Duelist Kingdom


 * This article is about the tournament, for the story arc or location, see: Duelist Kingdom (arc) or Duelist Kingdom (island).

Duelist Kingdom was a tournament organized by Maximillion Pegasus, which took place on his island of the same name.

Duelist Kingdom was a tournament, in which some of Japan's strongest duelists were invited to compete for the title "King of Games" and a prize money of ¥3,000,000 (About $27,959 US at the time, but changed to $3,000,000 in the English dub). Yugi Muto entered the tournament with best friend Joey Wheeler in tow, Yugi having been forced to participate after Pegasus stole Solomon Muto's (Yugi's grandfather) soul in a Shadow Game.

Purpose and planning
Following the death of Maximillion Pegasus' lover Cecelia, Pegasus became interested in the ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death and travelled to Egypt to learn more. There he followed Shadi to an underground chamber. Since only Millennium Item holders were permitted to leave, he was put on trial by the Millennium Eye, to become its owner. During the test, he was briefly embraced by an illusion of Cecelia.

After creating the game Duel Monsters, Pegasus took interest in KaibaCorp's Solid Vision technology, which could enhance the game by creating realistic projections of the monsters. He also saw it as a means of creating another lifelike projection of Cecelia. His company Industrial Illusions teamed up with KaibaCorp to work on using Solid Vision for Duel Monsters.

Pegasus took an interest in taking over KaibaCorp and had spies from Industrial Illusions employed by KaibaCorp, including Kemo. KaibaCorp's good reputation was credited to its president, Seto Kaiba, being the number one gamer in Japan. However when Kaiba lost a Duel to Yugi Muto and his other self, Yami Yugi, their reputation dropped as investors lost confidence in them. In the manga, Kaiba was also left in a coma due to his Penalty Game. Pegasus made a rogue business deal with KaibaCorp's largest shareholders, The Big Five, which would result in him becoming CEO of KaibaCorp. As part of the deal Pegasus was required to defeat Yugi Muto in an official Duel to rebuild KaibaCorp's reputation.

Pegasus set up the Duelist Kingdom tournament in order to face Yugi in an official Duel. He sent invitations to some of Japan's top duelists, including Yugi. He also sent Yugi a videotape, which enabled the two of them to Duel though a TV. He defeated Yugi and stripped the soul of Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Muto, from his body as Yugi's Penalty Game. Yugi was forced to enter the tournament in order to return his grandfather to normal.

Yugi and his friends depart for Duelist Kingdom
Pegasus selects only the best for his Duelist Kingdom tournament, giving each duelist 2 Star Chips and allowing entry into the finals to only the first 4 players to get 10 of them. That meant that Joey was not to be included, however he desperately needed the prize money in order to pay for an eye surgery for his sister Serenity, whose disease was slowly causing her to go blind. So Yugi gave one of his Star Chips to Joey and the 2 friends started dueling their way to the top.

Sneaking their way into the cargo room of the ship, Téa Gardner and Tristan Taylor also accompany Yugi & Joey during their duels. In addition, their friend from school Ryo Bakura also makes his way to Duelist Kingdom by which way however is left a mystery.

Duel Rules

 * Each player begins the Duel with 2000 Life Points.
 * Direct attacking your opponent's life points is not allowed.
 * Players can Summon any Level Monster without a Tribute.
 * Certain cards have anime-only special abilities affecting the Playing Field (e.g. "Umi" hides underwater monsters from being seen by the opponent; if attacked, "Mystical Moon" will lower "Umi's" tide to reveal the hidden monsters, etc.).
 * Fusion Monsters are added to the Main Deck and can be Normal Summoned or Set.
 * Fields give certain monsters bonuses, like the Ocean field for WATER monsters, which are eventually turned into a real card, (Umi), except the original ATK and DEF of those monsters gained by the bonus increases by 30 percent.
 * Only one attack is allowed to be declared per turn.
 * When a monster is destroyed by a card effect, the controller of that card will receive damage equal to half of that monster's ATK points.

