Wizards of the Coast
The Magic: The Gathering World Championship 2018 is happening this weekend, but one of the twenty-four players qualified for this high-level tournament refused to participate in the event.
Pro player Gerry Thompson took it to Reddit to explain why he refused to play at the World Championship. Gerry is protesting the state of professional Magic, and he highlighted six issues such as the lack of Pro Tour invites outside of North America, Wizards of the Coast's poor communication, "abysmal" event coverage, lack of restrictions against cheaters, and the lack of living wage and promotion for professional players.
Wizards of the Coast released a statement in response to Gerry's decision:
Gerry's refusal to play is a bold sacrifice. There's the roughly $12,000 in cash equity he will lose. Pro Points are also valuable, and a win or a Top 4 could potentially help Gerry become part of Magic's Hall of Fame.
In terms of WOTC's response, it's hard to tell what they will do beyond their statement. Wizards of the Coast says that they are actively trying to improve many of the areas Gerry criticized but hopefully, they'll do it soon enough.
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