The World Championship Qualifiers logo (2019)
The Duel Links World Championship Qualifiers (WCQ), also referred to as Regional Representative Qualifiers (RRQ), is an annual Duel Links tournament determining the majority of invites to the subsequent Duel Links World Championship. It was first held in 2017, as this was also the first year a World Championship for Duel Links had taken place. During the first two years (2017 and 2018), the WCQ determined all participants to the World Championship (apart from the reigning World Champion, who was also invited back). This was changed the following season, as Konami also added Worlds invites to the KC Cup reward system.
Between 2020 and 2022, there were no World Championships due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As such, there were also no World Championship Qualifiers. Instead, Konami hosted KC Grand Tournaments, which were intended as digital replacements for the Duel Links World Championship.
Leading up to the first post-Covid World Championship in 2023, another way of qualification was added, as players could now earn "KC Cup Points" (KCCP) at the KC Cups. At the end of the season, the players with the highest amount of KCCP would also earn a World Championship invite.
In 2024, the Duel Links World Championship was split into two seperate tournaments for the first time, those being Speed Duel (the traditional Duel Links format) and Rush Duel, which was a new format added to the game in late 2023. Because of this, there were now two World Championship Qualifiers per year.
The WCQ follows the exact same tournament format as the KC Cup (explanation see there), the major difference being the existance of a regional ranking. In the KC Cups, only the #1 player worldwide receives a World Championship invite. In the WCQ, the top players from each region (officially referred to as areas) earn their invite to the World Championship. The regions as well as the amount of invites they get have varied quite a bit over the years.
It's important to note that even though each region has its own ranking, the areas have no effect on matchmaking.
Unlike the Master Duel World Championship Qualifiers, which are open to all players, the Duel Links Qualifiers can only be played by people who have previously achieved a certain ranking in one of the KC Cups.
Tournaments[]
2024[]
WCQ Speed Duel 2024[]
1st stage: 3 - 17 June 2024
2nd stage: 14 - 17 June 2024
Ref: [1]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
 "薇尔今天吃什么@ENP"(Not eligible) |
1 | 5 | "Zombie" (Spirit Grasp) | 66,302 |
 Zaid Beseiso "zaidking"
|
2 | 11 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) "Blue-Eyes" (Battle Chronicle) |
63,590 | |
World Championship invite passed down to: Camron Imeny"Tadashi 正" |
3 | 12 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) "Shaddoll" (Shadow-Weaving Power) "Agent" (Tuning in the Sky) |
63,288 | |
| Latin America/Carribean (Area B) |
 Felix Carreto "Carret"
|
1 | 15 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) | 60,820 |
 Sebastian Villarroel "Shelmy"
|
2 | 16 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) | 60,511 | |
| Europe (Area C) |
 Klaas Schmidt "BMcD returns"
|
1 | 6 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) "Mayakashi" (The Stirring Mayakashi) |
64,996 |
| Japan (Area D) |
 Yousei Tomita"よう、" (Already qualified) |
1 | 2 | "Rokket" (Borreload Link) | 70,873 |