Tournament Rules

 * Only 48 hours is given to obtain 10 star chips.
 * Participation is by invitation only. Each participant is given 5 Invitation Cards, 2 Star Chips, and 1 Dueling Glove.
 * Participants in the preliminary round must be in possession of at least 1 Star Chip.
 * Each Duel, a player must wager a minimum of 1 Star Chip.
 * Players who have lost all their Star Chips are sent home.
 * The first 4 players to obtain 10 Star Chips will be admitted entry into the Castle in order to participate to the Duelist Kingdom Finals.
 * Duelist Kingdom Finals are set up in a playoff-type mini-tournament.
 * Each participant of the Duelist Kingdom Finals must present one of his Playoff Entry Cards ("Glory of the King's Hand" or "Glory of the King's Opposite Hand").
 * "Glory of the King's Hand" is needed to claim the tournament cash prize.
 * "Glory of the King's Opposite Hand" allows the winner to challenge Pegasus for the Championship.

Yugi Muto vs. Weevil Underwood
Episodes 004-005.
 * Yugi defeats Weevil Underwood, the Japanese Duel Monsters tournament Champion and obtains 2 Star Chips. Yugi also wagered his Deck in order for Weevil to wager an additional Star Chip). YUGI'S TOTAL: 3. This also allows Yugi to take Weevil's title as National Champion.


 * Mai defeats a random duelist (Duel not featured) and obtains 2 Star Chip. MAI'S TOTAL: 4.

Joey Wheeler vs. Mai Valentine
Episode 006
 * Joey defeats Mai Valentine. Obtains +1 Star Chip. JOEY'S TOTAL: 2. MAI'S TOTAL: 3.

Yugi Muto vs. Mako Tsunami
Episode 007
 * Yugi defeats Mako Tsunami, a sea duelist. Obtains +2 Star Chips. YUGI'S TOTAL: 5.

Yugi Muto vs. Mokuba Kaiba
Episode 008
 * Yugi loses two star chips after Mokuba steals them and Kemo, Pegasus's main bodyguard, throws them into the ocean. YUGI'S TOTAL: 3.

Yugi Muto vs. Ghost Kaiba
Episodes 009-010
 * Yugi defeats the Player Eliminator ("Dark Kaiba", also known as "Yami Kaiba" or "Ghost Kaiba" in the dub). Obtains +3 Star Chips. YUGI'S TOTAL: 6.


 * Mai defeats random duelist (Duel not featured). MAI'S TOTAL: 8.

Joey Wheeler vs. Rex Raptor
Episodes 011-012
 * Joey defeats Rex Raptor, the Japan Tournament Runner-up. Obtains +2 Star Chips, plus Rex's Red-Eyes B. Dragon card as part of the ante. JOEY'S TOTAL: 4. REX'S TOTAL: 3.

Yami Yugi vs. Yami Bakura (non-tournament)
Episode 013
 * In the anime version, at night, Yugi beats Dark Bakura in a Shadow Game. This duel was adapted from the Monster World RPG game in Volumes 6 & 7 of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, and does not take place in the manga. No star chips are wagered.


 * Mai gets beaten by PaniK and loses 8 star chips (Duel not featured). MAI'S TOTAL: 0.

Yugi Muto vs. PaniK
Episodes 014-015
 * Yugi beats PaniK to give Mai all of her star chips back. MAI'S TOTAL: 8.

Joey Wheeler vs. Seto Kaiba (non-tournament)
Episode 016
 * As Seto arrives to Duelist Kingdom, his attitude angers Joey and he challenges Seto to a Duel. In the end, Seto's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" defeats Joey's "Red-Eyes B. Dragon".

Joey Wheeler vs. Bonz
Episodes 017-018
 * Joey beats Bonz, a zombie duelist with cards from Bandit Keith. Obtains +4 star chips. JOEY'S TOTAL: 8.

Yugi Muto + Joey Wheeler vs. Para + Dox
Episodes 019-021
 * Joey and Yugi fight together against Para and Dox, who are "Eliminators". YUGI'S TOTAL: 10. JOEY'S TOTAL: 10.


