Did you know that you can be disqualified in a competitive Magic: The Gathering tournament if an opponent "jokingly" offered to bribe you even if you chose to decline? Sounds ridiculous, right? But that's exactly what happened to a Magic player in last weekend's Grand Prix Houston.
The player, who goes by the name The_Corgi_Butts on Reddit, shared his experience on the forum, describing in detail how he was disqualified in his last match during Round 15 of Grand Prix Houston 2018. You can read his Reddit post below:
I just wanted to hear the thoughts of the community on this situation.
On Sunday evening my opponent and I were in the situation of a potential chance of getting into top 8 if we won our last match in round 15. Upon arriving to my table my opponent offered me to concede as a joke. I chuckled and gave a reply of no. We continued to talk before the round started and he seemed like a pretty laid back and funny guy. We continue to talk and then he light heartily stated to me "dude, I would so pay you to be in top 8, Oops I can't say that sorry! Just kidding!". At that time I didn't really give much thought to it, and truly believe he was joking around. Taking his social ques I chose to brush off what he said. I continued to shuffle my deck and played a match against him. I ended up beating my opponent 2-0 after him mulling down to 5 both games. Being ecstatic about my win, I ran to my friends and celebrated my victory.
Twenty minutes later the head judge pulls me to the side to ask some questions about my last opponent. I didn't think much about it. He ask me to recount the events upon arriving to my seat. Unknowingly what he wanted from me, I started to recollect what happened. And then I remembered his joke, and suddenly my heart just sank. I knew at that very moment that is why he had called me up there. I told him as I have written above. I recalled the events as I have remembered them to the head judge.
A floor judge had heard our conversation and reported it to the head judge. The ruling that was made was that the both of us will be disqualified from the event and receive no prizing. Which at minimum would had been 1000$ for me and some pro-points.
My opponent in-fracture was initiating a conversation about bribery, collusion in regards to results of a match. My in-fracture that I received was receiving such offers and not calling a judge immediately.
I feel as though most players would have acted as I have. It actually never crossed my mind to call a judge over on my opponent over something that was said by him so light heartily. As a person, I am a gentle, kind-hearted person and to call a judge over this seemed like it would be overreacting. I couldn't believe at the ruling. I couldn't hold back but burst into tear in public. I felt as though I had complied to the rules. I find myself questioning why am I getting punished as harshly for a mistake my opponent made. How was I suppose to know that I was suppose to call a judge for a small remark. Its not like I have read the entire judges rules and regulations. I guess you can say I am guilty of negligence and being misinformed. The intercom going into the round just stated you must play a match of magic to determine the results of the match. Which I did.
I wanted to share this story to the community for two reason. I wanted to hear the communities thoughts over this. But also to hand some info to the community in case this situation ever comes up for you. Even if your opponent is joking, call the judge immediately.
This illustrates what's "technically right" and "morally right." It's ridiculous that he faced the same punishment as someone who was deemed to be bribing even though he didn't do anything "wrong".
As another Redditor points out, this isn't a "ruling"; it's a policy that judges have no control over, and are required to enforce strictly, and it's legally necessary for Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro to be strict. A judge on Reddit detailed the official policy about bribery:
[PSA] On Judges, DQ's, the Rules, and You
from
r/magicTCG
It's right to enforce players doing the bribing but to punish players for not telling the judge about the "joke" is just absurd. This is the kind of thing that would make a player quit Magic: The Gathering or at least its competitive tournaments.
What do you think about his experience? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Read more: 302 MTG Players of The Grand Prix London Pauper Event Just Gave A Round of Applause To The Professor
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