“You are expected to be clean upon entering the tournament. Failure to wash or dress cleanly will create an unpleasant atmosphere at the event, as the tournament may become crowded and the day may be long,” reads the 2019 Yu-Gi-Oh tournament rule change. “Individuals who neglect self-care to the point of negatively impacting the tournament may be asked to correct the issue in order to continue at the event.”
That changed as smelly players began to invade tournaments, or at least it became more socially acceptable to call out their poor hygiene.
For seven years, those rules were followed and respected by the players. However, the organizers of the recent tournament have been forced to strictly enforce them as a large number of athletes turned up at their event with poor hygiene.
An Oregon Yu-Gi-Oh tournament was recently canceled due to excessive odor
First reported by IGN, Kronos Games & Gifts, an independent TCG store in Beaverton, Oregon, recently hit the headlines for issuing a one-week suspension of local Yu-Gi-Oh events.
In a statement posted on its Discord server, the store said it has had problems with people using the bathroom and poor hygiene, leading to bad reviews.
“We regret to inform you that there will be a one-week suspension of our local events,” the message began. “We've had issues with people misbehaving in the toilets and lots of bad reviews due to poor hygiene.
“As a reminder, we encourage players to follow Konami guidelines and report anyone who doesn't.”
In 2024, in a very different turn of events, a female Yu-Gi-Oh player was kicked out of a tournament because her opponents smelled too bad.
The problem is prevalent in both Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. IGN reports that a Pokémon organized play group in Nebraska has added a new rule to its community. It states that “individuals are also required to maintain a socially acceptable level of hygiene during the event,” and “depending on the level of dress or hygiene, the tournament organizer may allow the tournament participant to change their personal hygiene and dress or return to the venue.”
- First movie
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Yu-Gi-Oh! movie
- First TV show
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Yu-Gi-Oh
- First episode air date
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April 18, 2000
- Last episode
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2004-04-29
