Under the fluorescent lights of a Manteca card shop, a new name joined the ranks of California sports heroes: Dransword. While his venue of choice was no Oracle or Candlestick , to those in this growing competitive community, his name carried similar weight to Montana, Steph and Bonds.
One after another on this otherwise unremarkable Sunday afternoon in October, Dransword’s opposition lined up against him, only to be struck down by nearly all his creations in battle. The results left them shocked, yet every vanquished opponent couldn’t help but smile after their defeat. They had experienced greatness, and it came at the hands of a 7-year-old.
Dransword, real name Jack Carson, was among dozens of hopefuls who piled into the card shop War Torn Front, a good 70 miles east of San Francisco, to compete in a Beyblade tournament. The game is pretty straightforward: Two competitors launch a spinning top into a plastic stadium; the tops spin and clash until one is left standing. The victor is awarded a certain number of points depending on how their top dispatches their opponent’s. The first competitor to cross the points threshold wins the match. The tops, or “Beys,” can get quite intricate, but the game’s overall simplicity gives someone like Dransword the chance to clean up at local tournaments.
To San Jose-based tournament organizer Steven Hernandez, a run like Dransword’s is Beyblade at its best…