GP Disqualification at 13-1-2

[The Wolf]

For those who have not heard. A guy was sitting at 13-1-2 at the GP. Having just won his last round, he made a joke to his friend about a 50-1 bet he had made with a friend that he would top 8. Hearing this, Craig Wescoe (his opponent) called the judges. Despite telling all the judges including the head judge that this had just been a joke, he was DQ’d from the tournament with no prize.


There is an interview with him here: http://thestarkingtonpost.com/articles/-/My_Story

What are people’s take on this? Were the judges totally out of line? Is Craig Wescoe a total scum bag? Or is this one of those things that you just can’t do at this level of play?

For the record, I don’t know this kid, but do abstain from higher level events such as this because of these type of situations. I’m very clearly in the camp that this ruling was ridiculous and Wescone should have kept his mouth shut.

[the Thin White Duke]

The guy who made the "bet" should have known better and kept his mouth shut.
That being said; what Wescoe did was grade A douchery.
And again we have judges who turn into NBA refs and can't make a call when it counts.

[mossivo1986]

wescoe was fishing. Everyone at that grand prix is trying to do well. Motivating factors such as a bet with a friend that youll do well is not a big deal.

[Kuma]

It's really unfortunate that this happened, but once Wescoe called a judge, there was no happy way this could end. I'm not sure what I would have done in Wescoe's situation. There was a lot of money at stake.

Wescoe may or may not have been a douche, but he wouldn't have had the opportunity if Levin exercised common sense and kept his mouth shut.

[Nidd]

Okay, so he said that he and a friend made a bet whether or not he'll do good at the GP and for saying that he got DQed?

What the fuck is this shit?

[nitewolf9]

Drew is my friend and it was just plain ignorance on his part that he said something like that, and believe me he has learned his lesson for the future. He does not have very much experience in high level events, and the fact that he was robbed of such an awesome performance is just criminal.

As far as the judge call, you can't blame them. They need to strictly enforce rulings like this to minimize any connection to gambling with Magic.

As for Wescoe, he sure did make a lot (more) enemies. He is a giant douche nozzle and I would have lost all respect for him if I only had any in the first place. He only called a judge over after it dawned on him that he could fish for the win, and this was 100% clear when upon being asked if he won the match by a friend after he called a judge he replied "We'll see".

This was done in complete spite, after he had punted AND been outplayed in the last game of the match.

Just read any of his articles to get a sense of his character.

[lolosoon]

I feel bad for this guy.

He was treated like a cheater, and deprived of a great performance and experience to share with his friends... FOR A MERE JOKE ?!?

I really wonder if he had bet a meal (course ?) in a grand restaurant instead of an hypotetical 10$ bet if it would have change the Judges decision.

I mean, those kind of jokes//friendly motivating bets often occurs in, or before a tournament, from your local shop's FNM to a huge thing like a GP in your favorite Format.

Ok, the laws is the law, and the Judge have to make a choice : apply a stupid rule, or beeing framed for not doing it...

Lame.

[Piceli89]

I don't want to sound like a rude asshole, but if I had been the DQ'ed guy, I would have waited Wescoe in a dark angle and punch him in the face, even at the cost of being banned to more tournaments. Manipulating a funny sentence to go ahead in the tournament points out that you have failed in life even before having failed in Magic.

[Sharpened]

I can't speak for Wescoe motivations, nor would I try to. However, the Tournament rules do state: " Players are responsible for ... Bringing to a judge’s attention any rules or policy infraction they notice in their matches."

Technically speaking, Wescoe was required to notify the judges of Drew's statement.

[Mark Sun]

Wescoe may or may not have been a douche, but he wouldn't have had the opportunity if Levin exercised common sense and kept his mouth shut.

This is how I feel with the situation.

From one angle I can definitely understand how people feel about Wescoe's actions, but the kid should have recognized the situation he was in. This is a GP, this is a strict DCI event. I don't know Craig Wescoe or intend to defend/criticize his actions, but whether or not he was fishing for a turnaround, I believe the handling of the situation was correct. You have to give the DQ there if you are the head judge.

[mujadaddy]

Drew is my friend and it was just plain ignorance on his part that he said something like that, and believe me he has learned his lesson for the future. He does not have very much experience in high level events, and the fact that he was robbed of such an awesome performance is just criminal.

Feels bad, man. Sucks he got ripped for joking around -- a cautionary tale for all of us with motor-mouths.

Rogue GP: Las Vegas -- bring your Sharazad & your Chaos Orb, we're playin' for ante!

[nitewolf9]

The key factor here is motivation. Wescoe was clearly motivated out of spite to report Drew, if you were there and heard what he said (and saw the match) you wouldn't have any doubt of this. Technically if I playfully say "Oh man, you drew ANOTHER [hate card for my deck]?? I could kill you for that" you could try to get me arrested for assault. Would you do that? Probably not, because you probably aren't a 7 year old.

