The Road to Worlds 2011, United Kingdom National Championship Preview

by James Hoskin, Director of Organized Play

17th November 2010

A select group of players - winners and runners-up from the 2010 World Championships as well as the 2010 American (East) National Championships - already have byes for the 2011 Championship season. This weekend sees that list expand with two more names, as the 2010 United Kingdom National Championships are held in Grimsby, England.

The 2008 United Kingdom National Championship was won by Stuart Motley (Damulak), playing Dominion. Stuart was undefeated over four rounds and beat the other five players to take the title of National Champion in Reading. Other decks played that day include two Next Generation decks, two Borg decks and a Ferengi deck. Last year, the 2009 United Kingdom National Championship moved to High Wycombe and was attended by nine players. The field featured three Romulan decks, three Cardassian decks and three Dominion decks. Visiting Irish player Fergus O'Shea (Thanatos_elNyx), playing a Romulan deck titled "Prometheus is Screwed!", was undefeated over five rounds and took the title. Fergus had built the deck to prove that the release of Mediate Peace Treaty (pictured right) meant that battle decks were no longer viable. It turns out that no one was playing that mission, and Fergus romped to victory. This year, the United Kingdom National Championship continues its tour of the country, finding a home in Grimsby. At the time of writing, five players have pre-registered for the tournament, and my sources tell me another couple plan to attend, too. Among those players are former United Kingdom National Champions Stuart Motley (Damulak), James Hoskin (RedDwarf) and Doug Hughes (gtdoug). It should be quite a showdown!

Next Week

We'll find out which two players have received their Day One Round One byes into the 2011 Continental Championships. As long as he/she has something interesting to say, there will also be an interview with the winner.

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-djl-