SCG Richmond Reflection

To say I was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in the sixth round of the SCG standard classic at Richmond would be one way to put it. But to say that I received unfair treatment is probably a more agreeable by the many, even my opponent that I was sitting across from when this egregious ruling occurred.

I was very caught off guard and flabbergasted when my opponent conceded before time even began in the 6th round.

We both greeted each other warmly, and I in fact got to make a joke about how both of our names start with a T. It was a very good introduction in my mind and i was happy to have met a new competitor to enjoy the game with. When we both began to set up, I asked this person if they wanted to do a high roll in order to secure who would go first in the match. They agreed a high roll was sufficient. I grabbed two D6 out of my dice container, excitedly, and to effect, hurriedly, and shook them onto the table in front of us.

6 and a 3. A pretty good roll, but not unbeatable. My opponent turned her head at me and said she would appreciate if I rolled again. I have never encountered this situation, so I figured the fair thing to do is to simply call a judge. The floor judge suggested I roll again, seem-idly just to be agreeable. So I appeal that. I am on aggro here and I had the luck to roll a 9. I find it highly unfair that due to the discomfort of my opponent, I lose my high roll.



By the way, my opponent's account of the matter can be found here, where in their words, they say "And truth be told, I don’t think he is (cheating). I doubt there’s anything fishy going on, I am sure they are a well-intentioned person and they just rolled dice a little too close to the table on pure accident."

https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sr4qr3?new_post=true&fbclid=IwAR3qUMM7hOTeJ9zLJpoqGt3SxcibQ5THETVUUrOK24YsLwwWNM4EbhFypHk





But when the head judge comes over, there is actually no talk of my roll. There is no talk about anything regarding the game, or if an opponent or judge can even ask you to reroll. I understand my opponent had become emotionally distressed, but I was still not fully understanding what had happened. I really wanted to play the match at length, because I truly do enjoy the competitive nature of the match-up I was about to face. But shortly after my opponent walked away, I was informed that they forfeited, and that the head judge needed to talk to me some more off to the side. The judge sat me down and began to drill me about multiple things. The judge made sure to get as much info from me as possible, and show him how I roll, as well as a few more questions about my opponent and my personal background.

I was absolutely outraged that I was disqualified for "Attempting to gain an advantage by rolling dice" by Mr. Philippe Monlevede. I held it in the best I could, and tried to explain that this had to be some kind of mistake, but Philippe Monlevede was just not having it. He claimed to have probed my former opponents for evidence in this matter, but to my knowledge, he asked 3 of them at absolute max. He even admitted he could not locate all of them. So this evidence is admittedly, by the head judge himself, purely anecdotal. It is a story and opinion given by my former opponents, again, not exactly empirical evidence against my rolling techniques.

When I asked him why this little amount of non empirical evidence was deemed worthy of my DQ, he stated that he believed the integrity of the event was compromised due to the evidence he found. I truly believe that I was actually victimized here.

I just want to go on record and state that this head judge, someone we are supposed to be trusting with these events, and trusting to maintain and uphold the integrity of the game and the nature of honesty and law, is using admitted anecdotes to disqualify honest and transparent players who are truly fans of the game, and of SCG. Not exactly a very good example of integrity at all, by any definition. As far as I know, anecdotal and integral are kind of not anywhere close to relatable, and I think many would agree.

Would it be nice to get my SCG points for that event? Of course. Would I like to have the prize wall tickets? indeed i would. But honestly, that is not why I am, taking the time out of my day to write this. I have been playing this game since 1998 and it is truly beyond material, beyond competition, and beyond fame for me. This game is a spiritual, nostalgic, and core piece of who I am. For me, cheating would be truly ruining the game. There simply is a fundamental understanding of honesty, especially in competitive play, in my universe of this game.

I am writing this because I believe I believe this behavior will continue. I believe that younger, less jaded players will run into this issue, and if they do, they would be less likely to return to SCG or any larger events for that matter. Many state this behavior is entirely taking the fun out of the game. I do my best to encourage them otherwise, but it's hard for a lot of players to deal with judges that actually don't understand the meaning of integrity or how to conduct an investigation where the results do not perpetuate toxic attitudes on veteran and new players alike.

I would love to work with the community to strive at protecting the sanctity of the events, and fix these issues any way I can. Magic: The Gathering has been a staple of my life, and it is a passion that will never be quelled. I breathe integrity when it comes to this community, and look forward to helping in any way I can in preventing this from happening to other players.

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