Two MTG Pros Fight to Make the Top 8 of GP-LA More Fair

January 25, 2009 | Posted by Dee

Grand Prix Logo Bill Stark has a great story about Mark Herberholz and Michael Jacob, two Magic The Gathering pros.

In Grand Prix–Los Angeles, for some reason, the head judge did not give out the decklists to the top 8 players. (Giving out the decklists is standard procedure.) Mark and Michael had an advantage since they were able to access the internet with their cell phones. Before the top 8, they had knowledge of some of the top 8 decklists since those decklists were covered already on Wizards.com.

However, Mark and Michael did not take advantage of their knowledge. They both argued to the judge that the playing field was not level since they knew some of the top 8 decklists. Ultimately, the judge changed his mind and gave out the decklists to each top 8 participant.

Many MTG players don’t like the tournament scene because it’s too cutthroat but it’s good to see some sportsmanship from these top level players.

Michael Jacob