It's been a while since last I wrote mostly because nothing that happened moved me enough to write, until last week, that is
I month ago, I drove all the way to Penang with a bunch of other Magic players to play in a qualifier tournament for the Malaysian Nationals 2005. Happily, we all managed to qualify, but unhappily, I knocked the car on the road barrier because I fell asleep while driving. Happily, my family has yet to notice the dent.
Anyway, all that is a preamble to the actual Nationals tournament last week. I borrowed a few cards and stuff, registered, and proceeded to win my first three rounds. Then came the draft portion, where, in 6 rounds, I had 3 wins and 3 losses. My last draft opponent asked me to concede to him because he had a better record, but I refused and proceeded to beat him.
So, with a 6-3 match record, I was paired to play against Terry Soh, the Invitational champion! Luckily I beat him in two straight games, which knocked him out of contention for the prize money. I was so happy at beating him I expressed my first emotion of the tournament: "I knocked out Terry!" But he's a nice guy and I always root for him when he plays abroad.
I went on two handily beat two more players to become the top player after 12 rounds over 2 days. Unfortunately, I made some mistakes in the quaterfinals, so I lost and ended up 5th overall, which carries with it a prize of US$400 - which happens to be the first money I have ever won in Magic: the Gathering!!! WOOHOO!!! Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.