The Battle In The Big Apple

Sideboard Staff

The most outstanding and successful professional players of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game (TCG) will travel to New York City to compete for a share of $150,000 in cash prizes, April 14 - 16. New York City's top Magic strategists will compete against 400 players from around the world for the first-place $25,000 prize at Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour - New York, to be held at the New York State Armory, 68 Lexington Avenue.

This invitation-only tournament is part of the $1 million Pro Tour circuit, which will culminate in August at the 2000 Magic World Championships in Brussels, Belgium. The Magic: The Gathering trading card game was developed by award-winning game designer and mathematician Richard Garfield, who will be making a rare appearance at Pro Tour - New York to watch the Magic players battle it out for the cash.

Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz and Zvi Mowshowitz of New York City are considered to be the best Magic: The Gathering professional Pro Tour players in the region, having earned $95,000 combined. Other top players scheduled to participate include: 1998 Player of the Year Jon Finkel of New Jersey, who has won over $124,000 to date; 1999 World Champion Kai Budde of Germany, who has won over $50,000; and Kyle Rose of Virginia, who has pocketed over $75,000.

Pro Tour - New York is the fifth and last stop on the Pro Tour circuit (before Regionals, Nationals and World Championships) for the trading card game that is played by over six million people worldwide. Other scheduled activities include the Grand Prix - Pittsburgh Trial; the Junior Super Series Challenge, for players ages 15 and under; overnight tournament play for all Magic players; and a chance for spectators to learn from the pros how to play other Wizards of the Coast games, including the Pokémon trading card game.

In addition to tournament activities, world-renowned fantasy artists will be on site to display some of their most valuable paintings and to sign autographs. The artists attending include Scott M. Fischer, Donato Giancola, Christopher Moeller and Eric Peterson.

Events are open to the public and will be held at the New York State Armory during the following hours:
Friday, April 14	8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, April 15	8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday, April 16	9 a.m. to 5 p.m.*
*Awards ceremony will immediately follow the finals.

Breakdown of the $150,000 purse for Pro Tour - New York:
First Place--$25,000
Second Place--$15,000
Third Place--$10,000
Fourth Place--$8,000
Fifth Place--$6,500
The top 64 players receive tournament cash prize money.