 * Pegasus also has to get Kaiba's technology. Pegasus appeals to The Big Five, Kaiba's Board of Directors, and abducts Mokuba. Kaiba goes to Duelist Kingdom to get Mokuba back. Pegasus traps Mokuba's soul in a card.
 * In the English anime, Pegasus sends Mokuba to the Shadow Realm and forces Kaiba to beat Yugi to try and get Mokuba back. The Big 5 are fired after this arc in the manga.

Yugi Muto vs. Seto Kaiba
Episodes 022-024
 * Kaiba confronts Yugi on the top of the castle, explaining his situation to him. He also wants a rematch after losing the first Duel they played. Yugi accepts the challenge, and they each wager 5 Star Chips so that only one of them will be allowed entry into the Castle. During this Duel, Kaiba merges his three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" to create "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon". However, his combo is destroyed with an impenetrable wall of "Kuriboh", "Mammoth Graveyard", "Living Arrow", and "Polymerization". Kaiba threatens he'll jump off the tower if he should lose (in the english anime, Kaiba says the attack of Yugi's monster might knock him off the edge), so for fear seeing Kaiba hurt Yugi overcomes his other self (Yami) and surrenders the duel. KAIBA'S TOTAL: 10, YUGI'S TOTAL: 5.

Yugi is so shaken up by this experience that he breaks down in tears, vowing never to duel again. He fears his other self could cause someone serious harm.

Téa Gardner vs. Mai Valentine (non-tournament)
Episode 025
 * In the Anime, to get Yugi back into the finals Tea decides to duel Mai Valentine (who has 16 Star Chips). Initially, Mai offers her 6 surplus Star Chips in order to repay Yugi back for his duel with PaniK but Yugi, who is still shaken up, refuses. Although Mai could have beaten Tea with the card "Harpie's Feather Duster", she instead forfeits in order to help Yugi (without admitting it). Inspired by Téa's dedication, Yugi receives the boost he needs to galvanize himself for the finals. YUGI'S TOTAL: 10.
 * In the manga, Mai simply gives the star chips to Yugi, rather than dueling Téa for them.

Seto Kaiba vs. Maximillion Pegasus (non-tournament)
Episodes 026-027
 * Before the finals, Pegasus introduces Kaiba to the finalists and the two duel. If Pegasus wins, he will take Kaiba's soul; if Kaiba wins, Mokuba's soul will be restored.


 * Kaiba's monsters are far stronger but Pegasus can see his opponent's cards and predict his strategies using the Millennium Eye.


 * Pegasus uses Continuous Spell Card "Toon World", which transforms all his monsters into toons which cannot be destroyed. Kaiba attempts to use the "Crush Card Virus" combo that he used against Yugi but Pegasus reads his mind and prevents the strategy from working.


 * In the end, Pegasus uses "Doppelganger" (aka "Mimicat") to copy Kaiba's "Crush Card Virus" and wins the duel.


 * After his victory, Pegasus uses his Millennium Eye to steal Kaiba's soul. Seeing this and knowing it has happened because Kaiba was trying to save his little brother, Yugi starts to cry and demands to know why Pegasus is toying with people.


 * Seconds later, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle activates and Yugi's "other self" emerges for the first time since his duel with Kaiba which nearly ended in tragedy. Yami Yugi vows to defeat Pegasus once and for all but he will first have to get through the remaining rounds of the tournament.

Semi-final #1: Mai Valentine vs. Yugi Muto
Episodes 029-030
 * In the English anime, Yugi tries to hold back Yami Yugi's dueling strength because of his willingness to beat Kaiba even if it meant his death. However, in the manga and Japanese version of the anime, Yami Yugi is concentrating on the coming duel with Pegasus and not on the duel with Mai.
 * In both cases this leads to Yugi making mistakes during the Duel. Because of these mistakes, Mai gets a huge advantage, with her "Harpie Lady Sisters" and "Harpie's Pet Dragon" (2000 ATK and an additional 300 for each Harpie on the field) while Yugi fields only "Kuriboh", "Gaia the Fierce Knight", and "Swords of Revealing Light". On the last turn however, Yugi gets "Black Luster Ritual" to summon "Black Luster Soldier" and destroys Mai's "Harpie's Pet Dragon". Being down on morale and seeing she has no monsters to counter, Mai forfeits the Duel.

