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Duel Links Kaiba Corporation Cup

The KC Cup logo

The Kaiba Corporation Cup (usually abbreviated as KC Cup) is a series of major Duel Links tournaments that take place four times per competitive season (September, November, February and April). It is named after the Kaiba Corporation from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. Alongside the annual World Championship Qualifiers, they represent the five main official tournaments that happen each season in Duel Links apart from the World Championship. It was first held in March 2017, about two months after the worldwide release of the game in January 2017. Throughout the years, the KC Cup underwent several notable changes.

The first KC Cup lasted for a week (29 February - 6 March 2017). During this week, players had to first increase their "DLv." by winning games. After reaching level 20 ("DLv. Max"), they could further gain points ("DP") by winning games and lose them by losing games. The goal was to reach the highest amount of DP possible. Notably, players would only compete against players of the same region.[1]

The second KC Cup, which happened a few months after the inaugural Duel Links World Championship, was different from the first one in several ways. The event was now divided into two stages and the timeframe in which players could gain DP was reduced significantly from seven to three days. Instead, a "1st stage" was added, lasting roughly one and a half weeks. This stage was intended for players to reach DLv. Max so they could compete in the leaderboard race as soon as the second stage started. Instead of a regional competition, the matchmaking as well as the leaderboard was now global.
Additionally, the top 500 players from each region would earn an invite to the upcoming World Championship Qualifiers. This is the tournament structure that the KC Cup follows to this day.[2]

About one year later, following the World Championship 2018, Konami made another notable change to the KC Cup system, as players could now earn a direct invite to the World Championship by winning a KC Cup. Previously, all invites to the World Championship had been given out via the Qualifier tournament.

From 2020 to 2022, no World Championships took place due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, the winners of the KC Cups would instead earn an invite to compete in the first stage of the KC Grand Tournaments which were held as digital replacements to the World Championship.

Leading up to the the first post-Covid World Championship in 2023, another addition was made, as players could now earn "KC Cup Points" (KCCP) at the KC Cups and qualify for the World Championship by having the highest amount of KCCP. In 2023, four players were invited this way. While all participants who finish within the Top 100 of a KC Cup (i.e. everyone who earns a "Silver Icon") receive KCCP, the system heavily favors players who achieve Top 20 finishes. Currently, the amount of KCCP awarded per KC Cup is as follows:

Rank KCCP
2nd 128
3 - 10th 96 - 82 (Steps of 2)
11 - 20th 40 - 31 (Steps of 1)
21 - 50th 3
51 - 100th 2


Currently, the record for the most KC Cup wins of a single player is two. This has been accomplished by five players (Yeom-Jun Lee "DeckMaker", "Grucius", Sho Morita "ほわ", Yousei Tomita "よう" and Camron Imeny "Tadashi 正")

Tournaments[]

