Magic The Gathering - Malaysia

Held each year, National Championships are the highest level competition for a particular country. In 2008, players from 66 countries will compete in Magic: The Gathering National Championships for the right to represent their countries at the 2008 World Championships held in Memphis, USA on December 11-14, 2008.

-Wizards of the Coast, http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=events/magic/nationals





The annual battle for money, bragging rights, or the honour to represent the country at the World Championships is coming this weekend!

LOCATION
Matahari III, IV & V – Level 5
Cititel Mid Valley
Mid Valley
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

TOURNAMENT
The 2008 Malaysia National Championship is open by invitation only. Invitations are extended to qualified players who meet the eligibility requirements.

INVITATION CRITERIA
The 2008 Malaysia Nationals invitation list is comprised as follows:

* 2007 Malaysia National Champion
* Members of the 2007 Malaysia national team
* Players who attain the status of Pro Player Club Level 2 and above
* Top 4 finishers of the following 2007 Malaysia Regional Championships held on
o Sunday, May 18, 2008 @ Kuala Lumpur (ccgorganizer@myjaring.net)
o Sunday, May 18, 2008 @ Penang (terence_lee13@yahoo.com)
o Sunday, May 18, 2008 @ Sibu (emagiccorner@gmail.com)
* Top 4 finishers of the following Nationals Qualifier tournaments
o Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ Ipoh (ntneko@hotmail.com)
o Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ Miri (jimmyhws@gmail.com)
o Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ Kuala Lumpur (ccgorganizer@myjaring.net)
* Top 75 DCI Composite ranked players.

FORMAT AND STRUCTURE
The 2008 Malaysia Nationals will be a split-format tournament.

1. Saturday, August 16: Three 60-minute Swiss rounds of Standard Constructed followed by three 60-minute Swiss rounds of Lorwyn-MorningtideTM block Booster Draft (Lorwyn- Lorwyn -Morningtidet) played in pods; followed by the second Booster Draft of Shadowmoor-EventideTM block Booster Draft (Shadowmoor-Shadowmoor -Eventide) in new pods and one 60-minute round of Swiss play; All players will advance to Day 2 of the Nationals with continuous match points and tiebreakers.

2. Sunday, August 17: Two 60-minute Swiss rounds of Shadowmoor-Eventide block Booster Draft continued from Day 1; Players must use the same Draft deck from the second Booster Draft pod used in Day 1 of the Nationals followed by three 60-minute Swiss rounds of Standard Constructed; Players must use the same Standard deck used in Day 1 of the Nationals; the Top 8 players advance to the Finals.

3. As of July 25, 2008 Standard Constructed will comprise of 10th Edition, Coldsnap, Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, Future Sight, Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor and Eventide.

Top 8 Finals: Standard Constructed; Players advancing to the finals must continue to use the same Standard deck used in Day 1 of the Nationals; Top 8 modified Single Elimination finals have no time limit. Top 8 Matches will be best three out of five games; with the two non-advancing semifinalists playing off to determine the third- and fourth-place finisher.

RULES ENFORCEMENT LEVEL
The 2008 Malaysia Nationals will use REL 4. Players are expected to have a thorough understanding of all tournament rules and procedures, including, but not limited to, the DCI Universal Tournament Rules, the DCI Universal Penalty Guidelines, and the Magic: The Gathering® DCI Floor Rules.

PRIZE PAYOUT
The total prize payout for the 2008 Malaysia Nationals is USD 7,000.

Place Payout Pro Points

1st USD 2,100 10
2nd USD 1,600 8
3rd USD 1,100 6
4th USD 800 6
5th-6th USD 400 4
7th-8th USD 300 4
9th-10th 36 boosters 2
11th-12th 18 boosters 2
13th-16th 9 boosters 1
TOTAL USD 7,000

PRIZES

* The Top 4 finishers of the 2008 Malaysia Nationals will receive invitations to compete in the 2008 Magic: The Gathering World Championships, 11 – 14 December in Memphis, U.S.A.
* The Top 3 finishers will comprise the 3-member national team representing Malaysia, with the fourth-place finisher becoming the designated alternate.
* Product prizes will be awarded from 9th to 16th place.

Source, more information and full list of invited players: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=events/nationals/malaysia

QJ: Call me naive - but for me, nationals has always been money second, and the chance to go to worlds and represent the country first and foremost. I've never put so much effort into the game before, as little as it may seem compared to all the other veterans in the game locally today, although I can hope that it will be enough that I won't be making a fool out of myself like PTQ Berlin.

I also sincerely hope that team Malaysia, whoever it may be, can put back our country's name back into limelight in Memphis later this year, which has been lacking ever since Terry Soh last made his huge splash on the Pro Tour scene.

Hopefully I will be bringing you stories and scenes from Nationals in the near future although I can't promise anything. I also hope to be covering the top 8 elimination rounds, if the tournament organizer and head judge allows, altough I would prefer to cover the competition all the way to the finals from a first person point of view. ;)

Good luck everyone, let's all have a great time there!