Subject: Re: Sportsmanship and rules enforcement at GP Birmingham
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 17:14:56 -0800
From: Tracey Wise <login@interlog.com>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

I am a professional magic player.  I can say this with certainty in the
fact that I've been to every PT event since Worlds 97, and as of
recently have performed at such a level that I've made more than I've
spent.  This is not to say that PT magic is a full time job, but it's
been a good way to put myself through school instead of taking some
minimum wage job at a local greasy spoon.  It is with this in mind that
I tell you that Manuel Bevand's actions at PT Birmingham were in no way
unusually harsh or wrong.

Grand Prix Birmingham was a major tournament for which I'm sure Manuel
payed more than a few dollars to play in  (as a side note, while Manuel
and I know one another, we run in different crowds on the tour, so this
is not a personal defence), and in which he stood to make a decent
amount of money if he performed well.  Being a pro tour player aside,
Manuel did what he had to do, within the rules, to win.

I was talking to SteveOMS, whom I consider to be amongst the top 5
players in the world, about the matter of when to call over a judge at
PT Chicago.  Steve employs a policy (a smart one) of calling over a
judge when ANYTHING outside the rules of the game happens, regardless of
whether its drawing extra cards or inadvertantly knocking a land on the
ground with an elbow.  Pro Tour magic is a completely different animal
than local $50 tourneys.  While I agree that  good sportsmanship and fun
should be the premium for lower k tourneys, when you get into the realm
of a Grand Prix, you're in a situation where the participants are not
only playing for cash and a PT spot, but you are playing for Pro Tour
Points.  Manuel happens to be one of those players who is on the bubble
with regards to getting to the top 50 in this manner of evaluation (the
top 50 PT players for the last year with regards to points earned get
invited to the next pro tour, aka The Gravy Train) and in as much, was
not only playing for money and a spot, but concievably for a years worth
of pro Tour births, a much more important prize in many regards than the
$2000 the winner would be recieving.  It is my opinion that once you get
to level C (PTQ) or higher tourneys, Magic ceases to be a game and
becomes more a competition, but the addition of the PTPoint factor to
the allready intense PTQ atmosphere means that the game should be played
properly.

The following is a quote from Bruce Cowley's article:

A few weeks back, in Atlanta, I was playing in the finals of a PTQ for
Rome.  I
was playing Living Death, my opponent, Jody Dunville, was playing
counter
phoenix.

It was the 1st game and while I had applied early pressure and had him
down
low, he was coming back and was starting to take control of the game.
Now Jody
is an immaculate player, the type who announces each and every phase,
taps his
lands 90 degrees, in short does everything you would expect from an
opponent of
that caliber.

Except one turn he forgot to draw a card.  The same offense that Jon
Finkle got
a game loss for at GP Austin.

Now there were about 3 judges watching, and numerous spectators, but
none of
them noticeced.  Neither did I.  But Jody did, at the end of his turn,
and said
so.

I guess I should have called him on it right?

Instead I told him to go back to his draw phase and draw his card.  It
was
obvious to me that this was an unintentional mistake.

I lost that game.  And went on to lose the match.  But I would do it
again in a
heartbeat and I would hope the same would be done for me.

end quote

I have bad news for you Bruce, but both you and your opponent would be
absolutely crushed on the Pro Tour.  Not only that, but his failure to
inform you, or your failure to inform a judge, are violations of the
rules of magic, the game for which you were both trying to become a
professional.  I've seen you play before, and you aren't a bad player,
but the fact is that once to get to an event where PT players are
allowed to play (another difference between, PTQs and Grand Prixs)  you
have to expect a professional attitude, professional style rules
enforcement, and professional consequences

Hoping I'm wrong, but knowing, in this case, I'm probably not,

Gary Wise