In praise of Malaysians and Italians (for they know how it works)
[Making the Pro Tour Work, not working it until it breaks]
The old invite policy:
- Top 64 players based on pro tour points (from the last calender year)
are invited to the next pro event
- Top 25 players based on DCI ranking (relevant to the event, i.e.
constructed if the event is constructed) are invited to the next pro
event
The new invite policy:
- Top 50 players based on pro tour points (from the last calender year)
are invited to the next pro event
- Top 50 players based on DCI ranking (relevant to the event, i.e.
constructed if the event is constructed) are invited to the next pro
event
This is the worst thing that has ever happened to sanctioned play and
the pro tour. Period. All european magic players should be enraged
about this, and not coincidentally all that I´ve spoken to are. What
options does the European have to qualify for a pro event? Top 50 pro
tour points? Well, proably those 50 slots will be taken up unless you
are one of the elite Europeans, and if you are rookie you´ll never even
be close. So, that leaves qualifiers (which there is probably only 2 or
3 within 150 miles) and ranking. How do you get a high enough ranking
when there are only 1 or 2 sanctioned events a month and most of the
people who play in them are ranked 1600 or so? A ranking of 1900 gets
you near or at the top of most European countrys lists, but that ranking
won´t even get close to earning you a pro tour invite. Even in
sanctioned tournament rich places like Lisboa, the top players rarely
eclipse 1900 or 1910, rankings nowhere near high enough. Simply put,
the new invitation policy makes it near impossible for Europeans to
qualify for all the pro tour events. Most will have to hope for a top
32 here, a good qualifer there to play, and the dream on being a pro
tour regular will only come true for the 10-12 Europeans either dominant
enough in their region to consistantly win qualifiers or those fortunate
enough to have a top 8 finish AND have played in a few other pros
surrounding the event (top 50 Pro Tour Points cutoff gets higher every
month).
In fact, the Europeans are not the ones who are getting screwed the most.
The player who plays recreationaly at their local shop is the one who is
getting to be the felon´s girlfriend. He will have to play against the
three or four bloodthirsty players in his region who are looking for pro
tour slots. Those 3 or 4 will believe that with just a few more wins,
they will be able to qualify, so out with playing for fun (remember all
the discussion about no ¨fun¨places to play anymore), and if they are
smart, out with ethical play. It is very easy for someone to fake
results (think of the Malysians) and enter the top 50. It is also easy
for someone to cheat like mad at their local tournament. With looser
rules and most comic store judges not knowing the Weatherlight from the
Watchmen, cheating should become rampant at smaller tournaments. Chris
Pikula joked that now local players will say things like, ¨I´m sorry,
but I want to play on the pro tour, I´ve got to draw this extra card.¨
At the side events at GP Lisboa, EVERY match I saw had play that could
be construed as cheating and there was some very blatant cheating going
on. I expect that this is true everywhere, and anywhere I´ve played
where the judging staff averages below level 3, this has been the case.
There is simply no reason for these players not to cheat like Jason
Gordon in debt to the IRS. If the DCI is going to recognize the
inherant difference in amateur and professional play by generating
multiple sets of rulings for the different tournaments, why would they
then confuse the differences by allowing people who are brilliant at
Joe´s comics (obviously an amateur event) to enter a pro event
(obviously not an amateur event)? Once again, I can think of no sport
where such a system is invoked. Imagine the NBA where high school and
college players play in the NBA in the summertime, or a PGA event where
the best 50 players at the US Amateur play in the next PGA event? How
about the reverse? Qualified players can´t play in qualifiers, but
qualified players can play in sanctioned non-PTQ events, which is now
like having NFL players go home to play in rec league events, and then
having those rec league results count for NFL standings or pay. The
DCI is just taking a ¨survival of the fittest¨attitude. Nothing is
being done to insure that the best players play. Instead, random
policies which will be very detrimental to organized play are created.
Last but certainly not least, who on earth thinks the rankings are
anywhere near a representation of who´s best in the world? And don´t
give me an arguement about Brian Seldon getting in on ranking, and
what a triumph it is for the rankings. Chris Pikula, Alan Comer and
myself were all within 2 points of the Pro Tour Point bubble. Who
knows how people like Gabe Tsang would have done (he was the number
1 seed after the swiss the year before) had the rankings kicked down
just a few points lower to where he was? 6 of the top 8 players were
in the top 50 of the Pro Tour point system while only 3 were in the
top for ranking. To cap it, Brian Seldon WASN¨T EVEN IN THE TOP
RANKINGS. He got in because of a Ratings scandal (the malaysians)
which allowed others to get in. Some would argue that this means that
more players should get in on ranking, but it would take at least
another 150 or 200 slots to get Chris Pikula, Alan Comer and I in there,
people who made the top eight. In essence, my arguement is that no
fairer system of invitation can be made than past success at the type of
events that you are trying to qualify for. Catch my drift?
The simple answer to so many problems is a 0 ranked player
invitation policy. Because the rankings consist of far more amateur
tournaments than pro events, they are never going to represent the best
pro players. They will also be ripe for abuse in the form of the
William Yapp effect and all the way down to dumping and cheating. Who´s
going to police all this? The same guy who we don´t trust to know the
difference between drawing extras intentionally or not? By having a 0
ranked player invitation policy, anyone playing an amateur event can be
assured that players have much less incentive to cheat or defile their
rankings. Why would their freind dump? Why would a play tamper like
Yapp did? Why would a player cheat at a local event (other than
scumbags going after that luscious half a box of exodus)? And last but
not least, why wouldn´t X number of pro players suddenly be freed to
play a fun deck at a local tournament without having to worry that their
ranking will slip and they won´t be invited?
Brian Hacker
Team 3 Dickheads with a Hammer