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When You Want To Lose the PTQ

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I've heard bad beat stories. I've seen players get top-decked out of existence. I even won a PTQ Top 8 match when my opponent (playing Extended Elves) completely whiffed when going off and, after I wiped his board, died to his own Pact).

There are bad-beat stories across Magic. We all have them, and we all love telling people about them.

Gavin Verhey's story is better than yours. Or worse, depending on how you look at it.

"I’d been playing on the junior circuit and hadn’t wanted to risk picking up a Pro Point and losing my eligibility. Playing on a Pro Tour would remove my junior status.

I was in Phoenix at the time, and there was a PTQ coming up, so I diligently traded to build my deck up and then decided to play in the event just as practice for the GP..."

You can read the full story here. Spoilers: sadness is ahead.

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Corbin Hosler

Corbin Hosler is a journalist living in Norman, Oklahoma (also known as the hotbed of Magic). He started playing in Shadowmoor and chased the Pro Tour dream for a few years, culminating in a Star City Games Legacy Open finals appearance in 2011 before deciding to turn to trading and speculation full-time. He writes weekly at QuietSpeculation.com and biweekly for LegitMTG. He also cohosts Brainstorm Brewery, the only financial podcast on the net. He can best be reached @Chosler88 on Twitter.

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