[Deviruchi]

"I'll say "bet" in a GP convention center about as much as I'll say "bomb" in an airport security line."

I don't know them so it's hard to judge the situation. Hope he learned from this. Btw I never liked "fishing people" who count your sideboard while facing lethal dmg etc.

P.S. by Bill Stark:

and Saito's win marks a continued streak of dominance for pro players who have managed to win every single Legacy Grand Prix held to date

;)

[everythingitouchdies]

It is really unfortunate that it happened, but the reality is that the judges acted the way they are expected to act. The reality is he said something he is not allowed to say, regardless of whether or not he knew it was a rule. And the reality is no matter why wescoe did it, he had the right to do it, and he profited from it, and if he was given the chance he would do it again, and he would not feel bad at any point. Judge wescoe for yourself, but also remember that you are responsible for your actions, and you have to be aware of what you can and cant do at a high profile event. I myself intend to attend my first GP this year in portland, and you can bet I read up on the expectations of that caliber event.

I hope that Levin takes it as a learning experience and not something that jades him from the game, tournaments, or other players. I also hope that it serves as a lesson to others not to put themselves in that kind of situation.

[IsThisACatInAHat?]

That's a pretty mature response for a 19 year old. I feel really bad for the guy, since he was obviously really excited when he won that game (even the game before it, to have a chance to still play for T8) and I was looking forward to seeing his decklist.

I was standing behind Wescoe when the game ended, so I heard Drew make the bet comment. Neither I nor the people I was standing with realized it was a joke, but there's no doubt Wescoe was "fishing" after it was over, whether Drew would admit that or not.

This was only one of the unfortunate things that seemed to happen to players who deserved better this weekend. Another incident where an experienced player took advantage of a kid who beat him for byes but was unfamiliar with tournament rules happened on Friday, also leading to a DQ. If there's something to take away from this, it's keep your mouth shut and once you enter the tournament room, just forget certain words from your vocabulary.

[Rune]

That sucks. This seems similar to an incident with Matt Nass (http://www.thestarkingtonpost.com/ar...lFireball).The "all pros are assholes" myth is sometimes not a myth, I guess, although I think the true pros like Saito, LSV, PV etc. don't do things like this.

edit: Out of curiousity, what decks did Wescoe and your friend play? And how did Wescoe punt?

[Aggro_zombies]

You wouldn't get on an airplane and jokingly say to your friend, "Man, it's too bad I left my suicide bomb vest at home today!"

Similarly, when you're in the final rounds of a major tournament, it's probably safest to assume that anything you say can and will be used against you by opponents looking to CRUISE CONTROL to the finals. On the one hand, the guy kind of deserves it, since he should have known better if he'd thought about what he was doing. It's also worth remembering that everyone always says, "It was just a joke," including the people who legitimately are gambling on matches. "It was just a joke" is basically not an excuse at all because you have no way to prove you weren't gambling, and the judges were right to take an guilty-until-proven-innocent approach to the situation.

That said, yeah, calling the judges to get your "free win" is a pretty low blow. There are very few situations where it's okay to judge call your way to a match win, and they usually involve your opponent being a scumbag.

[Whit3 Ghost]

The starcity thread on this is a clusterfuck.

<33 Parcher and Chris Pikula though.

I was there, it was an absolutely shitty move by Wescoe and a really bad result. I didn't hear what he said to his teammates, but if it really was "I don't know if I lost," than his motivation is undeniable.

[nitewolf9]

You wouldn't get on an airplane and jokingly say to your friend, "Man, it's too bad I left my suicide bomb vest at home today!"

I seriously hope you realize how drastically different this scenario is from what we are talking about. Saying something that could clearly have an impact on whether or not hundreds of people live or die requires swift and deliberate action. This was an off handed comment on a 10 dollar bet, and completely subjective to interpretation. Abusing the rules is not sportsman like, which I also believe the DCI strictly enforces. This was not necessarily something that is so common sense to everyone, as I know Drew would not have said something like that if he were aware of the consequences. I suppose now more people will know to keep their mouths shut as much as possible during high level magic events.

I'm mostly just venting as I really hate it when bad shit happens to friends, I take it 100x worse than things that happen to me. That all being said I'm pretty proud of how Drew is handling the situation, and have already stated my opinion on Wescoe.

[dschalter]

That sucks. This seems similar to an incident with Matt Nass (http://www.thestarkingtonpost.com/ar...lFireball).The "all pros are assholes" myth is sometimes not a myth, I guess, although I think the true pros like Saito, LSV, PV etc. don't do things like this.

edit: Out of curiousity, what decks did Wescoe and your friend play? And how did Wescoe punt?

Well, LSV, Saito, PV, etc; aren't playing at many PTQs. The reason you here about this with the "semi-pro" guys is because they play in more tournaments where they're likely to be able to trip people up. This is one of those stories where I can't really sympathize with either side. Wescoe was being an asshole and Levin... even if it was a joke, gambling is one of those things that you just don't talk about (within earshot of other players) at tournaments.