If you're searching for cutting-edge Magic, the U.S. National Team is the place to look. U.S. National Champion Paul Cheon headlines a three-man national team on the vanguard of the game, both in the U.S. and the online community. Joining him on the team are Ben Lundquist and Luis Scott-Vargas, with Ben Zoz as the alternate.
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NATIONALS COVERAGE
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Interested in other National Championships? Follow along with the coverage from all three major events happening this weekend!
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Cheon's deck of choice, the blue-white-black reanimator concoction known to some as Solar Flare, certainly reinforced its impact on the Standard game. Rocking Australian Nationals the previous weekend, it put three players into the Top 4 here in Atlanta. Cheon outdueled Lundquist's blue-red 'Tron in five games, with Luis Scott-Vargas and Ben Zoz battling in the mirror match in the third-fourth matchup. Scott-Vargas took the spot on the team in five tight matches.
The national team has special significance to Cheon and Scott-Vargas, friends and playtest partners from California. Cheon, from Los Angeles, qualified via Regionals and his Oakland buddy Scott-Vargas came along thanks to his standing in the Pro Players Club. Expect more than a few late nights of preparation in California heading toward the 2006 World Championships in Paris. Unfortunately for their third teammate, Lundquist lives roughly 3,000 miles away in Gloversville, New York. But since all these guys live on Magic Online 24/7, that gap should be made up in no time.
As Sunday started, much of the Top 8 field was made up of what seemed like unknown players. However, as soon as spectators around the feature match pit heard what many of these players' Magic Online screen names were, a sudden rise in respect followed. These were those guys taking on all comers in premier online events, and this weekend proved that skill translated to the pressure-packed stage of Sunday Magic. Not only were these the players regularly ripping it up online, but they came using some of the freshest online deck tech as well.
Over at the JSS Championships, Arthur Stewart and his Magnivore deck defeated Blaine Hatab's Heartbeat creation. Interestingly enough, both players chose their decks for their matchup strength against Solar Flare, which featured so heavily in the main event.
Congratulations to all the winners at the 2006 Magic Weekend!
Click on the image to go to the U.S. Nationals blog.
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Finals |
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Champion |
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Ben Zoz
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Ben Zoz, 3-2
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| 8 |
Tim Aten
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Benjamin Lundquist, 3-1
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| 4 |
Alex Kudlick
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Benjamin Lundquist, 3-0
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Paul Cheon, 3-2
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| 5 |
Benjamin Lundquist
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| 2 |
Alex Sittner
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Paul Cheon, 3-0
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| 7 |
Paul Cheon
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Paul Cheon, 3-1
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| 3 |
Antonino DeRosa
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Luis Scott-Vargas, 3-1
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| 6 |
Luis Scott-Vargas
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3rd Place Playoff |
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Ben Zoz |
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Luis Scott-Vargas, 3-2 |
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Luis Scott-Vargas |
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EVENT COVERAGE
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INFORMATION
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JSS Championship Round-up: The Magic Weekend 2006
by Brian David-Marshall
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Finals: A Champion Crowned
Ben Lundquist vs. Paul Cheon by Ted Knutson
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3rd Place Playoff: Zombies in the Mirror
Luis Scott-Vargas vs. Ben Zoz by Doug Beyer
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Semifinals: A Case of the Bens
Ben Lundquist vs. Ben Zoz by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Decklists: Top Standard Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
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Semifinals: A Friendly Game Between Teammates
Paul Cheon vs. Luis Scott-Vargas by Ted Knutson
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Quarterfinals: A Good Problem to Have
John "Alex" Sittner vs. Paul Cheon by Brian David-Marshall
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Quarterfinals: The Future of American Magic
Alex Kudlick vs. Benjamin Lundquist by Doug Beyer
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Quarterfinals: I Got a Right to Feel Persecuted
