Zayn Malik makes surprise appearance on competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! Masters Duel stream

Yu-Gi-Oh! Masters Duel hosted the Shadow Duelist tournament finals with special guest Nocturn, a masked celebrity who turned out to be music artist Zayn Malik.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Masters Duel streamed the finals via IGN’s YouTube channel on August 29 and had been dropping hints about the identity of Nocturn for about a month. The winner of the event, fictinium, was given Nocturn’s mask signed by Zayn as a prize.

Zayn wore the mask and gloves, and used a voice changer throughout the stream to hide his identity before revealing himself at the 1:18:00 mark of the stream. Throughout the broadcast, the hosts would ask Zayn as Nocturn for his thoughts on the match, and who he thought would claim his mask.

The former One Direction member talked about learning the game and playing the character after his reveal, detailing how he fell in love with the series. Then, the hosts asked about his life and what was next for the musical star.

“I’m dabbling a little bit with South-Asian sound. So I’m making some records, like singing in a completely different language, which is really interesting and proves difficult at different points. But it’s a challenge, and I like a challenge,” he said on stream.

He also said that he has “some pretty big announcements” set to come out soon, which some fans have interpreted as his possible return to live concerts. The last time the star performed live was in 2017 in Japan, outside of a few one-night-only shows in England in May 2024.

The surprising crossover wasn’t all that shocking to those watching the stream live, as many viewers figured out the celebrity guest thanks to hints on social media.

However, the cross-over was nonetheless surprising to those not watching the competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! Masters Duel space, as the reveal shocked many who both watch the esport and are fans of the artist.