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Lee and the Hall of Fame

By Lee Steht ⋅ July 7, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅

“Voting shall be based upon the player’s performances, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, and contributions to the game in general.”

That’s the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame Mantra. It’s hard to believe that our game has really gotten to a point where we’re recognizing these attributes within a person’s “game”. For a person, like myself, I don’t take this sport lightly nor do I take my position on the Hall of Fame Committee lightly. Not because I’m a power hungry internet podcaster who has had delusions of a pro tour victory over the world, or um at least I don’t think I do. It’s not the biggest task ever, you simply pick 5 people out of a list of people who have compiled 100 or more pro points. What is a big deal to me is these people, if selected into the “Hall”, will gain eternal fame while having a lifetime invitation to the Pro Tour with Level 5 status, a super cool Hall of Fame Ring and invitation to this year’s World Championships. Being a Level 5 player and have an invitation to Worlds is an opportunity some would kill for. Throw in the ring and the eternal fame and you’ve got a pretty nice little package for just being a player with ability, integrity, sportsmanship, a few contributions to the game and be fortunate enough to have performed well in “The Show.”

What I wanted to do with this article is evaluate the finer points of the criteria above and ask your opinion on the potential hall of famers. So, let’s begin by just knocking out Performance. It takes 100 lifetime Pro Points to merely be considered for enshrinement and that’s NO small task. You have to win a major tourney or two to get a considerable amount of points so we don’t really need to talk much about this. I’ve been to quite a few protours with a hand full of grand prix day 2s and have only accumulated 37 points. Now, the DCI wasn’t always so generous in handing out points you get for Grand Prix. You were only given points for top 8s, and before then you didn’t even get pro points. 10 points for winning a grand prix or a national championship and 25 for winning a pro tour or world championship shows that achieving 100 is no slice of cheese. So for that alone, these people are great!

Playing Ability is a relatively vague attribute to determine. All of these individuals have displayed an ability to play the game and win. So, how can we determine a person’s ability to play? At Pro Tour Berlin, guaranteed Hall of Famer Luis Scott Vargas (LSV) won his title after being down in his first top 8 match, he was down for MOST of the top 8. This pro tour displayed the power of the Elf Combo deck which provided the mage who played first a HUGE advantage. LSV’s play skills allowed him to overcome the deficit of being down AND the advantages of his opponent’s play option and snatched the title from some of the world’s best. THAT is playing ability! However, that’s an easy example from a player who is a sure fire first ballot hall of famer. I think that multiple victories is a good measure of ability, but that doesn’t discount the journeyman who has played at a high level and accumulates points through qualifying and decent finishes. That is unless, we determine that there are Performance Enhancing Drugs that provided a distinct advantage over other competitors.

Which leads me to my next item, Integrity. We don’t always have judges viewing play. There are no cameras that view a player’s hand and battlefield. So we put a certain amount of trust in our opponents to play the game. Obviously, it doesn’t always happen. Now, the flipside to this is there’s a contested rule and you call a judge over and that person wins the ruling. It doesn’t make them a cheater. I’ve observed several pros who allow “take backs” or advised of bad moves or inaccuracies that would benefit them and they call for correction, THAT is Integrity.

Sportsmanship, on of the elements that I feel many Magic players today are lacking. The premature “good game” or the absence of the handshake are simple signs of sportsmanship and sometimes excusable or often times overlooked. I’ve viewed MANY of the Japanese players call out their own play mistakes or manaburn. One of Japan’s top players was participating in a limited grand prix trial on a Friday night and had a VERY good sealed pool. This person already had 3 byes for the next day’s event and was undefeated currently in the last round before the byes were awarded. He conceded to his opponent, giving the byes away, and simple said that he needed more practice and didn’t want to cut someone off who would need the byes.

THIS final item is one that truly defines where we stand as players, promoters and members of the Magic world. It is, to me, what a person does outside of playing the game. Whether it be mentoring, reporting, writing or being a goodwill ambassador, ALL of these things are important to the development, promotion and general goodwill of our game. When you look at a person, their demeanor, their actions, their product, one would hope that they’re all done with positive intention. While personal gain is ok too, providing good advice that might help someone achieve a dream or goal overshadows whether that person is getting paid or not (at least in my opinion).

