The Biggest HBMO Ever Is Coming: 2019

Today marks a historic day for the Hunter Burton Memorial Open. For us (the HBMO event team) it is truly an amazing time for us. We can finally share with you the overall plans and date for the 2019 event!

We are unable to start talking about our 2019 event however without first taking the time to once again thank all the volunteers, sponsors, vendors, partners, and most of all the players and attendees who donated to the 2018 Hunter Burton event. Without you, the upcoming event wouldn’t be possible.

A quick note from Dona Burton herself:

“The 2018 Hunter Burton Memorial Open was by far the most amazing year so far. The support of not only the Magic the Gathering community but also the volunteers, sponsors, and contributors was phenomenal to say the least. I am speechless with regards to how amazing the 2019 event is already shaping up to be. I truly believe everyone will be just as amazed and excited as I am for the coming year.”

Now, without further delay let’s get started with the big news as there is just so much to announce!

The 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open will be at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas on…

MARCH 16th & 17th, 2019

It’s a Two-Day Event!

That’s right, for the first time EVER the Hunter Burton Memorial Open will be a two-day event! This means more big events, more prizes, and more reasons to attend. These additional events won’t just be limited to Magic the Gathering.

That’s not all however as we have more amazing news to tell you. So…Much…More!

With the addition of a second day we are finally able to have the Saturday Modern $10k tournament that will continue on day two. This will allow competitors to play a set number of rounds on day one followed by a reasonable night’s sleep with the conclusion Sunday morning. Yes, you read that correctly. The 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial will feature a Modern Format $10k on Saturday with its conclusion on Sunday!

Sunday Will Be Just As Big For Everyone!

So now you ask, “what about the rest of us on Sunday?!” Well we have now added (and you may want to sit down for this one)… a Standard $5k tournament on Sunday! Yes, you are reading that right! Sunday is a Standard Format $5,000 tournament open to everyone.

That’s A Lot Of Big News So Surely That’s It Right?

HA! No way! We have a whole list of things to announce. So many in fact that we are just going to number them off one by one so you can easily digest each and every bit:

1.) SIDE EVENTS

There will be MAJOR side events on both Saturday and Sunday. That includes Legacy, Modern and Standard formats as well as Drafts and Commander. As we get closer we’ll announce these events but it’s safe to assume that if you play Magic the Gathering you will have plenty of reasons to attend both days!

We would also like to announce that the side events will now be held in a separate area from the main events. This will allow for better communication, staffing of judges and overall better organization without such low player caps.

2.) IMPROVED CONCESSIONS

We received your feedback about the food options at the 2018 event. Unfortunately due to some miscommunications last year the concession options were not as we expected and were not up to a standard we would have liked. Because of this we are working closely with the Hurst Conference Center to ensure the 2019 food options are much improved.

3.) VENDORS, SPONSORS, AND MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS

In 2019 we will have more vendors at the event for all attendees to shop from. In addition, we will have some great new sponsors coming on board (some pretty big names) adding major contributions to the cause.

If you would like your store or business to be involved, contact us! The upcoming 2019 event will have more opportunities to be involved for businesses and individual volunteers.

4.) TENTATIVE DATES

As with anything this far in advance some things could change, but here is a list of important dates to bookmark so you can stay up to speed on what’s happening and when!

– Begin Accepting Donations – June 1st

– Begin Accepting Vendor Applications – June 30th

– Begin Accepting Sponsorships – July 31st

– Begin Accepting Volunteer Applications – September 15th

– VIP Registration Opens – November 1st

– Pre-registration Opens – December 15th

– HBMO Happens March 16th & 17th

5.) STAY TUNED

This year we are making a greater push to do more things for the cause of suicide awareness and prevention. To do this we are starting a string of new initiatives including satellite events in stores (not just in the Dallas area) as well as a new and improved social media campaign. There we will be very open and honest about the behind the scenes of the HBMO and begin allowing Erin Giddings (our Event Coordinator) to start including “Real Talk” segments. These will be very direct videos and messages about the cause in an effort to connect all year long with our audience and do our best to make a positive impact on the community. These new initiatives are just a first step on our mission to spread awareness.

There is so much more in the works behind the scenes that we just can’t share… yet. That said, if you haven’t already, please subscribe to our blog (right here on the website homepage) to get all the news directly to your email inbox or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. We’ll have Twitter and Youtube coming soon as well!

Last but not least, here is something we need from you. Please help us by sharing this story on whatever your preferred social media platform is to help spread the word! Post it in your MTG groups, share it with your local game store, tell your friends next time you meet to cube draft. If everyone tells one person they know (or even someone they don’t know) about the 2019 HBMO, we would be eternally grateful!

Thank you from the bottom of our heart and we look forward to seeing you in March 2019!

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Facebook: @HunterBurtonMemorial