Changes
→Semifinals
In the first semifinal '''Marik vs. Joey''' (Marik Ishtar vs. Joey Wheeler) like Mai, Joey was subject to a [[Shadow Game]], with each Duelist being drained of life as each monster is destroyed. As Joey is pushed back by Marik's traps and monster effects, Joey manages to create a short comeback with reviving "Jinzo" after Marik is unable to name it as the bottom card of his graveyard with the effect of "[[Question (anime)|Question]]", and later with "[[Gilford the Lightning (anime)|Gilford the Lightning]]". However, the comeback was short-lived as Marik revives Ra and uses its [[Egyptian God Phoenix]] and [[Point-to-Point Transfer]] abilities to bring Joey to the brink of defeat in an attempt to incinerate him. However, Joey, to Marik's surprise, manages to remain standing, and he Summons "[[Gearfried the Iron Knight (anime)|Gearfried the Iron Knight]]" in an effort to attack a wide-open Marik. However, Joey collapses before making his attack, and Marik wins by default. Had this Duel not been a Shadow Game, Joey would have won.
With Joey being in critical condition (in the dub, he is said to be "fighting the shadows" of the Shadow Realm), Yugi is forced to battle Kaiba when more pressing matters were at stake (namely, Joey's health). The '''Yugi vs. Kaiba''' (Yami Yugi vs. Seto Kaiba) Duel was evenly-matched, as Yugi's attempt to Summon "Slifer" was countered by Kaiba's attempt to Summon "Obelisk". The two God cards were Summoned in successive turns, and after more jockeying for power with Spell Cards, the two evenly-matched God cards destroyed each other. With both God cards gone, Kaiba resorts to Summoning his three "[[Blue-Eyes White Dragon (anime)|Blue-Eyes White Dragons]]", while Yugi would have "[[Red-Eyes B. Dragon (anime)|Red-Eyes Black Dragon]]", Joey's "soul card". Kaiba forceed the Duel to end by playing "[[Final Attack Orders (anime)|Final Attack Orders]]", making both players discard all but three cards from their Decks and prohibiting the Defense Mode. Using his three cards, Yugi manages to combine "[[Dark Magician (anime)|Dark Magician]]" with "[[Buster Blader (anime)|Buster Blader]]" to form "[[Dark Paladin (anime)|Dark Paladin]]", and, along with, "[[De-Fusion (anime)|De-Fusion]]" used to defeat Kaiba's "[[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (anime)|Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]]" and give "Dark Paladin" a huge ATK boost, then used "[[Diffusion Wave-Motion (anime)|Diffusion Wave-Motion]]" to win the Duel. As the tournament rules states, Kaiba is forced to give up Obelisk.
During the Duel, as Red-Eyes Black Dragon was being played, Joey manages to regain consciousness. In the ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters'' anime (but not in the manga), he promptly challenges Kaiba to a Duel for third place, just for fun. Kaiba declines, believing that Dueling Joey would be beneath him, but Joey manages to convince him to Duel. Although Kaiba won, Joey reveals that Kaiba had simply allowed anger to get the best of him in both his Duel with Yugi and with Joey (as witnessed by him once taking control of "Blue Eyes White Dragon" in their Duel - a card considered to be Kaiba's prized possessions, and Kaiba using another "Blue Eyes" to destroy it).
