National Championship

National Championships (commonly called Nationals) is a series of yearly Magic: The Gathering tournaments held in various countries throughout the world. The top finishing players at a country's Nationals get to represent their country at that year's World Championships.

64 countries had a National Championship in 2007.

Qualifying for Nationals

"Players may only compete in one National Championship per season. If a player competes in a Nationals Qualifier tournament (such as Regional Championships, City Championships, open tournaments, or other tournaments of this nature offering invitations to a National Championship) in one country, he or she may not compete in Nationals Qualifier tournaments or National Championships in another country until the following season."

Qualification for Nationals varies depending on the country. In addition to finishing high enough in a Nationals Qualifier tournament, players can also qualify based on DCI Rating or Pro Players Club level.

Prizes

Finishing in the Top 4 of your National Championships qualifies you for that year's World Championships. The Top 4 players also comprise their country's team in the team portion of the World Championships.

There are also cash prizes to the top finishers. In 2007, the Top 20 finishers at US Nationals recieved a combined total of $20,000 in prize money including $5,000 to 1st place.

Starting in 2008, Pro Points are awarded to the top 16 finishers, with 10 to the winner.

Past US Nationals Winners

• 1999 - Kyle Rose
• 2000 - Jon Finkel
• 2001 - Trevor Blackwell
• 2002 - Eugene Harvey
• 2003 - Joshua Wagener
• 2004 - Craig Krempels
• 2005 - Antonio De Rosa
• 2006 - Paul Cheon
• 2007 - Luis Scott-Vargas
• 2008 - Michael Jacob
• 2009 - Charles Gindy
• 2010 - Josh Utter-Leyton

References

• Tournament Center - Nationals