Well, it’s that time of year again. Several hundred of the Vs. System’s best will be congregating in sunny Los Angeles for another shot at their share of a quarter-million dollar prize pool. Here’s a quick rundown of the players and teams that you should be on the lookout for coming into the tournament.

Team Realmworx

I suppose I should mention these guys first . . . after all, they did take home the trophy last year. Ryan Jones tore up the inaugural PC LA with his finely tuned build of Teen Titans, and there are high expectations that he will perform similarly this year. Although he took a bit of a hiatus from Sunday play, he came back in a big way with a Top 8 performance at last weekend’s $10K Wizard World Texas. Joining him in that Top 8 was Vidianto Wijaya, another Realmworx representative and one of the game’s most recognizable players. Both of these stars are set to attend PC LA and hope to dominate. The rest of the ever-changing Realmworx roster should also put up solid performances; those funky blue shirts are ubiquitous at top tables everywhere.

Speaking of an ever-changing roster, some of you might ask, “What about Dave Spears?” Well, it turns out that Dave and Realmworx have gone separate ways. It’s not completely clear who Dave’s new crew is, but you can be sure he’ll come to the tournament with a good deck and a fine team to back him up. Dave’s been riding a wave of good luck this past year that culminated in his recent marriage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that luck carried him over to the third day of this tournament.

Those Guys from Indiana

Do they have a team name? Beats me. All I know about these guys is that they’re some of the best players in the game. The most accomplished player of this bunch is Adam Bernstein. Adam’s probably one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Not only does he have an impressive Golden Age resume, including his win at the last Golden Age Pro Circuit in New York, but he also hasn’t slacked off for a minute. Just last weekend, he dominated the Sealed Pack $10K at Wizard World Texas, showing us all that he’s still at the top of his game. Besides Adam, this team features Gabe Walls, Neil Reeves, and Nick Little. Each of these players has a reputation for TCG dominance, especially in the area of Sealed Pack play. Gabe’s sitting this tournament out, but Neil and Nick should be there. Expect them to 3-0 in Draft pods all day Saturday.

Team FTN

As one of the biggest, most talented teams in the game, FTN is sure to have another stellar showing. One man who’s sure to be in attendance is David Leader, who will be playing Adam Horvath with his PC-winning deck in a $5,000 match. This is far from a one-man team, though. Also on the FTN roster are such luminaries as Michael Dalton, Peter Sundholm, and Milton Figueroa. That last name is one of which I would like you to take special note. Chances are that you recognize Michael and Peter from their Sunday finishes at high profile events. Milton is a little more under the radar, but he’s still one of the most consistent players in the game. I’ve heard him called the best player without a big finish; expect great things from him in LA. In addition to these guys, piling on the skill are Jason Dawson, Alex Tennet, Kim Caton, Steve Horowitz, and a lot more. This is one team that’s always two steps ahead of any metagame, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them collectively dominate the Constructed portion of the event.

Team TOGIT

Last year in Los Angeles, this group took the tournament by storm. Everyone who played TOGIT’s X-Stall deck made money, and three of them made it to the Top 8. Since then, a few players from this team have dropped out of the game entirely, and one of them—Antonino DeRosa—has followed the path of Brian Kibler to work in R&D. Still, TOGIT is fielding PC Amsterdam champ Adam Horvath, who is making the trip to play against David Leader for $5,000 in a Modern Age grudge match. As for the rest of us . . . well, let’s just say that we’ve gotten a little lazy. Expect myself and Eugene Harvey to show up with an X-Corporation and a prayer.

Adam Prosak and His Legion of Barns

This is their official team name—trust me on that. I’m sure you know who Adam Prosak is; it seems that he makes a $10K Top 8 every other weekend. By consensus the best Teen Titans player in the world, Adam will doubtless be riding his trademark deck to victory in the Constructed portion of the event. Adam has a posse, and they made their mark by all making Top 8 in Orlando. Josh Wiitanen is a solid player with consistent finishes, and Niles Rowland is the man who introduced Squadron Supreme to the Golden Age metagame. Expect great things from these guys.

Team RIW Hobbies

This is Michael Jacob’s team through and through. Michael made a permanent impression on the metagame for this tournament by introducing the world to the Avengers. His win in Orlando provided players everywhere with a brand-new, dirt cheap, tier 1 deck that has apparently unseated Sentinels as the default deck of choice. Michael has already proclaimed that he will be running this deck in LA, and we can be sure that he won’t be the only one. As for the rest of the team, none of them have made a name for themselves quite yet, but if they all show up playing what seems to be the best deck, we can expect to see several of them drafting on Saturday.

Those Guys from West Virginia

Matt Oldaker, Anthony Justice, Jason Hager—three incredible deckbuilders working together. In case you aren’t up on your Vs. System history, Oldaker can claim credit for refining the first competitive Doom deck. Together, Hager and the rest are responsible for creating both Evil Medical School and New School, two decks that were debuted in two previous Golden Age PCs. I can only imagine what they have in store this time. We can be almost certain of this, though—they’re probably all playing the same deck, it’s probably something we’ve never seen before, and they’ll probably all make Day 2 with it.

The Dream Team

This is another team with a reputation for breaking Constructed formats. At the last Golden Age PC, their Xavier’s Dream deck led Michael Barnes to an amazing 11-1 record in the Constructed portion of the event. This team also features Tim Batow, $10K champion and all-around excellent player. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came packing another deck designed to foil the metagame.

Your Move Games and Kings Games

These two East Coast stores field many players at each PC, and they consistently put up respectable finishes. Expect the stars of each team—Craig Edwards and Rob Dougherty for YMG and Alex Shvartsman for Kings—to be fighting for the Top 8. Expect their teammates to reap the benefits of an experienced, professional TCG testing crew and to put up solid finishes with a finely-tuned Golden Age deck.

The Europeans

I feel a little bad about lumping so many talented players into this one little category. Still, I don’t know much about team dynamics on the other side of the pond, so I can do nothing but tell you which of these players you should expect to see on Sunday. There is, of course, Hans Höh, masterful deck designer and serial Top 8 finisher. Also from Germany is Kristian Kockott, who has a $10K win under his belt. From England, we have Stuart Wright, Rich Edbury, and of course, Karl Bown. It’s hard to say how many European players will make the exceptionally long trip to LA, but you can expect that any who do will come with a deck that they feel will crush the format.

Australia and New Zealand

Again, it’s difficult to say which of these players will make the trip. Still, this area has fielded some astoundingly consistent players. Be on the lookout for Scott Hunstad, Scott Smith, and Alex Brown at a Draft table near you.

The Japanese

Word is they’re coming. Don’t underestimate these guys. In the past few years in another TCG, the Japanese have made a habit of embarrassing American professionals on their own turf. Some of the most talented and innovative TCG deckbuilders in the world hail from Japan, and I would be completely unsurprised if at least one of them made Top 8. I’m not sure which of the Japanese pros will make the trip, but whoever comes will show up with his eye on first place.

There are many other players out there—there’s no way I could list them all. Vs. System’s professional community has grown remarkably over the past year, and there will be literally hundreds of players in LA who have a shot at winning the whole thing. I won’t make any predictions about the outcome of the tournament, except to say that I think that this Top 8 will have more established players in it than any to date. I also predict that unless I get some testing done, there’s no way I’m going to make it to Saturday. With that, I must go. If you have any questions, comments, feedback, or claims of libel to level against me, you can find me in Los Angeles.