Age: 24
Occupation: Johns Hopkins Research Assistant
Largest Magic Accomplishment: Qualifying for this event
Brendan looks tired. Real tired. And for good reason – he's had the biggest day of his Magic career so far. He went 4-0 in Standard with the underrepresented Valakut, and he just 3-1'ed his second ever M12 draft in a long, hard-fought battle against a deck with more than one Overrun. The match ended in that way we know all too well – just the two of them at seemingly endless, empty table, being watched closely by a judge.
"It's been a long day," he told me.
However, for Brendan, it's been a relatively short career. He starting played Magic with 9th Edition in college, but didn't start thinking about competitive Magic until two years ago, after graduation.
Hailing from Downingtown, PA, about an hour outside Philadelphia, Brendan decided to try his hand at the higher echelon of Magic for an interesting reason. 
"Most things I like to do, luckily, come fairly easy to me, but Magic has been very hard. I wanted to see if I could do well at something I had to work for." Though his highest accomplishments before this point were a couple PTQ Top 8s, it would seem that such work is beginning to pay off.
As far as his long-term Magic ambitions, they seem unclear. Brendan just wants to see how far the rabbit hole goes. Quite frankly, I think that's how a lot of us ended up where we are in Magic to this day. Because let me tell you something, the hole is deep. So don't be surprised if Brendan's in it for the long haul, and just doesn't know it yet.
At X-1, Hurst is positioned well for a spot on the National team this weekend. And if he can repeat today's performance again, you just might be seeing him in a bigger spotlight than this Player Profile. But for now, just think about the best Magic day you've ever had, think about how Brendan must feel right now and enjoy how truly tired he looks in these pictures. Especially the one where he tries to give me a smile.