| World Championship invite passed down to: Ryosuke Takayasu "RYOSUKE" |
2 | 3 | "Zombie" (Spirit Grasp) "Rokket" (Borreload Link) |
70,735 | |
| Asia/Oceania/Middle East/Africa (Area E) |  Wonmo Je"Sen. GaOV" |
1 | 1 | "Agent" (Turning in the Sky) | 75,298 |
KCCP Top Players 2024[]
| KCCP Rank | Name | Rank KC Cup 2023 SEP |
Rank KC Cup 2023 NOV |
Rank KC Cup 2024 FEB |
Rank KC Cup 2024 APR |
KCCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shota Inoue "みさか"
|
7 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 307 |
| 2 | Kaito Konagaya "ACT"
|
3 | 38 | 20 | 2 | 258 |
| 3 | Tomohiro Asano "アサノ"
|
2 | / | 3 | 18 | 257 |
| 4 | Takuma Kitamura "たく"
|
5 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 249 |
| 5 | "蓝与白@ENP" (Not eligible) |
/ | 2 | 8 | / | 214 |
| 6 | World Championship invite passed down to: Sungil Cheon "Sen. tiras" (Already qualified for Master Duel) |
4 | / | / | 5 | 186 |
| 7 | World Championship invite passed down to: "ゆとり薬剤師" (Did not attend) |
47 | 9 | 5 | 39 | 182 |
| 8 | World Championship invite passed down to: Yamato Kobayashi "やま@ぶるりすと" |
8 | 8 | / | / | 172 |
WCQ Rush Duel 2024[]
1st stage: 3 - 10 June 2024
2nd stage: 7 - 10 June 2024
Ref: [2]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
Richard Pacheco "pacowacotaco"
|
1 | 30 | "Yggdrago Cyberse" (Maximum Ragnarok) | 42,671 |
| Marc-Andre Ladouceur-Kirkor "QuantumCubes"
|
2 | 34 | "Yggdrago Cyberse" (Maximum Ragnarok) "Ultimate Flag Machine" (Ultimate Bond) |
42,125 | |
| Latin America/Carribean (Area B) |
 Rafael Jose "Zeeta"
|
1 | 9 | ? | 56,072 |
| Europe (Area C) |
Andreas Gerlach "[B&P]Command"
|
1 | 6 | "Ultimate Flag Machine" (Ultimate Bond) | 56,925 |
 Giorgio Pattoni "Giorfio"
|
2 | 8 | "Yggdrago Cyberse" (Maximum Ragnarok) | 56,714 | |
| Japan (Area D) |
"决斗之王 王道 游我" (Not eligible) |
1 | 1 | ? | 65,925 |
| Yuuya Kaneko "プレイヤーyn" |
2 | 2 | "Yggdrago Cyberse" (Maximum Ragnarok) "Noodle Nina" (Noodle Art Reboot) |
65,777 | |
| World Championship invite passed down to: Shutaro Ishii "もけもけ" |
3 | 3 | "Noodle Ninja" (Noodle Art Reboot) | 64,377 | |
| Asia/Oceania/Middle East/Africa (Area E) |  Gabriel Tan "Voltalon"
|
1 | 4 | "Yggdrago Cyberse" (Maximum Ragnarok) "Ultimate Flag Machine" (Ultimate Bond) "Noodle Ninja" (Noodle Art Reboot) |
60,884 |
2023[]
WCQ 2023[]
1st stage: 30 May - 12 June 2023
2nd stage: 9 - 12 June 2023
Ref: [3]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
Zaid Beseiso "zaidking" |
1 | 19 | "Orcust" (Sealed Tombs) "Speedroid" (Clear Wing Acceleration) |
57,287 |
| "3E Sanjito64" (Did not attend) |
2 | 20 | "Rokket" (Borrel Launch) |
57,216 | |
| Angel Gomez "serenity" |
3 | 21 | "Onomat Orcust" (Guardian Call) |
57,212 | |
| World Championship invite passed down to: "717" (Did not attend) |
4 | 23 | ? | 56,910 | |
| World Championship invite passed down to: Vincent Bellafiore "VBellafiore" |
5 | 24 | "Onomat Orcust" (Guardian Call) |
56,549 | |
| Latin America/Carribean (Area B) |
Sebastian Villarroel "Shelmy" |
1 | 22 | "Orcust" (Sealed Tombs) | 57,097 |
| Itallo Rodrigues da Fonseca "REVERSO @NBA" |
2 | 27 | "Majestic Orcust" (Majestic Light) "Orcust" (Sealed Tombs) |
56,087 | |
| Jesus Hernandez "[BC] jesemil" |
3 | ~31 | ? | 54,988 | |
| Europe (Area C) |
Daniel Yang "B&P Dypsilon" |
1 | 12 | "Thunder Dragon Orcust Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
65,145 |
 Kyle Schlosser"3E/DRMoyster" |
2 | 16 | "Speedroid" (Clear Wing Acceleration) |
59,214 | |
| Klaas Schmidt ">BMcD" |
