Today, two Duelists from North America earned invitations to compete in the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2025 for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. They did so by surpassing all other competitors in the World Qualifying Points Playoff. One of those two Duelists is Julien Kehon.

Julien Kehon is originally from Nice, France, but has been living in Sunnyvale, California for over the past decade. Now, as a result of his success in the World Qualifying Points Playoff, he has earned the right to travel back to France for the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2025 and represent the United States in the most prestigious Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME tournament of the year.

Kehon chose to use a Malis Deck in the World Qualifying Points Playoff because he believes it’s able to use a lot of different cards that interrupt an opponent’s plays. “In a format where going second can be difficult, I think Maliss has the highest chance of winning due to it being able to play so many cards that activate in the hand to stop an opponent’s plays,” he explained. Kehon has been playing his Maliss Deck extensively, and was using it even before Maliss <P> March Hare and Maliss in the Mirror were released in May.

Qualifying for the World Qualifying Points Playoff wasn’t easy, but it paid off for Kehon. He got his World Qualifying Points from a variety of events. “I competed in almost all of the YCS events and I made Top Cut in 3 of them,” he said. “I also went to local Regionals in Santa Clara and Los Angeles and made the Top 8 of those events to get more World Qualifying Points.” Kehon said he played in some Remote Duel Regionals too, to boost his World Championship Points and secure his spot in today’s event.

Kehon prepared for the North America World Championship Qualifier by practicing with friends and competing at his local OTS store, “Cardart”. He plans to prepare for the World Championship – which will have a unique card pool and unique Forbidden & Limited List – in the same way. Kehon is counting on his friends. “Even if they don’t go to Worlds, they’re very supportive and will test with me,” he said. “Once I know the card pool and Forbidden & Limited List, I will test as much as I can, explore all of the Decks, and figure out which the best choices will be.”

The Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2025 is certain to be an incredible experience for Kehon. “I’m ecstatic about qualifying,” he said. “I’m super excited. It’s an honor to be able to compete at that, and I can’t wait!”

Good luck to Julien Kehon at this year’s World Championship!