The WCQ logo
The Central American Championship, officially referred to as WCQ Central America, is an annual two-day tournament determining the Central American Champion. It was introduced in 2010.
The tournament happens every year in the summer, after all Central American National Championships have taken place. Only players who live within Central America and have earned an invite at an official Konami event (like a Regional) are allowed to participate in the Central American Championship.
Historically, only the winner of this tournament (and no other Central American player) would get to participate in the World Championship. In 2017, Konami made a significant change to the system by introducing World Qualifying Points (usually dubbed "Worlds Points"). These points can be earned throughout the competitive season by topping official Konami events (mostly OTS Championships, Regionals and YCSs).
In 2017, the player with the highest amount of "Worlds Points" from Latin America qualified for the World Championship. In 2018, this number was increased to two. Notably, Central and South America were combined for this ranking, despite having separate WCQ tournaments.
In 2019, a new mini tournament called the World Qualifying Points Playoffs was introduced. The 16 players across Central America who had earned the highest amount of points would compete for the remaining invite, a system used to this day. Notably, unlike in Europe or North America, the Central American playoffs have a set amount of slots per country/subregion. Presumably, this was done in an effort to give player from smaller countries with fewer and smaller tournaments a fighting chance. As of the 2023-2024 season, the amount of invites are the following:
| Country / Region | Invites to the WQPP |
|---|---|
| Costa Rica / Panama | 2 |
| Guatemala / El Salvador | 2 |
| Honduras / Nicaragua | 2 |
| Jamaica / Dominican Republic | 2 |
| Mexico | 8 |
In 2023, the tournament was unique as the playoffs in that year included the Top 16 players from the 2019-2020 and the 2022-2023 seasons (i.e. 32 total players), because there had been no World Championships in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was also the reason why 2022 was the only year where the top players from the Central American Championship didn't get an invite to the World Championship.
Tournaments[]
2024[]
Date: 21 - 23 June 2024
Location: 
Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 1184
Ref: [1]
Champion: Gabriel Romo ("Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye")
Runner-Up: Eduardo Cortes ("Melodious")
Third Place: 
Gerald South ("Kashtira Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye")
Fourth Place: Jose Vidal ("Tenpai Dragon")
2023[]
Date: 9 - 11 June 2023
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Attendance: 917
Ref: [2]
Champion: Carlos Mercado ("Runick Live☆Twin Spright")
Runner-Up: 
Angel Ovalle ("Purrely")
Semi-Finalist: Aldo Montalvan ("Kashtira")
Semi-Finalist: Kevin Martinez ("Kashtira")
2022[]
Date: 18 - 19 June 2022
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 783
Ref: [3]
Champion: Alain Munoz ("Floowandereeze")
Runner-Up: Manuel Vargas ("Adventurer Dragon Link")
Semi-Finalist: Juan Copado ("Drytron")
Semi-Finalist: Angel Ibarra ("Adventurer P.U.N.K.")
2019[]
Date: 7 - 9 June 2019
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 779
Ref: [4]
Champion: Angel Ovalle ("Salamangreat")
Runner-Up: Alejandro Garcia ("Danger! Thunder Dragon Link")
Third Place: Erick Vega ("Orcust")
Fourth Place: Isidoro Balderas ("Salamangreat")
2018[]
Date: 9 - 10 June 2018
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Attendance: ?
Ref: [5]
Champion: Roger Guzman ("Sky Striker Trickstar")
Runner-Up: Edgar Tinoco ("Sky Striker Trickstar")
Third Place: Ricardo Ruiz ("Sky Striker Trickstar")
Fourth Place: Manuel Vargas ("Sky Striker Trickstar")
2017[]
Date: 24 - 25 June 2017
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 614
Ref: [6]
Champion: Pedro Benhumea ("Zoodiac")
Runner-Up: Juan Galvez ("Zoodiac")
Semi-Finalist: Gabriel Romo ("Zoodiac")
Semi-Finalist: Alejandro Vivaldo
2016[]
Date: 11 - 12 June 2016
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Attendance: 571
Ref: [7]
Champion: Brandon Aguilar ("Monarch")
Runner-Up: Ricardo Ruiz ("Fire King Kozmo")
Semi-Finalist: Gerald South ("Phantom Knights Burning Abyss")
Semi-Finalist: Angel Ibarra ("Phantom Knights Burning Abyss")
2015[]
Date: 20 - 21 June 2015
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 599
Ref: [8]
Champion: Galileo de Obaldia ("Nekroz")
Runner-Up: Daniel Rodriguez ("Nekroz")
Semi-Finalist: Jose Maldonado ("Burning Abyss")
Semi-Finalist: Jonhathan Vazquez ("Nekroz")
2014[]
Date: 5 - 6 July 2014
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Attendance: ?
Ref: [9]
Champion: Jose Lagunes ("Atlantean Mermail")
Runner-Up: Filiberto Parra ("Geargia")
Third Place: Carlo Carrillo ("Hand Artifact Traptrix")
Fourth Place: Daniel Gonzalez ("Geargia")
2013[]
Date: 6 - 7 July 2013
Location: Monterrey, Mexico
Attendance: 378
Ref: [10]
Champion: Alejandro Vivaldo ("Dragon Ruler")
Runner-Up: Luis Gallegos ("Dragon Ruler")
Third Place: Cristian Romero ("Dragon Ruler")
Fourth Place: Victor Ahumada ("Spellbook")
2012[]
Date: 16 - 17 June 2012
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: ?
Ref: [11]
Champion: Alvaro Gonzalez ("Six Samurai")
Runner-Up: Ricardo Luna ("Dino Rabbit")
Third Place: Tomas Jimenez ("Wind-Up")
Fourth Place: Ali Lopez ("Dark World")
2011[]
Date: 26 - 27 June 2011
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
Attendance: ?
Ref: [12]
Champion: Jose Cubero ("Tengu Plant")
Runner-Up/Semi-Finalist: Emmanuel Penaranda ("Scrap")
Runner-Up/Semi-Finalist: Cesar Saborio ("Gladiator Beast")
Semi-Finalist: Anibal Valverde ("Six Samurai")
2010[]
Date: ?
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Attendance: ?
Ref: [13]
Champion: Ricardo Lora ("Flamvell Cat")
Runner-Up: Erick Sanchez ("Blackwing")
Semi-Finalist: 
Mariano Angel ("Super-Nimble Lightsworn")
Semi-Finalist: ?
References[]
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2024-central-america-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2023-central-america-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2022-central-america-yu-gi-oh-tcg-championship/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2019-central-america-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2018-central-america-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2017-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/wcq-2016-mexico/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2015-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2014-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2013-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2012-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/2011-central-american-wcq/
- ↑ https://yugiohblog.konami.com/event/championships/wcq-2010-mexico/
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