3 | 18 | "Orcust" (Sealed Tombs) |
57,298 | |
| Japan (Area D) |
Yousei Tomita "よう、" (Already qualified) |
1 | 1 | "Orcust Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
79,639 |
| Eito Sato "あしゅ@GLORY" |
2 | 2 | "Speedroid" (Clear Wing Acceleration) |
77,338 | |
| Sho Kanzawa "限界東雲かんざわ" |
3 | 3 | "Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
77,328 | |
| World Championship invite passed down to: Ryosuke Takayasu "RYOSUKE" |
4 | 4 | "Speedroid" (Clear Wing Acceleration) |
75,848 | |
| Asia/Oceania/Middle East/Africa (Area E) |  Wang Wei Sen"Gsc kama3" |
1 | 5 | "Orcust" (Switcheroo) |
70,205 |
| "蓝与白@ENP" (Not eligible) |
2 | 7 | "Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
67,106 | |
| Jonghwan Lee "유쿠" |
3 | 10 | ? | 66,001 | |
| Hao Jiang "B.Z 白眼の青龍" |
4 | 11 | "Orcust Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
65,800 | |
| World Championship invite passed down to: Yu Nung Tsou "DLTW ArtiQno" |
5 | 14 | "Orcust Pendulum Magician" (Raging Pendulum) |
60,581 |
KCCP Top Players 2023[]
| KCCP Rank | Name | Rank KC Cup 2022 SEP |
Rank KC Cup 2022 NOV |
Rank KC Cup 2023 FEB |
Rank KC Cup 2023 APR |
KCCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shota Inoue "みさか"
|
3 | 2 | 80 | 4 | 320 |
| 2 | Kaito Konagaya "ACT"
|
4 | / | 4 | 17 | 222 |
| 3 | Shuya Narita "素振りをする素振り"
|
6 | 3 | / | 18 | 219 |
| 4 | Jian Yu Jiang "Sachi" | / | 10 | 11 | 3 | 218 |
2019[]
1st stage: 28 May - 9 June 2019
2nd stage: 6 - 9 June 2019
Ref: [4][5]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
Anderson Tsang "AndyTsang" |
1 | 14 | "Six Samurai" (Light and Dark) "Red-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) "Spellbook" (Light and Dark) |
97,260 |
| Jason Chu "Jason" |
2 | ? | ? | 90,298 | |
| Robert Tanney "Dkayed" |
3 | ? | "Blue-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) "Red-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) "Neos" (Masked Tribute) |
89,750 | |
| Latin America/Carribean (Area B) |
Rafael Jose "Zeeta" |
1 | 12 | ? | 98,103 |
| Vinicius Manhaes Poiatti "FM Vino" |
2 | ? | "Spellbook" (Light and Dark) |
87,733 | |
| Eduardo Marangoni de Vasconcelos "FM Eduu16" |
3 | ? | "Blue-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) "Red-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) |
85,491 | |
| Europe (Area C) |
Andreas Gerlach "CwC Suhn" |
1 | 7 | "Subterror" (Masked Tribute) |
100,134 |
 Alberto Aguado"φ Belban φ" |
2 | ? | "Neos Subterror" (Masked Tribute) |
85,180 | |
| Raschad Weikaemper "RaW" |
3 | ? | "Subterror" (Masked Tribute) |
84,310 | |
| Japan (Area D) |
Shuhei Kobayashi "コバヤシ@NEO" |
1 | 1 | "Neos Koa'ki Meiru" (Sealed Tombs) "Red-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) |
114,107 |
| Masaaki Nitta "まあ@爪団" |
2 | 2 | "Six Samurai" (Sealed Tombs) |
113,327 | |
| Yuya Aoyama "March@NEO" |
3 | 3 | "Neos Koa'ki Meiru" (Sealed Tombs) |
112,247 | |
| Korea/Taiwan/Oceania (Area E) |
Jonghwan Lee "유쿠/Yukoo" |
1 | 8 | ? | 100,056 |
| Asia/Middle East/Africa (Area F) |
"RedY" (Did not attend) |
1 | ? | "Red-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) |
93,888 |
 Man Poon Chun"[SEM]Raymond" |
2 | ? | "Blue-Eyes" (Sealed Tombs) "Neos Koa'ki Meiru" (Sealed Tombs) "Subterror" (Masked Tribute) |
90,325 | |
World Championship invite passed down to: Mohamed Hassaan"Nightingale" |
3 | ? | ? | 82,789 |
2018[]
1st stage: 28 May - 11 June 2018
2nd stage: 8 - 11 June 2018
Ref: [6]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
