With the May/June StarCityGames.com Open Weekends continuing to produce strong turnouts, we have been having internal discussions about what we can do to help make these events even better. We want our events to be destination weekends where players can plan for a weekend packed full of fun, and we are making a few changes to take the StarCityGames.com Open Series events to the next level.
More Prizes and On-Site Payouts!
Based on the strong turnouts we’ve been getting at each StarCityGames.com Open Series Weekend, we’ve decided to increase each event’s total prize payout from $5,000 to $5,800! Here’s how prizes will now be distributed at future StarCityGames.com Standard and Legacy Open events!
Prizes:
1st Place: $2,000
2nd Place: $600
3rd-4th: $400
5th-8th: $200
9th-16th: $100
17th-32nd: $50 (NEW!)
We are also going to begin handing out all 9th-32nd prizes in cash on-site. You will still need to fill out a W-9 for our reporting purposes, but there will be no more waiting on a check unless you make the Top 8.
Free Friday Night Magic with Preregistration!
StarCityGames.com has started running its own Friday Night Magic as part of each StarCityGames.com Open Weekend. Each Friday Night Magic and preregistration will take place either the same venue as the StarCityGames.com Open Series itself, or at a nearby hotel.
Doors open at 6:00 pm and our Friday Night Magic tournaments are free when you preregister for either of the weekend’s StarCityGames.com Open events! If you just want to stop by to participate in FNM without preregistering for either of the weekend’s StarCityGames.com Open events, the entry fee is only $5.00. Our FNM will start at 7:00pm, and will run as four rounds of Swiss with prizes given out based on record. You can expect the event to conclude around 11:00pm and for the hall to close around 11:30pm. Preregistration for that weekend’s StarCityGames.com Standard and Legacy Opens will be offered until FNM ends, and there are always plenty of players just hanging around and/or playtesting, so feel free to stop by.
During FNM/preregistration, StarCityGames.com will have a sales booth set up from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm offering sealed product, sleeves, and our full inventory of singles. We will also have buyers available to help you convert your unwanted/unneeded cards into cash. Watch the event schedule for the locations at upcoming StarCityGames.com Open Weekends.
More Side Events!
Sometimes, the main event doesn’t go the way you expected it to, and since we want to make sure that players have a blast all weekend long, we’re adding more side events! From now on, there will be a preannounced schedule of side events at every StarCityGames.com Open Weekend. Check it out!
3:00 pm Saturday — 2HG Sealed
We have received a lot of requests for Two-Headed Giant so it is time to grab a friend and throw down!
Entry Fee: $30.00 per team
Format: Current format 2HG Sealed (8 packs — build two 40-card minimum decks)
Rounds: 3 Rounds of Swiss
Prizes:
3-0: 16 Booster Packs pet Team
2-0-1: 12 Booster Packs per Team
2-1: 8 Booster Packs per Team
5:00 pm Saturday — Legacy Challenge
This is the perfect event if you have ever wanted to try out Legacy, or if Standard just didn’t work for you. If you are just coming in for Sunday’s StarCityGames.com Legacy Open, there is now a reason to stop by on Saturday. Dip your toes in a great format or get some testing in for Sunday’s main event.
Entry Fee: $10.00 ($5.00 if you played in the StarCityGames.com Standard Open)
Format: Legacy
Rounds: 4 Rounds of Swiss
Prizes:
4-0: $50 Dealer Credit
3-0-1: $25 Dealer Credit and 3 Booster Packs
3-1: 6 Booster Packs
2 wins: 1 Booster Pack
3:00 pm Sunday — Standard Challenge
The Standard players get their major side event on Sunday.
Entry Fee: $10.00
Format: Standard
Rounds: 4 Rounds of Swiss
Prizes:
4-0: $50 Dealer Credit
3-0-1: $25 Dealer Credit and 3 Booster Packs
3-1: 6 Booster Packs
2 wins: 1 Booster Pack
You may notice that all of these side events have a set number of rounds. This lets us schedule them a little later in the day so that more players have the opportunity to play in them. It also means that you do not need to worry about whether an event will run late into the night due to a large number of players.
The StarCityGames.com Invitational Format
We already have 100 players qualified for this year’s StarCityGames.com Invitational, and another 140 players who are at least halfway there. We have six events left in the 2010 Season and the StarCityGames.com Invitational is looking like it will be a blockbuster event! With $50,000 on the line, including a $10,000 first prize, we felt that the format of the Invitational should match up with the prestige of the event. Therefore, without further ado, I present the format of the StarCityGames.com 2010 Invitational:
Day 1: 8 rounds of Standard, all players with a 6-2-0 or better record OR the top 64 players – whichever number is greater – will advance to the second day of the event.
Day 2: 5 Rounds of Standard, Top 8 — Standard
Remember, since each StarCityGames.com Open event awards an Open Point for participating, you could still qualify for the invitation by simply showing up to 5 of the remaining weekends and playing in both days of competition! And if you already have a few points from earlier in the season, you’re even closer to being qualified!
StarCityGames.com Player of the Year Policy Change
Occasionally, we have to disqualify a player competing in a StarCityGames.com Open Event. To date, three such disqualifications have later resulted in DCI suspensions. In light of these incidents, we were faced with how to handle them in relation to the StarCityGames.com Open Series and Invitational. Our consensus was that we trust the DCI to investigate and rule on these incidents and that we would let their determination guide our actions. Therefore, we are instituting the following policy regarding players suspended by the DCI:
Players that are ineligible for any portion of a StarCityGames.com Invitational season due to suspension from DCI sanctioned events will be ineligible for the StarCityGames.com Player of the Year race. A player who has been suspended may still participate in the StarCityGames.com Invitational provided that he or she has sufficient Open Series points and is eligible to participate in DCI sanctioned events at the time of the StarCityGames.com Invitational.
Essentially, we feel that if a player’s conduct leads to his or her suspension from DCI sanctioned events, we do not feel that they deserve to be a part of the Player of the Year race. However, we feel that if a player has served his or her suspension and is eligible to play in the StarCityGames.com Invitational, they should be allowed to participate.
Online Feedback!
Some of you may have participated in our StarCityGames.com Open Online Surveys after our May and June events. We appreciate the input, and are always looking for ways we can improve the series. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter accounts for links to new surveys after each StarCityGames.com Open Series Weekend and let us know what you think!
I just want to again say how much StarCityGames.com and I really appreciate the support that we have seen at our events. We expect the StarCityGames.com Open Series to continue getting bigger and better, and hope to see you at a StarCityGames.com Open Series Weekend soon!