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.
In 2007, 64 countries have a National Championship.
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.
Past US Nationals Winners
- 2007 - Luis Scott-Vargas
- 2006 - Paul Cheon
- 2005 - Antonio De Rosa
- 2004 - Craig Krempels
- 2003 - Joshua Wagener
- 2002 - Eugene Harvey
- 2001 - Trevor Blackwell
- 2000 - Jon Finkel
- 1999 - Kyle Rose