Antonino De Rosa
Some TCG players find success at that first try. They fluke out that one PCQ win or the equivalent and happen to score in their first PC-style event, opening the bomb rares and getting the good draws all the way to the big check. We’re not all so fortunate as to have the chance to travel that easy road. The rest of us have to rely on spirit and endurance and will to make dreams come true.

Antonino De Rosa, despite calling himself “a big bum”, is a picture of all those things. He’s been playing in professional card tournaments for years, coming close to the big win on several occasions only to fall just short of the goal, and he always comes back ready for more with the biggest grin in the room painted on his face. The man epitomizes what being a gamer is all about.

“It’s all a game” he said after the top eight is announced “the best thing about coming to these things is being with friends and having a good time. As long as you remember that, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose.” Easy sentiments from a guy who’s just made his first top 8, but the same would be said if he’d just gone 0-9.

A 23 year old Italian-American who splits time between Palermo, Italy and Port St. Lucie, Florida De Rosa aspires to work at the American Embassy in Rome, but he’s not in a hurry. He’s still having fun playing games with friends.

Antonino, whose American friends just call ‘Antonio’, started the tournament poorly, going 0-2 and 4-4 with TOGIT X-Men before winning his last two constructed matches to make day two. It was there though where he went on his run, scoring a 9-0 record in the Limited portion

Now, he faces his first Sunday matches in any game, and you can be sure he’s ready for it. A charismatic presence always looking for a good time, you can be sure he’ll enjoy the Sunday spotlight. The hope here is that he does so for three rounds.

Eugene Harvey
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Previous Pro Circuit or 10K Experience: None
What deck did you play in Constructed? X-Men Stall (“Going Rogue”)
Constructed Record: 9-1
What is your favorite draft set? Pffffbt!
What are your best and worst matchups in the Top 8? Common Enemy and slower decks are clearly good matchups for us. Curve Sentinels and Teen Titans are pretty even, and The New Brotherhood or Wild Vomit are actually quite bad.
What do you think of your chances tomorrow? Oh God, please don't let me have to play a 3-game mirror match. That will be so painful.
Fun Facts? I beat Ka-Boom! this weekend when I had nothing on the board and my opponent had Toad and Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff.

Vidianto Wijaya
Vidianto (or Vidi, as he prefers to be called) moved to Los Angeles from Indonesia two years ago.  He was only a fresh-faced eighteen year old then - now he's a moving and shaking 20 year old looking to leave his impression on the VS. world.  Vidi has a gift for gab - whether it's talking about his deck, his opponent's misplays, or his accomplishments in the past, this man paints a colorful portrait of his world.

Vidi piloted a modified The New Brotherhood deck to a cool 8-2 finish on the first day of competition, and followed it up with a 5-1 performance in the first two drafts of day two, bringing him into the elite eight.  He attributes his success to the addition of Rogue, Anna Raven to his deck, a change he made on the car ride to this Pro Circuit tournament itself!

Vidi's favorite memory of the tournament came from a hapless opponent he faced during the Swiss rounds - an opponent playing a Gotham Knights deck could not find any two, three, four or five drops to play at all!  This opponent grew so desperate that he attacked Alfred into Vidi's Rogue, and then used Savage Beatdown to inflict some damage in the lopsided game!  Though he won't face a Gotham Knights deck the first round of the elimination tomorrow, he felt confident in his ability to beat the Going Rogue deck heading his way.  "All I need is one good Ka-Boom! on his Cerebro and it's victory for me - and I'm running three Ka-Boom!"

Paul "Future" Sottosanti
Age: 24
Occupation: Wizards of the Coast Research and Development
Previous Pro Circuit or 10K Experience: 2nd at $10K: Indy
What deck did you play in Constructed? X-Men Stall
Constructed Record: 9-1
What is your favorite draft set? (Censored)
What are your best and worst matchups in the Top 8? See Eugene's response
What do you think of your chances tomorrow? I think I have to play a teammate in the first round of the Top 8, so who knows?
Fun Facts? I got the deck the day before the tournament from my teammates and went 9-1 with it. In fact, the exact same thing happened at the $10K tournament, where I finished second. I'm officially X-2 in my Vs. System Constructed career.

David Fielder
“I’m a luck sack.”

Deep thoughts from a philosophy/sociology major. David Fielder, a University of Toronto attendee and casual gamer thought he’d be the last one to make a top eight here in Anaheim, but nineteen round later, only seven other players are standing.

“I look around and I see a lot of players who are better than I am” Says Fielder, 20, a lifeguard in his spare time. His team mates had to disagree. “I watched him play, and he was spectacular” Said Jeff Gerztl, a lawyer from Toronto as their erstwhile third, Darrell Grant, nodded in agreement.

Fielder started his tournament with a 7-3 record with Gotham Curve, a control deck whose plan usually relies on reacting to opponents more than acting on its own. Things were going smoothly with a 3-0 Darksied’s Elite deck until he drafted “The worst deck ever. I hope that deck list never makes it to the ‘Net” Somehow, he managed to pilot the pile to a 2-1 record, which he duplicated in the final draft to finish with five losses, good enough for a Sunday nod.

More than anything, David was impressed with the calibre of people he’d been playing all weekend “more than anything, I’ve been really impressed with everyone I’ve met. Win or lose, they’ve all been courteous and friendly. These are some of the best people I’ve ever met.” The old saying says it takes one to know one. This good guy could still finish first.   


Raymond Punzalan
Raymond came to the this Pro Circuit event from Chicago, where he attends Northern Illinois University.  This 19 year old didn't know about the point system for qualification, so he only found out that he was able to play in this weekend's event from a friend a month before the tournament!  That was no problem for Raymond, who promptly sat down for a lot of playtesting and brought an old school Doom deck to the tables.  After squeaking into the second day at 6-4, Ray demolished opponent after opponent at the draft table, making it as the last spot in the top 8.

While Raymond was excited to be playing this weekend, he didn't expect to make it to Sunday.  In fact, he was scrambling to arrange a new flight for himself, as his original flight back home was scheduled for 4pm on the last day of competition.  This won't be a problem, as the $7,000 minimum he's won should easily pay for a new ticket on the fly.

Raymond is no stranger to doing well at Pro Circuit tournaments - he just missed the cut at the last one, and finished in the Top 20 at the $10K tournament in Chicago.  This Top 8 finish only adds to Raymond's growing resume of accomplishments in the Vs. System world.