Post by KOCW on Jan 13, 2006 14:24:39 GMT
The road to the Nationals (the End)
My last article was how to get there this time it is about the nationals itself. I hope to give some information to those of you going to the nationals this year and in the future to give you an idea of what to expect. Firstly I’ll begin with some general info and history of the nationals in the UK.
The first national tournament was held in 2003 from memory. The winner was mike went forward to play in the world championships in the US. However that year we were all using LOB and Starter decks. (me I got knocked out in semi by 3 BEWD against my DM). The nationals in 2004 were much different as UDE took over. That event was a long day since it started late. The winner was Ryan who went to world champs and did better for us that year. Then there was 2005 where the nationals were held in London and the winner was Adam who went to the world champs in Japan and did well.
There’s the history now for general info for you all.
• The nationals is going to be 5-6 rounds Swiss with top 8 knockout
• There will be roughly 150 entrants
• The C-Value will be 40 (20 points ish a game)
• It will be a long day
On the day you will need to be prepared to duel the best in the country and you should remember that you will have earned your invite regardless of where you got it. Therefore you should remember you have a good chance of actually winning. Anyway now that I should have given you some confidence you should be ready for the tournament. In terms of game play the tournament is the same as any other. The only major differences are not in game they are around you
To start there will be more people so things may move slower as not everyone is going to be running OTK. Also there’s the admin to be done before hand so it is known who did turn up but you just need to be patient. At the nationals be very careful of what you do and follow the game procedure to the dot. Even if it isn’t what you normally do just do it. The last thing you want is getting penalised because you had a small thing turn into a big argument with the judge and/or opponent. Trust me you don’t want to be thrown out for it.
Remember the tournament is run by mantis so you need to make sure you keep wining if you are going to make it to the top 8 but don’t be asking about tie breakers or standings as they will be given out during the day.
Please make sure you get to matches on time otherwise you will be penalised with game loss after 3 mins and match loss after 10mins.
Also I recommend you take food with you because I doubt there will be a long enough lunch break to go out and find food. Also in event halls food tends to be pricy. A packed lunch is the best option.
Here’s an important point. Once the Swiss finish DON’T just leave as you may still get a prize for just entering the nationals. Sure it may be a few packs but you earned them.
Once the Swiss is finished the top 8 will be announced and they will have knockout rounds. This can be very tense as there is a lot riding on victory as an invite to the world championship to represent your country doesn’t come round every day. So if you are spectating say nothing about the game unless you are far enough away.
On the other hand if you are playing make sure you play your best and don’t do silly mistakes because it will be noticed and I doubt you will get over. The top 8 will be document on the internet and deck lists will be made known as well so be prepared for lots of copying of your deck if it has some different strategy in it.
Well that’s it as far as I can tell. I hope this does help some of you and if not I hope it was a good read.
Thanks
PS some information maybe incorrect about this year before you have a go.
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