Tournament Structure

A. Tournament Tiers
There are two tiers of tournaments in KDE Organized Play   Tier 1 – Casual : This encompasses Tournament Store level events, Junior level events, Pegasus Challenge, and Duelist Leagues.  Tier 2 – Competitive : This encompasses Regional Qualifiers, Dragon Duels, Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Extravaganzas, Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, National Championships, World Championship Qualifiers, and World Championships.  Tier 1 events are designed for casual play and light to moderate rules enforcement. Tournament Policy and Penalty Guidelines apply at these levels, but the focus is on fostering a friendly and fun atmosphere for Duelists to play in. These events will use the End of Match Procedure for Single-Elimination Rounds (Section V, sub-section G). This means that Matches will not have Draws at this level.

Tier 2 events are prestigious events, and will have the highest level of rules and penalty enforcement. Dragon Duel events must be run as Tier 2 events. The Swiss Rounds of these events will use the End of Match Procedure for Swiss Rounds (Section V, sub-section F). This means Matches during Swiss Rounds can end in a Draw.

B. Formats
There are a variety of available formats for Sanctioned Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments. Duelists should make sure they know the format for the tournament they plan to attend, and ensure they are adequately prepared.  Constructed Format: Duelists must bring their own tournament-legal Deck in order to play in a Constructed Tournament. Constructed Tournaments are run using either the Advanced or the Traditional card lists. Sealed Deck Format: Duelists in Sealed Deck format events will be provided with card product at the event, and they will construct their Tournament Decks from that product only. Sealed Deck formats include Sealed Pack (Duelists are given a set number of boosters and/or a sealed, pre-constructed deck with which to select their cards) or Booster Draft (Duelists open product in groups and select cards to include in their Deck). The tournament description for Sealed Deck tournaments will explain the format. Open Format: Open Format events are casual events that do not have set pairings, no Win/Loss records, and there are no time limits imposed on Duelists. This format is primarily used for Sneak Peeks and Duelist Leagues. 

C. Time Limits
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG rounds are 40 minutes in length at both Tier 1 and Tier 2 events. For certain events like Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, National Championships, etc., round lengths may be adjusted at the discretion of the Tournament Organizer, but only if it is advertised before the start of the event.

For Single-Elimination playoff rounds, the time limit may be adjusted by the Head Judge or Tournament Organizer, but only if announced before the start of the elimination rounds.

D. Number of Duels
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG matches are run in a best-of-three Duels format. The first Duelist to win two Duels is declared the winner of the Match. If a Duelist loses two Duels, they are considered to have lost the Match. If both Duelists have one loss in a Match and both receive a simultaneous Game Loss, the Match is considered a Double Loss. It is possible to play more than three Duels in a Match, if Duels end in a Draw before the end of the round.

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