World Championships 2002 has had a number of strong stories come from its annals, but the most important in years to come may be Latin America's maturation as a Pro Tour force to be reckoned with. Never before has a Latin American made it to the Sunday of a Pro Tour, usually fighting amongst themselves for the scraps that are their continental Grand Prix' while the rest of the world has dined on steak. Now, like Carlos Romao, Ostrovich is just three small steps away from the ultimate prize.
Diego, having completed high school but not quite ready for University or the public sector, has been playing Magic in the mean time, lots of it. He logs on to Magic Online daily, he's been a part of the formation of Bandana, the team of Argentineans, Chileans Brazilians, Uruguayans and Venezuelans that has unified South American Magic with such startling results, and he's been resilient. This is his third World Championships, his second as National Champion, but this is the first time he's tasted success on this stage.
Ostrovich showed no signs of weakness throughout the week in Sydney. He started the tournament 5-1, playing a two color Cunning Tog deck. Then he went 4-2 in limited, drafting red-green and green-black, and finally he went 4-0-2 in block constructed with a blue-green madness deck for an amazing one loss in twelve constructed matches.
You may not have heard of Ostrovich, but he's been proving himself on home soil for years. In addition to his second place finish in Latin American Championships a year ago, Diego has won some ten QTs but has lacked the necessary funds to travel to Pro Tours. Now, his financial worries are gone. "I'm going to do a lot of travelling now", the soccer enthusiast is announcing to the world. "Now, I'm going to play full time". With more confidence, more money and more success under his belt, the world had better wake up fast.
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