Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game Champions Patrick Hoban and Ben Leverett are Heading to Las Vegas to Represent North American in World Championship

El Segundo, CA (July 22, 2013) – Besting more than 2000 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) players in highly competitive and at times, nerve-wracking play, Patrick Hoban achieved the top prize of being crowned the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG North American Champion, at this past weekend's North American World Championship Qualifier (WCQ) in Chicago. Additionally, Ben Leverett made a name for himself, by claiming the title of North American Dragon Duel Champion! Duelists traveled from across the United States and Canada to this premier-level event hosted by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami) for a chance to earn the right to represent North America at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada August 11th -12th.

Amid a sea of Yu-G-Oh! TCG Duelists and spectators, the halls of Navy Pier were buzzing with excitement and nervous energy as players from all corners of North America were anticipating their next pairing and weighing their chances for advancing to the next round of play. However, by Sunday afternoon, all eyes were on the two biggest match-ups of the weekend, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG North American WCQ Final Round and the North American Dragon Duel (open to Duelists born 2000 or later) finals.

Vying for the title of North American Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Champion were Hoban from Covington, Georgia and Finleyville, Pennsylvania's David Keener III. Playing with his well-worn Dragon Ruler Deck, Hoban skillfully kept the pressure on Keener, as he confidently met nearly every move with a well-played card from his Prophecy Deck. Sensing the end was near; a hush came over the crowd as they intently watched Hoban topple Keener to become the 2013 North American Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Champion!

Seated across from each other for the North American Dragon Duel Championship finals were Ben Leverett from Winston, Georgia and Oliver Tomajko from Croton-on-the-Hudson, New York. Both of these very talented young players gave it their all and were truly an inspiration to all Duelists, young and old! Leverett turned toward his reliable Dragon Ruler Deck as he confidently completed each move. Though Tomajko also played deftly with his own Dragon Ruler Deck, he couldn't stave off the force of Leverett's cards and was defeated, leaving Leverett to proudly raise the North American Dragon Duel Championship trophy amid the cheering crowd.

Hoban and Leverett received an invitation to and travel and accommodations for the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship and Dragon Duel World Championship, respectively, to be held in Las Vegas, a trophy, a complete set of Cosmo Blazer and Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy, a Super Rare Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry YCS Prize Card, a tablet PC, a personalized Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship jersey to be awarded at the World Championship and packs of Return of the Duelist, Abyss Rising, Cosmo Blazer and Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy.

Hoban will be accompanied by Keener, Stephen Silverman, Norbeto Leon, Robert Boyajian II and Aaron Riker, the other top finishers at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Main Event, in Las Vegas. Tomajko will join Leverett at the Dragon Duel World Championship.

The 2013 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship will be held at Bally's Las Vegas (www.ballyslasvegas.com). Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG fans and families and friends of participating Duelists are encouraged to come cheer on the players. Throughout the weekend, spectators and players alike can enjoy a host of challenging and fun Public Events to hone their Dueling abilities. Konami will be running events such as 2014 Regional Qualifiers, 2014 Dragon Duel Qualifiers, and ATTACK OF THE GIANT CARD!! There will even be some carnival-type games to add to the fun!

Duelists can tune in every Saturday morning for the all-new Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal animated series and classic Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes on Vortexx on The CW in the United States. In addition, classic Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes air weekdays on Nicktoons, along with Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal airing on the network Saturday and Sunday mornings. In Canada, Duelists can watch episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal every Friday and Saturday on YTV!

For more information on Konami or the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Qualifiers, 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 B.V. in Windsor, the United Kingdom. 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.