PTQ 2010 San Diego

[motsuji]

36 players showed up for the last PTQ for 2009.

[Anthony Akahoshi]

[James]

omg "front-runner"? i just got lucky into top 8

props to jeff for winning, gratz
slops to jeff for passing me one of the worst pools ive ever seen

[l\l l l/l]

you guys should've done draft coverage, pro tour style.

seeing so many good players out of top 8 only confirms my belief that talent isn't enough. you need to sufficiently prepare to have that winning edge.

i had fun tho. ended up playing magic at a friend's baby shower.

congrats to jeff and everyone else who competed.

[James]

i disagree as although there were some good players who didnt make top 8 the table was made up mostly of all veterans to the game, with the exception of wild card true st. thomas.

[Keoni]

Sometimes players have bad days too O.o

[Todd Ozawa]

Just a couple of notes:

Kelsey Ito also flew over from Hilo to compete in this event.

Many players think that you can't really practice for a sealed event. In regards to sealed and draft, one area that I saw many players not prepared were the time limits. When preparing for competitive limited events, it is a good idea to find a system that allows you to register a sealed pool both quickly and accurately, to be able to build a solid sealed deck within the time limit, and to be able to draft carefuly on a timed table. Some good players are used to being able to memorize playable cards in each pack that they pass - but when you have a timer on you, it can be a challenge just to make the correct pick.

The majority of penalties at this event were due to deck registration errors; these cost several players games during the Swiss. The things that affect a player's tournament record aren't just mana and spells - understanding and being ready for the event as a whole is critical for competitive players

As l\l l l/l posted, talent (while valuable) isn't all there is. Preparation is also vital. However, that is true not just in limited not just in Magic, but for everything.

I don't think the number of talents players who -didn't- make the Top 8 says anything specific about this event, or those players. If there are 50 good players, still only 8 can make the Top 8. I saw many strong competitors at the event, and watched some difficult, and challenging plays.

I know that making or not making the Top 8 is important to many people, but I congratulate everyone who played their best, gave good games, and respected their opponents, regardless of their win-loss record.

Overall, the players who are able to learn, adapt, improve, and grow will succeed, no matter where they finish in any particuar event. This is not just good-sounding propaganda - this is the truth.

[The Dane Train]

Well said, Todd. I want to add that when it comes down to it, Magic simply does not matter. None of us are going to make a living off of the game (trust me when I say that trying to is negative income), but the friendships and relationships you make through it are invaluable. Be good to each other and don't cheat. Congrats to everyone.

[Jeff]

obviously it takes some skill to play mtg at a high level, but like poker, there is a good degree of luck involved. players can lessen the degree luck has on the game by optimizing their deck builds, making proper mulligan decisions, etc, but sometimes it just can't be helped...get paired up against your worst matchup 3 rounds in a row, 7 draws of no land, 7 draws of straight land, opponent draws the nuts, you lose 10 coin flips in a row...and before you know it, you've lost. landscrew and landflood are elements that keep the game on a more level playing field, anybody can beat anybody with the right combination of things happening.
i was lucky and got passed a good sealed pool, but james received a terrible pool and still cruised to the top 8 with it. there were a couple of good players that had good decks that just missed getting in. talent isn't enough, and preparation does help, but as keoni stated, sometimes it just isn't your day. seeing a bunch of good players outside of the top 8 doesn't really give you any information about the format, players, or the event in general. like todd said, not everyone can make it in. the top 8 was full of decent players and people named james, there just wasn't enough room for the people who went 4-2 (which is a highly respectable record).
i got lucky the whole day; in the top 8, basa definitely had a better deck than me, dean probably had a better deck than me, kris andrews should have beat me in the swiss, etc. luck is always a factor in mtg; it wouldn't be very fun or interesting if we knew before the event started that the 8 best players in the room would make the top 8.

oh, before i forget =D
props to the staff of planet for running a great, smooth event
props to everyone who passed that foil warren instigator around in the top 8 draft. play to win, baby.
props to james for top 8'ing with that awful pool i opened
slops to james for thinking i passed him that pile personally
slops to james for losing 10 coin flips in a row in PT Honolulu

[Jeff]

yeah, i used to care about winning and my rating and whatnot, but now i really play just to have fun. even when i don't feel like playing, i go to fnms and events just to hang out with friends. with hawaii having the small group of regular mtg players that it does, pretty much everyone is friends with each other, it's great.

slops to james for drinking questionable substances at lions friday night

[Grant Nakano]

PTQ San Diego = Great Time. That pretty much sums it up lol.