Semi-final #2: Joey Wheeler vs. "Bandit" Keith Howard
Episodes 031-032
 * Keith Howard steals Joey's Playoff Entry card, nearly causing Joey to be disqualified. However, Mai gives Joey her entry card, allowing him to participate in extremis.
 * Keith uses machine cards, which are very powerful. Joey uses his Trap Cards to hold off the machines, and then copies Keith's "Metalmorph" to make his "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" a machine itself with an added 400 ATK. Furthermore, Joey uses "Dragon Nails" to power up his Red-Eyes even more to avoid being destroyed by Keith's "Blast Sphere".
 * Keith uses "Slot Machine", but cheats by putting two Spell Cards up his sleeve, each being able to power up "Slot Machine" by 700.
 * On the last turn, Keith damages Joey's dragon and attacks it with "Slot Machine", but Joey activates "Graverobber" to grab Keith's "Time Machine", returning his monster to the way it was a turn before. Joey attacks "Slot Machine" and wins the duel.
 * Pegasus then confronts Keith and says that he saw his cheating, whereupon Keith tries to get the prize money by force. In the anime, Pegasus drops Keith down a trap door, and Keith eventually reappears prior to Battle City under the mind control of Marik Ishtar. In the manga, Pegasus inflicts a penalty game on Keith, causing his apparent death.

Final: Joey Wheeler vs. Yugi Muto
Episodes 033-034
 * Last, is the match to determine who will duel Pegasus. This duel exists only in the anime.
 * The Duel turns out a rather even battle, with Joey seemingly gaining a good lead about mid-way through. He copies Yugi's "Summoned Skull" and fuses it with "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" to create "Black Skull Dragon".
 * However, Yugi destroys it with the combo "Dark Magician", "Spellbinding Circle", and "Book of Secret Arts", and ultimately Joey's lead is completely lost due to a miscalculation on his part. As he plays the "Time Wizard"-"Baby Dragon" combo to summon "Thousand Dragon", his Time Wizard's magic turns Yugi's "Dark Magician" into "Dark Sage", which allows Yugi to play a Spell Card every turn (even during an opponent's turn and even if the Spell Card is not set).
 * Exploiting this, Yugi activates "Makiu, the Magical Mist" to counter Joey's attack, then plays "Monster Reborn" to bring back Joey's "Black Skull Dragon". After telling Joey this move is the toughest he is about to make, Yugi orders his monster to attack him and wins the duel.

Note: Pegasus skipped the match in the manga automatically making Yugi the winner.

Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium
Episodes 035-039
 * Pegasus applies the same strategy to Yugi as he did to Kaiba. He's able to play "Toon World", making all his monsters invincible. Pegasus saw every one of Yugi's strategies, and counters every one of them. However, Yugi then uses mind shuffle. Yugi and Dark Yugi keep changing places, and Pegasus cannot see the mind of the other. Therefore, he does not know what Yugi plans.


 * In the English anime, Pegasus then sends the duel into the Shadow Realm, where his illusion monsters come into play. In the manga and Japanese anime, Pegasus does not use the Shadow Realm as the Shadow Realm does not exist in either of those versions. In either version, the duel still turns into a Shadow game where summoning monsters creates a massive strain on the duelist's mind if they don't have the strength. Dark Yugi had the strength to work through it, but Yugi didn't, which Pegasus knew, resulting in his near death.


 * Yugi's friends are able to block Pegasus from reading Dark Yugi's mind, so his plan to be able to read his mind still doesn't work. Ultimately, Yugi wins.

Aftermath
Episode 040 In the end of it all, Pegasus's Millennium Eye gets stolen by Dark Bakura, and the souls of Mokuba Kaiba, Seto Kaiba and Solomon Muto are restored. Yugi gives Joey the money for Serenity's eye surgery.