KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRATES TEN-YEAR MILESTONE WITH 100TH Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TO BE HELD IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA MARCH 24th and 25th

Thousands of Passionate Duelists to Participate in Landmark Premier-Level Event

El Segundo, CA (March 14, 2012) – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami), the company behind the global phenomenon Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG), is inviting all Duelists to the Long Beach Convention Center on March 24th-25th to participate in the historic 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) and the newly-launched Dragon Duel Championships, created exclusively for Duelists aged 12 & under.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series is a traveling premier-level Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG event that makes tour stops around the world.  The 100th YCS is expected to pack the convention center with several thousand Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG  players with skill levels ranging from determined beginner to advanced aficionados.

To commemorate the 100th YCS, Konami has commissioned two new event-specific game mats: one for all participants and one for those players who reach the Top 32.  In addition, the two Dragon Duel winners will receive a bonus prize: a Super Rare Blood Mefist Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card.  The masterful winner of the YCS will be awarded a trophy specially designed to memorialize the 100th event.  For those Duelists ready to take on the big boys, there will be a Bounty Event where attendees can have a chance to go head-to-head with members of Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG team for bragging rights and an assortment of cool prizing.

Duelists in the main event will be ready for a rigorous two days of head-to-head competition. Beginning with the First Round on Saturday, players will be showing off their A game, and for the chance to advance to the Final Rounds on Sunday and the opportunity to Duel for the title of Champion. Duelists can also participate in a wide variety of fun and challenging Public Events to push their Dueling skills to the limit!  For the first time ever at a YCS event, Konami will be operating a green screen camera where Duelists and attendees can pose for their own Yu-Gi-Oh! Cossy ID card or choose from several backgrounds to make an official Token card!

In addition, Konami will once again hold a Dragon Duel for the younger set (for Duelists born 1999 or later).  The top four finishers in the Dragon Duel events will receive a special Dragon Duel Champion’s Medal and a 2012 Regional Game Mat, while the top two winners will also get a Super Rare YCS prize card! Other prizes include a Dragon Duel T-Shirt and an invitation to their 2012 Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier, where they can earn an invitation to the inaugural Dragon Duel World Championship to be played at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship this summer.

Event Address:
Long Beach Convention Center
300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802

Accompanying the main event, Konami will be conducting a full range of Public Events such as Regional Qualifiers, the Bounty Event,  ATTACK OF THE GIANT CARD!!, Classic Drafts, Dawn of the Xyz Starter Deck Tournaments,  Pegasus Challenges, Retro Drafts and Win-A-Mats.

At YCS Long Beach, Konami will also host new single-elimination Sealed Deck Tournaments!  This new tournament format, the perfect solution for those who don’t have a Deck handy, will feature the recently released Dragons Collide Structure Deck and each Sealed Deck Tournament winner will get an exclusive Dragons Collide Structure Deck Game Mat! For a $10 entry fee, each player will receive a sealed Dragons Collide Structure Deck and is required to use those cards in the box as their Deck for that event.  These Sealed Deck Tournaments are sure to draw many participants and spectators!

The Top 8 of the main event, the Dragon Duel finalists, and the winners of Sunday’s two Public Event playoffs will each be awarded a YCS prize card.  The main event winner will take home an Ultra Rare version of the Blood Mefist prize card, with the other winners bringing home Super Rare versions.

Prizing Information:

1st place – Trophy with embedded Ultra Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, an additional Ultra Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, paid travel and accommodations to the winner’s 2012 World Championship Qualifier, an invite to the 2012 World Championship Qualifier tournament.  Winner will also receive a 64GB portable tablet with redemption codes for Konami Mobile games and a 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat.
2nd place – Trophy with embedded Super Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, an additional Super Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, an invitation to the 2012 World Championship Qualifier tournament, a 64GB portable tablet with redemption codes for Konami Mobile Games and a 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat.
3rd – 4th place – Trophy with embedded Super Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, an additional Super Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, a 64GB personal music player with redemption codes for Konami Mobile Games, an invitation to the 2012 World Championship Qualifier tournament and a 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat.
5th – 8th place – A complete set of Mega-Pack cards from Legendary Collection 2 and a complete set of Order of Chaos, a Super Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card, a 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat and an invitation to the 2012 World Championship Qualifier tournament.
9th – 16th place –A complete set of Order of Chaos, a 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat, and an invitation to the 2012 World Championship Qualifier tournament.

Duelists unable to participate in YCS Long Beach can check out live online coverage of the event provided by Konami staff at www.yugioh-card.com/en/events.

Every Saturday morning, Duelists can watch the all-new Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL animated series as well as classic Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes on TheCW4Kids programming block, the leading Saturday morning kids broadcast network in the United States.  Fans can also view their favorite Yu-Gi-Oh!episodes at www.CW4Kids.com. For more information on Konami or the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES,please visit www.yugioh-card.com or call 310-220-8630.

About The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is the #1 trading card game in the world with over 25 billion cards sold. It is a game of strategy, where players create individual Decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs. Two players engage in a Duel while using cards that represent powerful monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed Decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.  Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is the exclusive licensee and rights holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in North America and Latin America.

About KONAMI

KONAMI is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties and traditional trading card games. KONAMI's software titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers.  KONAMI is also the manufacturer of the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, which has sold more than 25 billion cards worldwide.  The latest information about KONAMI can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM.  Details of the products published by KONAMI can be found at www.konami.com.

Related Links:
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