Team App

-Your Name and age
Sean FitzGerald, 24

-How you found out about Team Unknown Stars
Started listening to MTGcast about 3 weeks ago, saw a link to the team page on Gavins info thing.

-Your Magic accomplishments
5 Ptq wins, 3 constructed, 1 limited and 1 team limited (With stu shinkins and another random guy), Between 7 and 12 ptq top 8's. 17th place at gp amsterdam. Won 2 out of our last 3 states. Hoping to make that 3 out of 4 in a week.

-The last three major tournaments you attended and your record at each of them (Major tournaments are considered to be large events such as PTQ's, Regionals, Champs, Nationals, the Pro Tour, and other events on those levels or higher.)

Last three major events i can remember are ptq kyoto, 4-3 drop with a really bad pool. Last two grand prixs were rimini and birmingham, both times a took a deck off a "known pro" the deck turned out to suck so no day 2. And my last regionals was 6-0.

-A link to your DCI Rating page
http://webapp.wizards.com/ratings.aspx?dcinumber=58889504&Demographic=1%7C1&BrandRatedSeasons=5&ratingseasonid=5&Page=1&action=Search_Member

(Being in ireland I really feel my rating is not an accurate depiction of my skill level as the community is so much smaller, the only way u can keep a high rating in ireland is to do well at high level events and then not play local events. The fact that I play a local standard tournament every monday and a local draft every friday as well as sometimes drafting and playing standard events on the weekends means its impossible for me to gain a high rating as if i do have one every win = 2 points and every loss = negative 14 points.)

-Why you play competitive Magic
I am very competitive and there is no game I enjoy playing more than magic so I live and breath the game. And what I want most out of it is to win.

-What your main reasons are for wanting to join the team
I am in Ireland. While there is one pro in ireland, Stu Shinkins, we cannot really prepare for major events on our own. What usually happens is that we get together and test along with some of the better players in ireland, we then go to the event and meet up with some pros who usually tell us our testing was completely wrong and give us other decks.

- ASIDE In honolulu i worked with the english and billy moreno but we didnt have enough cards for all of us to play the zoo deck so i ended up with b/w. In birmingham we were working with the dutch. Communication was bad and there was lots of disagreement. In rimini we were working with the Americans (cheon, vargas, chapin and chris wolterick) but as i was an unknown and stu was on rogue i didnt actually join them till the friday i missed out on pretty much everything
-END ASIDE

I want to be part of a team that I can communicate with well before an event as well as during the ptq season, and preferably a team that is also willing to work with me on a long term basis as opposed to how myself and stu usually just join some other team about a week before an event. Basically I'm sick of my competitive magic being hindered by the fact that I come from such a small community with so few people willing to put in work that we end up with no innovation and never enough preperation for any event.

-What you think you would bring to the team that makes you stand out above other applicants
I just finished college this year and am planning to take this year off to persue magic. I think about, play or discuss magic 24/7. I am a hard worker and always willing to try out new things as well as work my ass off for teammates as well as myself. Also I have a lot of experience at high level play and skipping modesty am an amazing technical player as well as thoughtful. Having made a nice income off poker while in college I also understand a lot of the mental aspects of magic and feel it makes me a far better all round player. If I was on the team yee would have a dedicated hard working teammate who would constantly be giving input and trying out ideas. (Also I'm from europe and irish so if yee ever qualify for a pro tour over here I'm good for sorting stuff out)

-What your strengths as a Magic player are
Pretty much what i said above. Very good technically and mentally. I never tilt and will work my ass off non stop, whether I have a stake in what I'm working on or not. If I'm on a team I work as a team player.

-What your weakness as a Magic player are
Cockiness. I have lost a lot of quarter finals of ptq's by keeping bad hands expecting to walk over my opponent becasue I know how much better I am. I'm hoping that if I can join a team of equally strong or stronger players it will help me realise where I actually am as a player and learn to play more with my logic and skill abilities as opposed to emotions.

-What the main formats that you play and focus on are
Whatever the next big event is. Usually the next ptq. Although nationals, gps and county champs also get my time. I also draft minimum once a week without fail.

-Which format you think you're most proficient in
Very comfortable drafter once I'm familiar with a set. I feel most comfortable in extended and standard.

-Other notes
I realise that if I was accepted I would have to cut all other ties with outside pros for testing an events and would have no problem doing that since I would prefer a full time team than random hook ups at different events.

After careful consideration, you have been accepted to the team. Thank you for your application and interest, and see you on the team forums.

Sincerely,

Gavin Verhey