In a twist that sounds like something from the Battle City arc of Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters, Zayn Malik of One Direction was revealed on August 29, 2024 that he was the inaugural Shadow Duelist in the Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel tournament. During the event itself, he took on the persona of Nocturne, hiding his face underneath a horned mask.
Zayn’s participation in the tournament had nothing to do with his surname sounding like the first name of Marik Ishtar, who was one of the main antagonists of Battle City. He’s actually a huge Yu-Gi-Oh fan himself and talked about his passion for the game after the unmasking. Zayn shared his binder of cards, as well as the fact that his favorite card is the Shooting Star Dragon, which is also one of his best cards. The winner of the Master Duel tournament, Fictinium, won a signed copy of the Nocturne mask as part of the prize package.
Zayn Malik was part of One Direction, a very big and popular boy band from the early 2010s. He left the group in 2015 to begin a solo career. His lead single was “Pillowtalk,” which was one of the clues that the tournament organizers dropped when teasing the true identity of the mysterious duelist Nocturne.
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, and mobile devices. The world championship of the game will take place in Seattle on September 7 and 8, 2024.
Published: Aug 30, 2024 09:20 pm