Normally, I look for reasons to put a person into the Hall as opposed to finding reasons to keep them out. However, I think that selection should be a double-edged sword and that winning alone isn’t enough. It’s tough and there are lots of people that I don’t know and for that I’ll need to do some research. What I also wanted to do in conclusion, was to hear what you all have to say about your favorite players or the person you think deserves the Hall of Fame. Don’t forget to participate in our Forums with your opinion or feel free to personally message me. Without further ado, congratulations to ALL of the 2009 Hall of Fame Candidates:

• Ryuuichi Arita
• Jose Barbero
• Chris Benafel
• Marco Blume
• David Brucker
• Franck Canu
• Tiago Chan
• Patrick Chapin – The “Innovator”. I don’t usually believe in Deck Builder Hype, but “The OTHER Patrick” (as I like to call him) is a great player. I didn’t realize he had 100 pro points! He’s a fine ambassador, and communicates to thousands of loyal followers through StarCityGames. He’s the real deal when it comes to intellectual magic AND deck theory.
• Daniel Clegg
• Kamiel Cornelissen – 1 of only 10 people to have over 300 lifetime pro points!!! WTF!!!
• Jeff Cunningham
• Brian Davis
• Antonino De Rosa – A truly entertaining person! “Ant” beats you and gets your to smile about it. I’ve known this guy since he was a cute young lad and know that he’s become a cute OLD lad. Hard to beat his accomplishments on the national level, he’s also a good person.
• Eric Froehlich
• Osamu Fujita
• Justin Gary – Never really a guy to say too much during play, Justin might have been one of THE most difficult people to read and play against. I do recall beating him with 5 Ophidians once, it might have been his ONLY match loss EVER. This guy knew how to play this game.
• Gerardo Godinez Estrada
• Mike Hron
• Masami Ibamoto
• Tsuyoshi Ikeda – Only 3 other Japanese players are ahead of him in lifetime pro points and those 3 players, Shuuhei Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Fujita and Tomoharu Saitou are considered to be Legendary.
• Itaru Ishida
• William Jensen
• Scott Johns
• Craig Jones
• Mattias Jorstedt
• Mark Justice – This guy is one of Magic’s FIRST celebrities. He was famous before the internet created famous magic players and famed writer George Baxter made him Iconic. Justice’s rule was before Pro Tours, Pro Points and Magic Sites and his name still transcended the game. His decks and building theory are still part of the underlying theories behind Mana Ramp Decks and the like. It was an honor just to play during this age.
• Frank Karsten
• Mattias Kettil
• Brian Kibler – Kibler wins. Period. What I think is significant about his success, is that he’s done it in different eras. Not a lot of people talk about it, but AGE means a lot in Magic. It’s considered to be a “young man’s game” and Brian has been successful both youth and in recent times. Perhaps we all grow and mature, but winning while growing old and maturing is sweeter than wine. It takes a lot to win at Magic and Brian does it when he wants to.
• Masashiro Kuroda
• Nicolas Labarre
• Matt Linde
• Raffaele Lo Moro
• Michael Long – EVERY sport has one. John Daly, Dennis Rodman, Mitch Williams, Ron Artest, Clubber Lang they all played a huge part to their sport and it’s not always clear why. The bad guy everyone loves to hate, but has the largest fan turnout. Every sport has one of these to keep it in check. To keep the sport from becoming a mundane pool of people who look and act the same. Mike made “rules lawyering” a profession and forced the DCI and Magic to become better at judging, playing and organizing. People watched him because of his antics, what he would put on the table and possibly what he put under it. He would win, but how he would do it would always come under controversy and speculation. You couldn’t trust the guy when he’s across the table from you, but you’d never know it if you talked to him outside of a match. Two things I can remember from Pro Tour Paris: a Mulligan rule and a Mike Long victory.
• Pierre Malherbaud
• Casey McCarrel - It was during a U.S. National championship, early in the Standard portion of the tourney. I mulligan to 5 first game, 6 the second game and 6 the third game after I asked him to keep his eyes away from the deck when shuffling my deck. Later he was disqualified for stacking opponents’ decks. First hand experience tells all and that’s all I can tell you about Mr. McCarrel.
• Patrick Mello
