18-year old Richard Clegg, a local player from right here in Hamilton, wasn’t expecting to win the Challenge — “I expected to go x-3 drop. I just wanted to get my picture on Metagame!” He managed to duel his way to second place, though. To the victor go the spoils, so let’s have a little talk with Richard!

Was there a point in the event you figured “I’ve got this in the bag” or “I am not going to make Top 8”?

“Well, after I went like, 7-0, and was constantly at Table 1 . . . if I won one of my next two matches I would be in. I felt pretty confident.”

Any players who didn’t take the challenge this time, that you’d have liked to see take it?

“Kyle ‘My Idol’ Duncan . . . yeah, it sucks losing in quarterfinals to a friend. He’s heading to finals now — Kyle Duncan for the win!”

What kinds of decks were you expecting to face today, and how did you prepare for them?

“Recruiter and Stein. I threw some damage cards and a pair of Banishers in my side deck. They worked well in Swiss, but Kyle’s Tomatoes owned me when it mattered!”

What was the oddest tech, deck, or move you saw yesterday?

“Anthony Alvarado’s deck was insane, so was Mike Powers’. I’m glad I didn’t face them.”

What are you looking forward to most about the upcoming format change?

“Probably the banning of Tsukuyomi . . . I’m a Monarch fan. I’m a little upset about Stein; in the Regionals, I just got OTK’d by him.”

Do you have any particular new deck ideas in mind that you are eager to try out?

“Next format, I want to try Strike Ninjas, and obviously the Monarchy. I love Thestalos!”

Richard would like to give a shout out to Rob Cedar, John “Schmee” Redbird, and Jason Luckhardt — so consider yourselves shouted, boys. It was a great performance by a challenge participant, and I look forward to seeing Richard at future events.