![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Magic: The Gathering regularly has qualifier tournaments where the winner gets to go play in the pro tour at one of their big events – first prize in the pro tour is $40,000, so it’s a big deal. The qualifier winner gets airfare as well as admission to the pro tour event. That’s how J. won that trip to Malaysia a few years back.
Today was one of those qualifier tournaments – about 180 players were competing in Portland for the chance to go to the pro tour in Washington, D.C., in February. And today D. came so close! He was 5-0 after five rounds, and if he’d won round 6 or round 7 he’d have made it to the top 8, which gets pretty nice prizes even if you’re one of the seven who don’t go off to the pro tour. And in round 6, he won his first game, and if he’d drawn enough lands in either game two or three he’d have had a good chance of winning the round. And then he missed in round 7 too. J. had lost rounds 1 and 6, but if he’d won round 6 he might have made top 8 also.
The good thing is that at least they got home by 9:30 p.m.; if they’d been there for the top 8 part of the tournament, they could have been as late as 2 a.m. on a school night. Not much consolation for them, of course, but from the mom perspective it’s a plus.
Ha! I didn’t notice this until I’d finished making the above post, but the icon I chose, a part of the art for a Ravnica island from Magic, has cupola buildings just like the capitol that D. would have seen if he’d won the trip.
Today was one of those qualifier tournaments – about 180 players were competing in Portland for the chance to go to the pro tour in Washington, D.C., in February. And today D. came so close! He was 5-0 after five rounds, and if he’d won round 6 or round 7 he’d have made it to the top 8, which gets pretty nice prizes even if you’re one of the seven who don’t go off to the pro tour. And in round 6, he won his first game, and if he’d drawn enough lands in either game two or three he’d have had a good chance of winning the round. And then he missed in round 7 too. J. had lost rounds 1 and 6, but if he’d won round 6 he might have made top 8 also.
The good thing is that at least they got home by 9:30 p.m.; if they’d been there for the top 8 part of the tournament, they could have been as late as 2 a.m. on a school night. Not much consolation for them, of course, but from the mom perspective it’s a plus.
Ha! I didn’t notice this until I’d finished making the above post, but the icon I chose, a part of the art for a Ravnica island from Magic, has cupola buildings just like the capitol that D. would have seen if he’d won the trip.