Start date
(2nd stage)
Name Winner Mostly used deck(s) and skills DP Ref
2016-2017 Season
2017-02-27 2017 MAR No global ranking [3]
2017-2018 Season
2017-11-17 2017 NOV United States Robert Tanney
"Dkayed"
"Ninja"
(Three-Star Demotion)
130,565 [4]
2018-02-16 2018 FEB South Korea Yeom-Jun Lee
"DeckMaker"
"Magnet Warrior"
(Restart)
74,860 [5]
2018-04-13 2018 APR South Korea Yeom-Jun Lee
"DeckMaker"
Various decks 80,981 [6]
2018-2019 Season
2018-09-07 2018 SEP Germany Eugen Heidt
"Eugen"
"Vampire"
(Sealed Tombs)
82,103 [7][8]
2018-11-24 2018 NOV Japan Naoya Shimomura
"しもん"
"Anti-Meta"
(Sealed Tombs)
99,102 [9]
2019-02-14 2019 FEB Japan Ryoichi Kitahata
"TsunTsun"
"Vampire"
(KaibaCorp Bling)
"Buster Blader"
(Last Gamble)
"Amazoness"
(Chain Reaction)
70,035 [10][11]
2019-04-11 2019 APR Japan Takuma Matsumura "松" "Koa'ki Meiru"
(KaibaCorp Bling)
150,379 [12][13]
2019-2020 Season
2019-09-13 2019 SEP Japan "haru" "Fortune Lady"
(Time Passage)
135,362 [14][15]
2019-11-21 2019 NOV United States Camron Imeny "Negative1" "Invoked Elementsaber"
(Sorcery Conduit)
140,516 [16][17]
2020-02-14 2020 FEB Canada Zaid Beseiso "Zaidking" "Darklord"
(Compensation)
"Invoked Elementsaber"
(Sorcery Conduit)
98,122 [18][19]
2020-04-10 2020 APR Japan "Maa" "HERO" (Grit) 103,464 [20][21]
2020-2021 Season
2020-09-18 2020 SEP Japan "Zaloog" "Shiranui"
(Level Duplication/Level Augmentation)
97,262 [22][23]
2020-11-20 2020 NOV "[B&P]Grucius" "Megalith"
(Master of Rites II)
"Invoked Lunalight"
(Destiny Draw)
"Barrel Dragon"
(Master of Destiny)
"Invoked Ritual Beast Roid"
(Destiny Draw)
91,100 [24]
2021-02-11 2021 FEB Germany Raschad Weikaemper
"[B&P] GM RaW"
"Star Seraph Darklord"
(See You Later!)
"Thunder Dragon"
(Level Duplication)
"Atlantean"
(Territory of the Sharks)
90,580 [25]
2021-04-15 2021 APR Brazil Rafael Jose
"[MBR] Zeeta"
"Star Seraph Darklord" 83,580 [26]
2021-2022 Season
2021-09-17 2021 SEP "hAru" "Thunder Dragon"
(Destiny Draw)
80,535 [27]
2021-11-26 2021 NOV "[B&P]Grucius" "Fire King"
(Destiny Draw)
"Harpie"
(Harpies' Hunting Ground)
84,424 [28]
2022-02-11 2022 FEB Japan "うずまき" "Abyss Actor"
(Sealed Tombs)
76,908 [29]
2022-04-15 2022 APR Japan Kaito Konagaya
"ACT"
"Phantom Knights"
(Phantom Strategy)
72,551 [30]
2022-2023 Season
2022-09-15 2022 SEP South Korea Wonmo Je
"Sen. GaOV"
"Rose Dragon"
(Spell of Roses)
80,917 [31]
2022-11-18 2022 NOV Japan Yasuhiro Yamashita
"pyama"
"Code Talker Mekk-Knight"
(Code Talker Alive)
80,203 [32]
2023-02-17 2023 FEB Japan Yousei Tomita
"よう、"
"Atlantean Mermail"
(Territory of the Sharks)
"Mekk-Knight" (The Tie that Binds)
78,787 [33]
2023-04-14 2023 APR Japan Sho Morita
"ほわ@"
"Code Talker Salamangreat"
(Code Talker Alive)
74,945 [34]
2023-2024 Season
2023-09-15 2023 SEP Japan Eito Sato
"あしゅ@GLORY"
"Rokket" (Borrel Launch)
"Destiny HERO" (Destiny Effect)
80,938 [35]
2023-11-10 2023 NOV Japan Sho Morita
"ほわ@"
"Salamangreat"
(Three Effects!)
82,149 [36]
2024-02-15 2024 FEB South Korea Seungbeom Lee "우부이" "Shiranui"
(Shiranui Style Successor"
80,572 [37]
2024-04-12 2024 APR Japan Yousei Tomita
"よう、"
"Zombie" (Red-Eyes Undead Reborn)
"T.G." (Limiter Removal! Regulator Open!)
78,115 [38]
2024-2025 Season
2024-09-20 2024 SEP Indonesia "L-ikan" "Rokket" (Borreload Link) 82,503 [39]
2024-11-15 2024 NOV United States Camron Imeny "Tadashi 正" "Predaplant" (Starving Venom Invasion) 83,088 [40]
2025-02-14 2025 FEB To be determined To be determined

References[]

  1. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/j06t9088
  2. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/iqt4nfri
  3. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/j06t9088
  4. https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-duel-links-kc-cup-2017-nov/
  5. https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-duel-links-kc-cup-2018-feb/
  6. https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-duel-links-kc-cup-2018-feb/
  7. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2018/report
  8. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/ixspykbq
  9. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/9d98pf5m
  10. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2019/report
  11. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/lo2r68i8
  12. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/april-2019/report
  13. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/uxnlcoyd
  14. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2019/report
  15. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/qqoaw97g
  16. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2019/report
  17. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/5s5giat2
  18. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2020/report
  19. https://twitter.com/zaidking_YGO/status/1229660456337494016
  20. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625042858/https://www.duellinksmeta.com/tournaments/kc-cup/april-2020/report/
  21. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/yiapf20f
  22. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2020/report
  23. http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/h79ainwl
  24. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2020/report
  25. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2021/report
  26. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/april-2021/report
  27. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2021/report
  28. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2021/report
  29. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2022/report
  30. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/april-2022/report
  31. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2022/report
  32. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2022/report
  33. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2023/report
  34. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/april-2023/report
  35. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2023/report
  36. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2023/report
  37. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/february-2024/report
  38. https://twitter.com/You_ygo_links/status/1779737439667634331
  39. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/september-2024/report
  40. https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/kc-cup/november-2024/report
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