Welcome to the 2001 Magic Invitational. This is our sixth Invitational and is being held in Cape Town, South Africa. For those of you joining us for the first time, let me explain what the Invitational is all about. As you will see, this Magic tournament is like no other.
The Players: While the average pro tournament invites two to three hundred players, the Invitational is limited to only sixteen. Chosen by their accomplishments in the 2000-2001 season, these sixteen players have been flown to Cape Town to compete.
The Formats: Over three days, the invitees will play in a Round Robin tournament. This means each competitor will play each other competitor once resulting in fifteen preliminary rounds. These fifteen rounds are broken into five different formats, three constructed and two limited. The large variety of formats, many of which are untraditional, will test numerous skills of the sixteen invitees. I will explain each format in detail as we begin playing it.
The Prize: With a combined lifetime earning of over one million dollars, the sixteen Invitational players have won their share of money. The Invitational though is not about money. Here in Magic's all-star game, the competitors are playing for honor and the chance to become part of the game. The winner of the event earns the right to design their very own Magic card complete with an illustration of themselves in the art. Former winning cards include Avalanche Riders (Darwin Kastle), Rootwater Thief (Mike Long), Meddling Mage (Chris Pikula) and Shadowmage Infiltrator (John Finkel).
I hope you join us for our complete coverage of this unique event. We will try to capture not just the round by round play but also the special moments in between that exemplify the camaraderie of the Invitational. Stay tuned. You're in for quite a ride.
Mark Rosewater
Magic Invitational creator and head judge.