Tim Aten vs. Ben Zoz by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Quarterfinals: And in this Corner, the Challenger…
Antonino De Rosa vs. Luis Scott-Vargas by Ted Knutson
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Feature: The Top 8 Player Profiles
by Event Coverage Staff
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Decklists: The Top 8 Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
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Feature: The Game of the Year
by Doug Beyer
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Feature: Contest Winners
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 14 Feature Match: Back to the Drawing Board
Sam Stein vs. Gabe Walls by Doug Beyer
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Round 14 Feature Match: Pity the Fool
Antonino De Rosa vs. Billy Moreno by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Round 13 Feature Match: BFF, but Somebody's Gotta Go Down
Paul Cheon vs. Sam Stein by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Round 13 Feature Match: High Fives All Around
Antonino De Rosa vs. John "Conrad" Kolos by Brian David-Marshall
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Round 12 Feature Match: The World's Loudest Feature Match
Antonino De Rosa vs. Gabe Walls by Doug Beyer
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Round 11 Feature Match: Battle of the Legends
Eugene Harvey vs. Osyp Lebedowicz by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Feature: Redundancy 101
by Brian David-Marshall and Craig Gibson
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Feature: Grinding To Respectability
by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Decklists: 3-0 Coldnsap Booster Draft
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 10 Feature Match: Illusions of Defeat
Billy Moreno vs. Ben Zoz by Doug Beyer
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Round 9 Feature Match: Cowboys and Krovikans
Ben Zoz vs. Owen Turtenwald by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Round 8 Feature Match: Grudge Match Throwdown
Gabe Walls vs. Billy Moreno by Brian David-Marshall
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Feature: Multiple Jeopardy
by Doug Beyer
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Draft Viewer: Coldsnap Booster Draft
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 8: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
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Info: Day 2 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
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Decklists: 4-0 Ravnica Booster Draft Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 7 Feature Match: Shining Bright on the Nationals Stage
Mike Patnik vs. Craig Krempels by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Round 7 Feature Match: Ebb and Flow (and a Little Bashing too)
Billy Moreno vs. Osyp Lebedowicz by Ted Knutson
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Feature: Flavor Report from the Floor
by Doug Beyer
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Round 6 Feature Match: Simic Mirror Hurts the Brain
Antonino De Rosa vs. Paul Rietzl by Richard Hoaen
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Round 6 Feature Match: I Did That With My Mind
Osyp Lebedowicz vs. Michael McGee by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Feature: Day One Photo Essay
by Doug Beyer and Craig Gibson
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Draft Report: Gabe Walls
by Ted Knutson
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Round 5 Feature Match: All Bottled Up
Tim Aten vs. Josh Ravitz by Doug Beyer
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Draft Report: Antonino DeRosa
by Rich Hoaen
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Round 4 Feature Match: No Lands, Man
John Pelcak vs. Gerry Thompson by Ted Knutson
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Round 4: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 3 Feature Match: The Darker Side of Bob
Osyp Lebedowicz vs. Sol Malka by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Round 2 Feature Match: Taking on the Champ
Nick Eisel vs. Antonino De Rosa by Doug Beyer
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Round 1 Feature Match: Set that Alarm!
Gabe Walls vs. Joe Crosby by Ted Knutson
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Feature: Diversity in Motion
by John Friggin' Rizzo
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Info: Day 1 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
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Feature: Inside U.S. Nationals
by Brian David-Marshall
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Info: Fact Sheet
by Event Coverage Staff
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Info: Junior Super Series Open and Championship Fact Sheet
by Event Coverage Staff
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| 1. Paul Cheon |
$5,000 |
| 2. Benjamin Lundquist |
$3,000 |
| 3. Luis Scott-Vargas |
$2,000 |
| 4. Ben Zoz |
$2,000 |
| 5. John Sittner |
$1,000 |
| 6. Antonino DeRosa |
$1,000 |
| 7. Alex Kudlick |
$1,000 |
| 8. Tim Aten |
$1,000 |
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