|
|
 |
|
“That guy is such a good 2-drop, but he's an embarrassing 5-drop,” remarked Horvath as he took his beats. |
|
|
 |
|
No one ever remembers the guy who got knocked out in the semis. The masses are fickle, you know, and though they might recall a gritty final performance for a few days before it passes from their minds, that’s about as much as you can expect. |
|
|
|
|
Baez is a 28-year-old office worker from Puerto Rico who played in the PC this weekend, bounced out, and then came back with a vengeance in the $10K, winning his way to the semifinals. Unfortunately, his path is barred by a young man who has become quite the force in Vs. System. |
|
|
 |
|
“I think I’m better at Sealed Pack than Constructed. Even in the PC I won (PC Amsterdam), I only had a 66 percent win record on Day 1. But the first PC I went to, I went 7-2 in Draft. The next I was 8-1 in Draft . . . plus, I’d be the first to win a $10K and a PC, which is what I want.” |
|
|
 |
|
This was Kim Caton’s first foray into Top 8 territory on the $10K level, and she was a little nervous. However, she was sticking to her game plan, and hoping to repeat in the Top 8 with the same play as she’d shown in the Day 1 Sealed Pack and the Top 24 Booster Draft. |
|
|
|
|
Adam Horvath missed Day 2 at the Pro Circuit by one win, but thankfully for the Amsterdam champ, that just meant he was able to get his Sealed Pack on in the Green Lantern Corps $10K on Saturday. |
|
|
 |
|
Neither player hit a 1-drop, though Yapjoco did nab one on turn 2 with Willworld (Salakk). He recruited him on turn 2, and he quickly popped off a shot at Cook's endurance. |
|
|
|
|
“Good luck—let's have a good game.” Peter Sundholm is such a nice guy. |
|
|
|
|
This match was perhaps an elimination round. Both players had won their first games and were fighting for their lives. |
|
|
|
|
Having just drafted a very strong deck, Charlotte Ashley was hoping to go 2-1 over the next three rounds to get into the Top 8. A native of Toronto who’d received some attention over the course of the weekend, she carries the distinction of being a Sealed PCQ winner and one of Canada’s best Sealed Pack players. |
|
|
|
|
Patrick Yapjoco is the third Team Realmworx player to make Day 2; Ryan Jones and Vidi Wijaya both made the Top 8 in the PC. Patrick is trying to make up for what he terms an “abysmal” performance in the PC this weekend. A two-time $10K Top 8 player and 11th in the world in Constructed, Patrick is also ranked 299th in Sealed Pack. |
|
|
|
|
Mark Slack is at it again! His draft table had only six people, as one person was late and the other didn’t show. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
It was a long but smooth day, and the Top 24 looks like a list of competitors in contention for a PC Top 8, not a $10K Top 8. |
|
|
 |
|
Day 1 is over, Day 2 on the horizon, and for the first time today, Kim Caton finds her name sitting atop the standings. Number one is a nice, friendly number, and Kim couldn’t be happier. |
|
|
|
|
Charlotte recovered Grundy, and after removing the threat of Kim's 5-drop, she looked to be in complete control. |
|
|
|
|
It was Toronto vs Quebec City in an all-Canadian showdown. These cities have a Vs. System history, with Torontonian David Fielder making Top 8 in SoCal and Dominic Gaudreault placing second at WWE last year. |
|
|
|
|
The first round of the second sealed section of $10K NY was the first glimmer of who we will likely see in the Top 24 at the end of the day. With a cut to a Top 24 draft, many more players will be playing on Day 2 than normal, meaning that all of the top tables become exciting to watch. |
|
|
|
|
Tim Batow was on top of the leaderboard after opening the Sealed 5-0. He now had to build another sealed deck for the second half of the $10K preliminary rounds. The next four rounds, played with a new deck, would decide whether or not he made it into the Top 8. It was certainly looking good for him so far. |
|
|
|
|
This round saw the former PC champion pitted against the repeat $10K champion. Horvath was fighting to prove his PC win wasn’t a fluke, and Leander was fighting to prove his sabbatical hadn’t caused him to lose his winning edge. |
|
|
|
|
Mark Slack knows all about winning. He also knows how to build a solid deck, and boy, does he know a good pool of cards when he sees it. He was suitably upset when he saw a good pool and had to pass it off. |
|
|
|
|
This was the battle of the “two and ones,” as two PC second-place competitors played what could very well have been the PC Finals match-up, if not for a bad case of luck. This game would be exciting, not only because of the personable players I was watching, but because of the sheer level of talent, which humbled yours truly. |
|
|
|
|
Peter Sundholm is one of the best Constructed players in the world. Ranked 20th and winner of $10K Seattle, you’d expect him to fly through the PC, right? Wrong. |
|
|
|
|
In one of the best possible matchups for a $10K tournament, I was blessed with the opportunity to witness Sammy Gilly and Josh Wiitanen facing off. |
|
|
|
|
Carl Perlas is one of the nicest players in the game—and he's also one of the better players. He's been in a bit of a slump of late, but is looking to roar back with a solid Sealed performance. |
|
|