prize money, and 24 players who earn top results in tournaments around the world will be invited to play.
Who knows what kind of dramatic moments we can expect in this year’s world championship!
Please keep looking forward to great things from Shadowverse in 2020!
