When Yu Yu Hakusho's protagonist Yusuke Urameshi unexpectedly gets his life back after a noble sacrifice, he's feeling on top of the world. The rest and relaxation don't last long, though, as Yusuke is given special new powers and anointed Spirit Detective of the Earth. His job is to use his abilities to hunt down evil demons and eliminate their threat to society by whatever means necessary.
However, one of Yusuke's earliest assignments should have ended his second life and his Spirit Detective journey before it truly began: the Genkai Tournament. A collection of the world's best martial artists have gathered for a chance to learn the famed psychic Genkai's secret techniques. Among the competitors is a sadistic and murderous demon -- the human hunter Rando. Yusuke's mission -- to find and defeat Rando while also winning the tournament -- relies almost entirely on luck to be completed.
Round 1: Yusuke vs. Kibano
After a series of tests including a daunting trek through the Dark Forest and specialized arcade games, Genkai has the remaining eight hopefuls take part in a fighting tournament to decide the winner. Yusuke's first opponent is Kibano, a self-proclaimed master of various martial arts styles. They are forced to fight in the dark, which gives Kibano the advantage thanks to a special helmet that allows him to focus his spirit energy and find Yusuke.
With Kibano's skill, age and experience, he spends most of the fight beating the tar out of Yusuke. The tide shifts when Yusuke finds a way to see in the dark -- a cigarette butt. Before the match, Yusuke refers to Genkai as "Grandma" for the very first time and she angrily throws her cigarette at him. Yusuke spots it on the ground, still lit, and sneaks it into Kibano's belt just before he gets tossed like a rag doll. Had Genkai not thrown that cigarette, Yusuke surely loses this battle.
Round 2: Yusuke vs. Kazemaru
Thanks to bad luck in drawing lots, Yusuke has to fight his second-round match immediately. His opponent this time is the ninja bodyguard Kazemaru. Like Yusuke, Kazemaru can wield his spirit energy into a targeted blast, except the latter is more powerful. The combatants can see again since Genkai moved them to an outdoor graveyard, but like Kibano, Kazemaru takes control and largely has Yusuke outclassed.
The ninja then brings out his deadliest weapon: a set of explosive boomerangs that never stop following their target until it's been hit. The situation is so dire that Yusuke gives up on winning the fight. Instead, he runs straight at Kazemaru with the aim of killing them both in the explosion. Just before he reaches his opponent, Yusuke accidentally falls into a hidden swamp and disappears, leaving a stunned Kazemaru to take the full blast of his own attack. Yusuke at least used his own ability and trickiness to beat Kibano, but getting past Kazemaru was dumb luck.
Round 3: Yusuke vs. Shorin/Rando
When the seemingly weak psychic Shorin brutally defeats Kuwabara in the other semifinal, he reveals himself to be the demon Rando. For the third straight time, Yusuke finds himself outclassed as Rando, armed with the powers of 99 dead psychics, uses his vast array of techniques to torture Yusuke. To his credit, Yusuke continually finds the willpower to keep fighting and is even aided by Kuwabara's spirit.
No amount of determination could turn the tide in this battle. To finish the exhausted Yusuke, Rando uses a shrinking technique -- the same one he used on Kuwabara. Only this time, it's Rando himself who shrinks. For the technique to work, the opponent has to clearly hear its chant. Yusuke still had swamp algae in his ear from an earlier fall, blurring his hearing ability. With Rando's technique having backfired, Yusuke delivers an elbow slam to end the match and win the tournament.
A used cigarette, a hidden swamp and an earful of algae helped Yusuke win the Genkai Tournament and end the longtime threat of a murderous demon. Had any one of those been missing, he would've been right back at Koenma's Spirit World doorstep just a few weeks after coming back to life. Lady Luck was a very generous ally.