Since last year’s celebration was such a rousing success, I’m going to ride this rocket once again. Rather than dwell on the death of Erik Friborg, I’ve decided to once more spit in Death’s face, and celebrate his life instead.
Date: Saturday, May 4th, 2013 Happy Birthday, Hammy!
Start Time: 1800 UTC
Format: Constructed Classic
Structure: X rounds of Swiss pairing, followed by a T8 playoff (All pairings & standings will be generated by Gatherling)
Announcements and game chat: /join HAM (old client), or channel #HAM (wide beta client)
Registration is open on Gatherling. Decklists are required.
Intentional Draws are allowed. Instructions for doing so will be provided during the player meeting at event start.
Players, pairings, and standings for this Event, along with the current Prize Pool, can be seen here. Note the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet for easy navigation. You can review last year’s events, as well.
The Riot Act…
Bullying, mobbing, foul language, & general rudeness will not be tolerated. This includes “snide remarks” about decks/playing ability, personal attacks, racial slurs, etc. A player will get 1 warning. Repeat violations will result in disqualification from the Event. This will be enforced. Flagrant violations may be screenshot and reported to WotC for harassment.
Please refrain from talking in other players’ games, or PMing players in a game. This will allow players to concentrate fully without interruption. We cannot prevent players from talking within their own game. If both players in a game agree to allow “peanut gallery” chat, this rule may be waived. Violations by players will get 1 warning. Repeat violations may result in disqualification from the Event. Flagrant violations may be screenshot and reported to WotC for harassment.
As people playing in my events over the years can attest, I will get medieval if the situation so demands. Don’t make me get naked.
Current Payout:
1st – 145 various Tickets/bot credit, 8*ME Draft Set
2nd – 89 various Tickets/bot credit, 6*ME Draft Set
T4 – 44 various Tickets/bot credit, 4*ME Draft Set
T8 – 22 various Tickets/bot credit, 2*ME Draft Set
T16 – 17.5 tickets bot credit
T32 – 10 tickets bot credit
First 100 players* registered – 2 various bot credit
*A player is defined as entering the event and playing all rounds. A bye is considered playing in a round. Failure to appear for a round is considered a drop, unless prior arrangements are made. Any drops prior to pairing announcement for final round will be ineligible for any prizes. 
We’re basically paying people to play!
More pledges, bounties, and donations are still coming in. This gala bloodfest is two weeks away; I am still pounding on doors and making a nuisance of myself. You can see the current Prize Pool and proposed distribution above. To see the list of generous sponsors, head over to my post at the Wizards forums.
With this much chum in the waters, I expect a large turnout, with a great many sharks. Erik was no carebear when it came to gameplay. In fact, I’d call him downright cut-throat. I expect a significant percentage of players showing up to not be carebears, either.
Once again, to be clear: there will be sharks. Oh yes. There will be sharks.
