FACT SHEET GRAND PRIX OAKLAND 2016

January 8-10, 2016
Presented by ChannelFireball

Oakland Convention Center
550 10th St
Oakland, CA 94607
USA

Official hashtag: #gpoak

OVERVIEW

Northern California is ChannelFireball's home turf, so it’s fitting that they will be holding their first Grand Prix of 2016 in Oakland, California! It’s also the first Grand Prix of 2016, which means revised prize structures, expanded travel awards, and Day Two participation for players with records of X-3 or better. Break out your Standard cards and start testing – and, of course, preregister now so you can join us in January at Grand Prix Oakland!

Grand Prix Oakland takes place January 8-10, 2016. The format for the main event is Standard Constructed. The Grand Prix takes place at:

Oakland Convention Center
550 10th St
Oakland, CA 94607
USA

Main Event Registration Fee: $70
Maximum Main Event Capacity is 2,000 Players
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL PRE-REGISTRATION FEE: $60 (Offer Ends December 9)
Registration online until January 8 at 8 p.m.
Registration on-site will take place Friday, January 8 from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
There will be no on-site registration on Saturday.

Many Grand Prix offer additional services to participants, such as Sleep-In Specials and VIP packages. Sleep-In Specials allow players with byes to skip the player meeting on Saturday and arrive shortly before their first round begins. VIP packages provide various perks such as complimentary bottled water, special seating, and exclusive artist signings. Details of these services vary from event to event; please check the organizer's website for specifics.

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

Players who participate in the Grand Prix main event will receive a promo card (while supplies last).

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO

Follow live streaming video coverage of Grand Prix Oakland on DailyMTG and Twitch. Video for this event is presented by ChannelFireball, and will be hosted by Luis-Scott Vargas, Marshall Sutcliffe, and William Jensen, with between-round content provided by Athena "Elantris" Huey. Coverage begins on Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. UTC.

FORMAT AND SCHEDULE

Format: Standard Constructed
Main Event Registration Fee: $70
(Maximum Main Event Capacity is 2,000 Players)
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL PRE-REGISTRATION FEE: $60 (Offer Ends December 9)

Register Online until January 8
On-site Registration on Friday, January 8 from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 9: Grand Prix Oakland begins at 9 a.m.
Sunday, January 10: Day Two begins at 9:00 a.m.

Registration for the Grand Prix main event closes Friday night. There will be no Saturday registration.

The main tournament at Grand Prix Oakland is open to Magic players of all ages.

Players must have a signed waiver and consent form to compete at Grand Prix Oakland. Forms can be downloaded here and will be available on-site. Minors must have a parent of guardian’s signature on these forms. Minors will not be able to register or play unless we receive a waiver signed by a parent or guardian. No exceptions.

Standard Constructed
Deck lists are required
Players must use the same deck on Day Two that they used on Day One.

Modified Swiss-style (50-minute rounds).
Day One will consist of 9 Swiss rounds. Day Two will consist of 6 Swiss rounds and the Top 8 single-elimination finals.
All players with an X-3-0 record (or better) advance to the second day of competition for prizes and invitations.
The Top 8 players after the final Swiss round on Day Two will advance to the Top 8 single-elimination playoff.
Top 8 playoff matches will be best 2 of 3.
Top 8 playoff matches will have no time limit. (Players are still expected to play at a normal pace and complete playoff matches in a reasonable amount of time.)
Standings after the Swiss rounds will be used to determine final order in the standings for losing players in the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff rounds.
For the first game of each match in the Top 8, the player that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each Top 8 match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

Judges

Judges interested in applying for the event should do so using the Judge Center.

Notes

Planeswalker Points multiplier 8x, Rules Enforcement Level (REL) is Competitive on Day One and Professional on Day Two.
The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and the Magic: The Gathering Infraction Procedure Guide are in effect for this event unless specifically overruled by information in this Format Document. Rules documents can be found in the Magic Document Center .
Players are responsible for bringing their own method of tracking life totals, card sleeves, and appropriate counters or tokens.
In the event that a player who wins an invitation to a Pro Tour stop at a Grand Prix has already qualified for an invitation, the invitation does not pass down under any circumstances. Previous qualification may be through a Qualifier tournament, through performance at a professional tournament, or by being an invited DCI player (valid upon the date of the official rank announcement for the appropriate professional tournament).