Alex Cheung "machdragon" |
1 | 1 | "Spellbook" (Restart) "Masked HERO" (Restart) |
104,899 |
| Josh Cooper "BKayed" |
2 | 2 | "Masked HERO" (Restart) "Sylvan" (Grit) |
104,668 | |
| Jason Chu "Jason" |
3 | 3 | "Masked HERO" (Grit) "Sylvan" (Grit) |
102,235 | |
| Latin America/Carribean (Area B) |
 Patricio ..."Striker [STK]" |
1 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Restart) | 79,424 |
| Rafael Jose "Zeeta" |
2 | ? | "Amazoness" (Restart) "Spellbook" (Restart) |
63,899 | |
| Junior Silva "negão do zap" |
3 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Restart) "Spellbook" (Restart) "Stall" (Extra, Extra) |
57,906 | |
| Europe (Area C) |
 Charlie Whyborne"Whybona" |
1 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Restart) | 73,910 |
 Miguel Azevedo"MiguelJoker" |
2 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Restart) "Spellbook" (Restart) |
73,696 | |
| Marjo Jahaj "Koizumi" |
3 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Restart) "Spellbook" (Restart) |
73,611 | |
| Japan (Area D) |
Takahiro Hamada "あれ。" |
1 | ? | ? | 72,385 |
| Ryoichi Kitahata "CwC/限界一閃Tsun" |
2 | ? | "Amazoness" (Restart) | 72,299 | |
| Riki Yamamoto "わんぱくちやん @NEO" |
3 | ? | "Noble Knight" (Balance) "Geargia" (Restart) "Masked HERO" (Grit) "Stall" (Extra, Extra) |
69,752 | |
| Korea/Taiwan/Oceania (Area E) |
Yeom-Jun Lee "DeckMaker" |
1 | ? | "Masked HERO" (Grit) "Stall" (Extra, Extra) |
90,779 |
| Asia/Middle East/Africa (Area F) |
 Roy Svinik"Jenkins" |
1 | ? | ? | 74,377 |
 Warizmi Thayib"silentlofd" |
2 | ? | "Spellbook" (Restart) "Amazoness" (Restart) "Masked HERO" (Restart) |
74,192 |
2017[]
1st stage: 1 - 12 June 2017
2nd stage: 9 - 12 June 2017
Ref: [7]
| Area | Name | Rank (Area) | Rank (Global) | Mostly used deck(s) | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America (Area A) |
Robert Tanney "Dkayed" |
1 | ? | "Swift Gaia" (Balance) | 144,071 |
| "☆StarHitman☆" (Did not attend) |
2 | ? | ? | 131,330 | |
| Central America (Area B) |
"Yanstorm [DT]" (Did not attend) |
1 | ? | "Clown" | 115,201 |
| South America (Area C) |
"uchihaleandr" (Did not attend) |
1 | ? | "Harpie" | 102,447 |
| Europe (Area D) |
"dgzo"
|
1 | ? | ? | 97,886 |
| Marjo Jahaj "Koizumi" |
2 | ? | ? | 90,585 | |
 "Tutpup"
|
3 | ? | "Gravekeeper's" "Harpie" |
90,433 | |
| Japan (Area E) |
"名もなきパラオ∞"
|
1 | ? | "Harpie Relinquished" | 126,136 |
| "サムソン吉田"
|
2 | ? | "Three-Star Machine" | 121,757 | |
| Korea/Taiwan (Area F) |
"BoAFanYZ"
|
1 | 1 | ? | 170,439 |
| Asia/Middle East/Africa (Area G) |
Warizmi Thayib "silentL@INA" |
1 | ? | ? | 112,145 |
| Oceania (Area H) |
 Timmy Chiew"Timmy" |
1 | ? | "Relinquished" "Three-Star Dark Magician" "Beatdown" "Harpie Relinquished" |
100,593 |
References[]
- ↑ https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/2024/speed/world-championship-qualifiers/report
- ↑ https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/2024/rush/world-championship-qualifiers/report
- ↑ https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/2023/wcs/report
- ↑ https://www.duellinksmeta.com/articles/tournaments/world-championship-qualifiers/report
- ↑ http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/d6lfdmb2
- ↑ https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-duel-links-wcq-2018/
- ↑ https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-duel-links-wcq-2017/
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