There have been some impressive performances here this weekend. Aaron Weil went on an amazing 10-0 tear to become the first Day 1 undefeated player in Pro Circuit history. Dave Spears has also been wrecking house, finding himself on top of the world. One of the other huge stories from this weekend is Mike Dalton, who has locked himself into Top 8 for an astounding third time! All of that being said, I wanted to get the players’ opinions about who has had the best performance overall. Just who is the best Vs. System player in the world?
Getting answers out of players was really difficult. It was like the topic of superiority was taboo. Very few players wanted to take a definitive stance on the subject, or they simply weren’t able to come to a definite conclusion. Here’s what some of them had to say.
I talked to Neil Reeves first. Neil is usually a pretty brash guy, but he wouldn’t come out and say that he thought he was numero uno. “Well, I guarantee it’s someone on my playtest team,” he said. “Let’s just say it’s either me, Nick Little, or Gabe Walls; and all of us know who it is.”
Dave Spears had no idea what to say when I first asked him. He asked if he could just make up a name to get out of the question. When I told him I’d cry if he didn’t give an answer, he finally coughed one up: “It’s really hard to say, but I’ve really got to give Mike Dalton his due. Three PC Top 8s is just too good.”
Josh Wiitanen—the man, the myth, the legend. Worshipper of the almighty dollar. If anyone knew what was going on in the world of Vs. System, surely it was him. “It’s really hard to say that one player is the best when there are so many that are just so good,” he stated. “If I had to make a list of the best, I don’t know. It’d probably be Adam Prosak, Nick Little, Vidi Wijaya—and Dave Spears is doing really well. Ryan Jonesie used to be my hero until yesterday.” (“Same here,” said Ryan, who happened to be standing right next to him.)
I probably could have written Alex Jebailey’s response to my question before I asked him. After a little joking around, he got uncharacteristically serious: “Right now, I’d have to say it’s either Mike Dalton or Dave Spears.” When I first asked him, he jokingly said himself. When I started to write that down, he promised me harm if it saw print. My bad, Alex.
Ryan Jones had a difficult day yesterday, not managing the record required to make it to Day 2. His results yesterday are a little deceptive, though. Ryan is far and away one of the best players in the game today. I got a second to ask him his opinion, and it wasn’t surprising to hear him want to list himself among the greats. After all, lots of players do, so why shouldn’t he? However, a dose of the moral high ground combined with a bit of disappointment about his record yesterday to yield an ambiguous answer. “I really have no idea,” he said. “I can’t want to say myself, so I really don’t know.”
Anthony Justice was the final person I talked to, and he is truly a gentleman among lesser gentlemen in the world of Vs. System. His opinions may have been a little biased, however, since his votes were both team members of his. “Definitely Jason Hager,” said Justice. “Unless you don’t get to bring your own deck to the tournament—then it’s Nick Little.”
My conclusion from all of this is that, while more players named Mike Dalton as the best than any other, no one really knows who the best is. There are far too many good players for anyone to clearly be ahead of the pack. Many players can make the case for being the best, but I know who would get my vote. Let’s just say he chose to do event coverage instead of showing these other guys up. That’s right, I’ve got no shame.