PRIZE STRUCTURE

Place	Prize Money
1	$10,000
2	$5,000
3-4	$2,500
5-8	$1,500
9-16	$1,000
17-32	$500
33-64	$250
65-100	$250*
101-180	$200*
If Grand Prix attendance is 0-2,999 players, prize money will be paid out to 64th place. If Grand Prix attendance is over 3,000 participants, prize money will be paid out to 180th place. Attendance at a Grand Prix is calculated on participation, not preregistration. The Tournament Organizer will announce Grand Prix attendance as soon as this is confirmed. Tournament attendance and standing are subject to review by Wizards of the Coast before being finalized. Top 8 finishers and all players with 39 match points or greater at the end of the event also earn invitations and airfare to Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad*, which takes place in Madrid, Spain on April 22-24, 2016. All prizes displayed in U.S. dollars. Prizes subject to change. For every event held in the U.S., a 30% withholding tax will automatically be deducted from the prize payments to all international players, unless the player has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) that has been filed with the withholding agent. (For information on applying for an ITIN, please visit www.irs.gov) In some cases, players may be eligible to reclaim the 30% withheld; please consult with a tax professional in your area. Please be aware that if you are not a resident of the state of California, regardless of nationality, and your winnings at events held in that state over the course of the year total USD$1500 or more, those winnings will be subject to 7% CA state tax withholding. Tax forms for prizes paid within a calendar year will be mailed by March of the following year. These tax forms are very important, and it is recommended that they be retained for five years. If you do not receive a form, you must contact us within one year to request a copy.

Place	Pro Points
1	8
2	6
3-4	5
5-8	4
Top 8 players receive Pro Points based on rank. All other players receive Pro Points based on their match point total at the end of the event.
Match Points	Pro Points
39+	4
36-38	3
33-35	2
30-32	1
0-29	0

TOURNAMENT BYES

Grand Prix tournament byes can be earned either through a player's yearly Planeswalker Points total or by winning a Grand Prix Trial.

Byes earned through Planeswalker Points are calculated using the Planeswalker Point totals from all reported events as of the Tuesday immediately before the Grand Prix. Points earned in tournaments held at the Grand Prix event site do not count toward earned byes at that Grand Prix.

Winners of a Grand Prix Trial tournament are awarded two byes in the Grand Prix that it feeds. Trial byes are not cumulative with other byes and do not pass down. Byes are not cumulative throughout the season or year. Byes do not pass down under any circumstances. Players who accumulate multiple byes to a particular Grand Prix tournament receive only the bye for the greatest number of rounds. For complete information about Grand Prix byes and their corresponding competitive season, please check the Magic: The Gathering Premier Event Invitation Policy.

Players with a Pro Players Club level of Gold or Platinum
Members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame

Winners of this event's Grand Prix Trial tournaments.
Players with a Pro Players Club level of Silver
Players who have accumulated at least 2,250 Planeswalker Points in the 2015 Yearly Award Season (June 2, 2014 – May 31, 2015)
Players who have accumulated at least 2,250 Planeswalker Points in the 2016 Yearly Award Season (June 1, 2015 – May 29, 2016)

Players who have accumulated at least 1,300 Planeswalker Points in the 2015 Yearly Award Season (June 2, 2014 – May 31, 2015)
Players who have accumulated at least 1,300 Planeswalker Points in the 2016 Yearly Award Season (June 1, 2015 – May 29, 2016)

SIDE EVENTS

Along with the main event, there are additional side-event tournaments to play in at a Grand Prix. The Side Events listed in this section are on the schedule of every Grand Prix. For a more robust listing of side events, visit the Grand Prix Oakland website.

Last-Chance Trials
Earn a valuable Two-Round bye by winning one of the Last-Chance Trials. Last-Chance Trials are 32-person single-elimination events, starting as soon as 32 players register.

"Foiled Again"
A straight Swiss tournament lasting three or four rounds. Participants get one past promo card for playing, then one additional promo card per match win. Format varies by event.

"Rebound" Event
Format at organizer's discretion. The winner(s) earn free entry into the "Super Sunday Series" (see Sunday Side Events). Players who also played in the main Grand Prix tournament will get a discount for entry.

Super Sunday Series
Qualifier tournaments for the Super Sunday Series will be held at each Grand Prix. The Top 8 players in the Super Sunday Series qualifier will each be awarded a commemorative Grand Prix water bottle. The winner of the Super Sunday Series qualifier will earn an invitation and travel award for the Super Sunday Series Championship 2017, expected to be held in January 2017. The Super Sunday Series Championship experience also includes a tour of Wizards of the Coast, dinner with Wizards employees, and more.

Some of the hottest and most famous artists in Magic will be joining us at Grand Prix Oakland. All artists will be available to sign cards, playmats, and more. In addition, all will be selling prints, artist proofs, original art/sketches, and doing custom alterations of mats and cards!

GP OAKLAND ARTISTS

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tournament Organizer: ChannelFireball
Email: events@channelfireball.com
Phone: 1-408-727-7827