• Eivind Nitter
• Jin Okamoto
• Daniel O’Mahoney-Schwartz
• Steven O’Mahoney-Schwartz – They might be the ONLY siblings to have reached the 100 point plateau, without being associated to cheating, and that MUST be cool. At least you’re never in need of a playtesting partner. These two guys were everywhere you could find competitive Magic, and they won when they were there. Darwin Castle is in the Hall and the “brothers O’Mahoney-Schwarts” partnered, teamed and won with their Castle.
• Wessel Oomens
• Rickard Osterberg
• Diego Ostrovich
• Jamie Parke
• Brock Parker
• Chris Pikula
• David Price – The epitome of aggro, burn and mountains. David Price would never lead you to believe he played magic. Nor would you ever think he won at it. When he played, however, his cards would be blazing. A class act and a good player.
• Michael Pustilnik
• Neil Reeves
• Carlos Romão
• Antoine Ruel – The “Other Ruel” brother, Antoine might be the better of the two. In a team Grand Prix Columbus years ago, my team was faced against theirs. They sat down and began speaking Francais. Fortunately for us, one of my team members spoke French fluently. I won’t tell you what was said, but let’s just say the match went more smoothly. It’s sad that the Ruels have controversies that might overshadow their accomplishments, because I KNOW they can play magic. As I said with the O-Brothers, it’s a tremendous accomplishment to have a siblings achieve 100 pro points (actually Antoine has 300+ and brother Oliver has 400+). Much has been said about the Japanese and their talent, but of the top 6 all time pro point holders (where Antoine is currently 6th) 4 are French!!!
• Brian Selden
• Alex Shvartsman – THE journeyman of Magic. There was a time where Alex and I were neck and neck for THE most matches played in the WORLD. I’m glad one of us was able to capitalize. I’ve said earlier that every sport has elements that are the same and Journeymen are a part of all sports. And, Alex has that crown.
• Bram Snepvangers
• Ben Stark – “The Boy Genius” we used to call him here in Florida. At the pinnacle of Ben’s success, he took time off to play poker (as many Magic players have). In my mind, he’s missing the titles that would certainly make him a first-balloter. But, he’s back to playing and winning. He’s THAT good.
• Helmut Summersberger
• Mike Thompson
• Jens Thorén
• Tom van de Logt
• Tomi Walamies
• David Williams – David’s fame extends into the highly heralded realm of Poker as well. He’s a fantastic personality and obviously a tier one thinker to go with his personality. After his finals appearance at Poker’s main event, I often wondered if he’d lend me 20 bucks hehe. All joking aside, David has accomplished a lot. However, he’s missing an elusive title that helps. He’s still got game in him so don’t think he can’t beat you. For me the biggest positive for David Williams ISN’T his 100+ Pro Points or his success out of the game in poker (which could be equated to being an ambassador), the biggest positive for David Williams is his personality. One of the game’s biggest celebrities and one of the nicest guys.

I’ve mentioned, to a point of reading, Age in magic and Sibling success. Magic is also a game that has many other demographics. The FACT is that Magic is played primarily by Caucasians males ages 14 to 24. We often mention the Japanese, the French, this and that. While he would NEVER mention it, David Williams is the all time leader in Pro Points amongst African American or Black players. I will recognize, in the same manner, when a woman achieves 100 points or someone achieves 100 points AFTER their 40th birthday. It speaks highly about our game’s diversity and I feel I would NOT be doing justice to my position or the committee if I didn’t recognize the differences in all of the individuals above. They’re ALL fine players, but what sets them apart is what I look for. I’m not voting for friends or people merely on wins alone. I’m voting for people who make a difference AND win at Magic.

The highlighted individuals are NOT my picks, I thought I might give you insight into why they may or may not be who I select and giving you the why. I just wanted to say “Thanks” for reading and good luck. I look forward to hearing your feedback…

Lee

He cohosted the ManaNation podcast from 2008 into 2010. He's wrestled with giants and deposed dictators. He's drafted with gods, and demolished small cities with a single Sea Sprite.

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