Quarterfinals: Osman Ortiz vs. Luke Chen

Both players were given an opportunity to check through each other’s decks before the match began, and after doing so, they shuffled up in silence. At the word from the head judge, they rolled the dice and began the game.Game One Osman won the roll and opted to begin the game. He started off with Delinquent Duo, causing Luke to lose both Heavy Storm and Sakuretsu Armor. Osman continued with a set monster, then ended his turn. Luke set a card to each zone and passed back to Osman. Osman flipped D. D. Assailant, then played Nobleman of Crossout on Chen’s face down monster. It was Gravekeeper’s Spy, and all copies of it were removed from the game.

​The Assailant attacked directly and Chen was brought to 6300 life points. Osman finished up by setting a monster and passing. All Chen could muster on his turn was two more face down cards. Osman attacked, looking for a Scapegoat, but to his surprise, the attack connected for another 1700. Chen pulled Delinquent Duo and played it eliminating Osman’s Snatch Steal and Lightning Vortex. Osman continued his relentless DD Assault however, and Chen dropped to 1900 life points. Chen was scrambling for answers, and he found one in the form of Swords of Revealing Light. After carefully studying his face down cards, Chen passed.Osman drew but had nothing to get rid of the Swords, so he passed without playing anything. Chen looked for a way to get back into the game, but he was forced to pass as well. The game of “draw, go” continued as Osman passed yet again, and Chen followed suit, bringing up the last turn of Swords of Revealing Light. Osman finally decided to set a card, and he ended, removing the Swords from the field. Chen continued his stall-fest by summoning Sinister Serpent and tributing it to Metamorphosis. His freshly summoned Thousand-Eyes Restrict tried to suck up D. D. Assailant, but Torrential Tribute stopped him in his tracks. Osman only needed one good hit in to win the game, but the Sangan that he had summoned wasn’t quite enough. Chen used Mirror Force on it anyways, and Osman searched out his Sinister Serpent with Sangan’s effect.Osman set three cards down and ended his turn, with Dust Tornado destroying his Ring of Destruction in the end phase. Chen started out by returning his Serpent to his hand, and then he summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior. Breaker destroyed a face down Metamorphosis with its effect, and then Chen declared its direct attack. However, Chen had chosen poorly with the effect, as the card he missed was Mirror Force, which Osman then activated. Osman pressed his advantage with Graceful Charity, and he discarded Sinister Serpent and Guardian Kay’est to complete its effect.He followed it up by summoning Asura Priest and attacking, but Chen’s Sakuretsu Armor cut the attack short. Osman set two more cards, and passed over to Chen, who simply set a monster and passed. Osman studied the graveyards and brought back his Serpent before removing a Light and a Dark monster for Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. He removed the face down monster from Chen’s field with his Soldier’s effect, then activated Premature Burial to revive his D. D. Assailant. He declared the Assailant’s attack and Chen dropped to 200 life points. Still in the battle phase, Osman activated Call of the Haunted on his Sangan and attacked once more ending the game.Osman 1, Chen 0Game TwoBoth players side decked with great care, neither one wanting to lose because of a careless mistake in card choice. During shuffling, the table judge noticed a card in Osman’s deck that might have been considered marked. He quickly corrected it and the match proceeded as scheduled.Chen opted to go first, and he started out with a face down card to each zone. Osman summoned Spirit Reaper and wasted no time obliterating Chen’s face down Sinister Serpent with Nobleman of Crossout. He attacked, but was stopped by Scapegoat. Osman attacked a Sheep token, then set a card and passed. Chen summoned D. D. Warrior Lady and attacked the Reaper, hitting for 1200 and removing both monsters from play. He set one more card, then passed the turn back to Osman. During the end phase, Dust Tornado took out Chen’s set Metamorphosis.Osman summoned Sinister Serpent in attack position and attacked a Sheep token before setting a card and passing. Chen summoned Blade Knight and set two cards, dropping down to one card in hand before attacking Sinister Serpent. However, Osman wouldn’t stand for it, and he used Book of Moon to halt the Knight’s attack. Osman then summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and used its effect to destroy Chen’s set Premature Burial. He attacked the face down Blade Knight, then switched his Serpent to defense position and passed. Chen set a monster, then played Messenger of Peace and said go.Osman wondered if the card was Morphing Jar, and chose to use Metamorphosis on his Serpent. Thousand-Eyes Restrict hit the field and sucked up the face down Magician of Faith. Osman ended, and all Chen could do was pay for Messenger and end. Osman drew Pot of Greed and played it, but he found no answers to the Messenger, so he ended his turn. Chen paid for Messenger once more and laid a card face down.Osman drew into Heavy Storm, but decided not to play it yet. He passed instead, and Chen continued to pay for his Messenger. He summoned Exiled Force and used his priority to destroy Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Osman carefully considered his play, and chose to set a monster and end rather than play the Heavy Storm. He was slowly wearing Chen down through his own Messenger, and didn’t feel any need to stop for the time being. Chen set a third face down card, giving him four cards in his spell and trap zone, and this was the opening Osman needed to get a huge advantage over his opponent. He played Heavy Storm, going 4-2 in advantage and taking out Chen’s Call of the Haunted, Book of Moon, and Bottomless Trap Hole in addition to the aggravating Messenger of Peace.Osman flipped back his D. D. Assailant and summoned Sangan before finishing off the Sheep token and attacking directly with D. D. Assailant. Chen played his own Heavy Storm, and Osman chained with Ring of Destruction destroying his own Sangan.Chen was down to one card in hand, and Osman looked to end the game by taking Mystic Swordsman LV2 with Sangan’s effect. Chen had nothing else and he simply ended his turn. Osman summoned D. D. Warrior Lady and attacked with everything. Chen was left with 100 life points and needed to topdeck Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning to have a prayer of continuing in the tournament. He didn’t get it, and the game was over.Osman Ortiz wins the match 2-0 and advances to the semifinals.

Metagame.com (2005)

This article was originally written by Metagame.com, what was formerly the official website for large Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament coverage.  It has been preserved by GoatFormat.com so that players can learn from this historical tournament coverage.