Magic: The Gathering Italian Pro Player Banned For A Year

Photo: Wizards of the Coast

Marco Cammilluzzi, the Italian professional Magic: The Gathering player who won the 2015 World Magic Cup as the captain of the Italian National team, has been suspended from playing in DCI-sanctioned events for a year (from March 1, 2018). Although the DCI Suspended DCI Memberships list doesn't provide an explanation as to why he was banned, it probably has something to do with his disqualification from Grand Prix Las Vegas last year.

Here's the statement the head judge shared following his disqualification in Round 8 of Grand Prix Las Vegas Legacy main event:

During Round 8, a floor judge became involved in Marco Cammilluzzi's match because of a game play error. During the investigation, Cammilluzzi's explanations led me to believe that he could be providing misleading statements about how he thought a card worked, and how he had played it during this event. After gathering information from previous rounds' opponents, I concluded that this was indeed the case. The rules state that lying to a tournament official is an infraction that requires a disqualification.

If that was the main reason why Cammilluzzi was suspended by the DCI, then why did they have to wait nine months before they issued the suspension? Did he get caught cheating on another Magic event recently? Or did they have to wait a specific period of time before they can suspend him? We'll probably never know but what we do know is when his suspension will be lifted: March 1, 2019. This is a player who earned one Pro Tour Top 8, a 6th-place finish at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir, and he has also made it to the Top 8 of five Grand Prix events.

If a Magic: The Gathering player has been suspended for cheating more than once before, then why don't they just give him the lifetime ban to filter out the cheaters from the community? Why should honest Magic players need to worry about playing against a repeated cheater when they come back again?

Last December, another MTG pro, Travis Woo, got suspended for a year but not for cheating. On the same day, YouTuber Jeremy Hambly of Unsleeved Media received a lifetime ban. Back in the day, they used to list the reasons why they were suspended or banned but I guess they'd rather keep things more private these days.

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