And at the Finish…
As the Summer Championship ends with 10 Japanese finalists out of 16, Season 7 winds to a close. YGO Online International reviews the world rankings to this point, focusing more on just Japan’s continued dominance.
With the Summer Championship 2008 over, Season 7 is almost all over, bar some small post-tournament events, before we get to do this all again in Season 8.
With only four days remaining, the tables seem pretty clear. Japan makes a huge increase in their lead, which reflects their championship performance (There was a Japanese Champion, runner-up, two losing semi-finalists, one losing quarter-finalist and five losing last sixteen qualifiers for a total of 10 Japanese finalists out of 16. The other six positions were filled out by four Germans, one French and one American duelist).
However, as horribly predictable as Japan’s continued dominance may prove, there is still room for some shake ups in the world rankings. Macedonia are pretty much a lock for 11th after only one season, although things are getting tense enough that they may pass out Canada for 10th or drop below Australia for 12th.
Hong Kong have slowed down in recent weeks, leaving them in 15th while Egypt have made a large push reminding us that they still exist, moving up to 22nd and in a great position to pass out a free-falling Netherlands, now in 21st.
While Macedonia’s big début has been a large focus, other nations such as Kenya, Tuvalu and Kuwait will also be making their débuts this season, Kenya leading that pack in 33rd, just behind a resurgent Fiji who have moved from the basement to 32nd.
Speaking of the basement, with Fiji’s rise, it is now Cyprus who are bottom in 49th, just behind Monaco, Vatican City and the Solomon Islands. Don’t feel too bad though, 49th is still much better than the many nations that have yet to have made the rankings, or are not allowed to be registered.
What will Season 8 bring? Probably no huge changes as far as the G8 goes, but from 9th to 49th (and beyond, as more nations will likely break into the rankings) anything goes. Things will be very interesting indeed over the coming months as Season 8, Winter 2008, gets underway.
Leave a Reply