JOAQUIN RINALDI AND ALVARO SOBERON WIN BIG AT SOUTH AMERICAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER & SOUTH AMERICAN DRAGON DUEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER

El Segundo, Calif. (June 21, 2016) – Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) game players from across South America spent an exciting weekend Dueling in the Yu-Gi-Oh! South American World Championship Qualifier (WCQ) and Yu-Gi-Oh! South American Dragon Duel WCQ to earn the right to compete in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship this August in Orlando, Florida. TCG powerhouse Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KONAMI) brought its premier-level event to the Círculo Militar de Suboficiales for a weekend of head-to-head competition among veteran and novice players, but only two emerged victorious: Joaquin Rinaldi of the Main Event and Dragon Duel winner, Alvaro Soberon.

Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Joaquin Rinaldi delivered in the clutch all the way to the Final Round of the South American World Championship Qualifier deftly playing a Dracoslayer Performapal Deck making Carlos Lopez from Bogota, Colombia play strategically from the draw of the first card. Though Lopez expertly used his best strategy with his Fire Kings Kozmo Deck, in the end, he could not compete with Rinaldi’s playing ability.

In addition to the title of South American World Champion, Rinaldi returned home with an armload of prizes that included an invitation to the World Championship, travel and accommodations to the World Championship, and complete sets of the boosters Breakers of Shadow and Shining Victories. Additionally, Rinaldi grabbed two Super Rare copies of the YCS Prize Card, a 64GB iPad, a WCQ Top Cut Game Mat, a Championship Trophy and 24 booster packs from recent sets. He will also receive a personalized jersey to be awarded at the World Championship.

The South American Dragon Duel WCQ, an event for Duelists born in 2003 or later, was equally thrilling to watch as Lima, Peru’s Alvaro Soberon used his Constructed Monarch Deck all the way to the finals.  He had the right combination of skill and strategy to oust Christian Suarez from Quito, Ecuador, who also played a Monarch Deck in their head-to-head playoff final.

Soberon picked up some great prizes too, including: an Invitation to the World Championship, travel and accommodations to the World Championship, complete sets of Breakers of Shadow and Shining Victories, a Super Rare copy of the YCS Prize Card, 64GB iPad, WCQ Top Cut Dragon Duel Game Mat, a Championship Trophy, and a personalized jersey (to be awarded at the World Championship).

Duelists can watch a new episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V every Sunday on Nicktoons – check local listings for times. In addition, 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 can be seen on www.yugioh.com in the United States. In Canada, Duelists can watch episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V every Friday and Saturday on Teletoon! For more information on KONAMI 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.

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 HOLDINGS 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. Details of the products published by KONAMI can be found at www.konami.com.