TOP 8 COVERAGE
The heat in Dallas-Fort Worth continued all weekend. During the final stretch of the Pro Tour season, while we were all following players chasing down the last points, a surprise happened. Pro Tour Hall of Fame member Shuhei Nakamura, relatively absent from Grand Prix events outside his home region lately, came plowing through and took down the Top 8 with ease, defeating Ross Merriam in the finals. He's now tied with Yuuya Watanabe and Kai Budde at seven Grand Prix wins.
But that wasn't the only news. Many other big things happened to us. Firstly, (25) Alexander Hayne clinched the Grand Prix points slot at the World Championship after a multi-continental, months-long race with fellow Canadian, Pascal Maynard. Secondly, plenty of other players hit their limit when they needed to—for example, Brazilian Thiago Saporito clinched Platinum before the Pro Tour next week and Nathan Holiday clinched Gold.
And thirdly, Magic Origins is an awesome, awesome set, and makes for a great limited format. Which is perfect, because there's plenty more of it coming next week.
The stage has been set, the bar has been raised, and it's time for Pro Tour Magic Origins in Vancouver. We'll see you there!
DAY 2 COVERAGE
As the sun rises on this Texas summer morning, everything is heating up. Inside the air-conditioned convention center, a huge amount of names are vying for the top spot on the weekend, and a top spot going into Pro Tour Magic Origins in Vancouver next week.
Sitting atop the standings are Hall of Fame members Pat Chapin and Shuhei Nakamura, along with Gregory Orange, Christopher Fontaine, Calvin Gravel, and Robert Smith. They are the ones to beat today, but there are plenty of people up to the task.
Names like Jason Chung, (7) Ari Lax, Christian Calcano, Jamie Parke, (17) Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Gerry Thompson, Joel Larsson, (19) Mike Sigrist, Jesse Hampton, (12) Josh Utter-Leyton are all in the hunt—and I could go on, the amount of sharks here is staggering. Including both (25) Alexander Hayne and Pascal Maynard, who have made it through to the second day, taking the #HaynevMaynard debacle into the last possible hours.
It’s the first large-scale Magic Origins draft day; and it’ll be a scorcher.
DAY 1 COVERAGE
We all knew today would be crazy, and it was. Magic Origins has shown itself a proving ground for the seasoned pros trying to grab those last few points.
The #HaynevMaynard feud has escalated—as the two traded barbs all day. Both players made the second day, though Hayne did it by the skin of his teeth, staving off elimination for multiple rounds in a row, while it was only the last round that caused Maynard to sink to 7-2.
In the great Brazilian race between Willy Edel and Thiago Saporito—the Brazilian godfather didn’t make the second day, but the young upstart has. Saporito now the chance to pass Edel with a strong finish tomorrow.
Sitting undefeated are two Pro Tour Hall of Fame members—Pat Chapin and Shuhei Nakamura—joined by Gregory Orange, Christopher Fontaine, and Calvin Gravel, with Robert Smith at 8-0-1, trailing by a hair.
Sunday will be the first Grand Prix draft of Magic Origins, and will be a harbinger of the draft format for Pro Tour Magic Origins in Vancouver next week. Tune in tomorrow to catch all the action at twitch.tv/magic. Goodnight from Texas!
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