Grand Prix - Portland - in Portland
September 11, 2010
Format: Sealed
Registration: -
Entry Fee: $40.00

Location: Map_go Click here for directions.
Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Portland, Oregon

About These Events

Portland, Oregon! -- Green, Clean, Friendly, Hip, Urbane. Come to the City of Roses and compete at Grand Prix-Portland.
Grand Prix-Portland is a fantastic opportunity for competitive and casual Magic players alike. The Magic 2011 Sealed format of this Grand Prix will allow you to build your collection and hone your card-selection and deck-construction skills as you compete against players from around the world. For pro tour contenders, this will be a great opportunity to qualify for 2011’s opening Pro Tour event. In addition to the main event, there will be Magic tournaments in a variety of formats running from Friday to Sunday.

Main Event

Format: Magic 2011 Sealed
Participation Fee: $40
Grand Prix–Portland will feed Pro Tour–2011 #1

Registration and Schedule
• Friday, September 10, 2010: Registration Noon-9pm
• Saturday, September 11, 2010: Registration 7am-9:30am
• Saturday, September 11, 2010: Tournament begins at 10am
• Sunday, September 12, 2010: Day Two begins at 9am

The main tournament at Grand Prix–Portland is open to Magic players of all ages.

Tournament Format
• Day 1: Sealed Deck
• Day 2 and Top 8: Booster Draft
• Sealed Deck Product: 6 Magic 2011 boosters
• Booster Draft Product: 3 Magic 2011 boosters
• Deck lists are required

Last Chance Qualifiers (Grinders)

Format: Magic 2011 Sealed
Participation Fee: $35

• Friday, September 10, 2010: Registration 2pm-10pm

Yours for participating
(while supplies last).

Tournament Location

Public Events

Cascade Games Epic Infinite Events. 8-player single elimination events will be running all weekend from Friday to Sunday. Among the prizes for all Infinite Events will be a free entry into ANY public event all weekend (yes, this includes the PTQ on Sunday).

Infinite Booster Drafts Prize Payout: 1st free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland & 6 packs, 2nd 4 packs, 3rd and 4th 1 pack. $18 entry fee.

Infinite Standard 8-player Win-a-Box Prize Payout: 1st place wins a Box - Magic 2011. 2nd place wins free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland. $18 entry fee.

Infinite Legacy 8-player Win-a-Box Prize Payout: 1st place wins a Box - Magic 2011. 2nd place wins free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland. $18 entry fee.

Infinite Extended 8-player Win-a-Box Prize Payout: 1st place wins a Box - Magic 2011. 2nd place wins free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland. $18 entry fee.

Infinite Vintage 8-player Win-a-Box Prize Payout: 1st place wins a Box - Magic 2011. 2nd place wins free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland. $18 entry fee.

Infinite MiniMaster 8-player Win-a-Box Prize Payout: 1st free entry into ANY public event at GP Portland & 6 packs, 2nd 4 packs, 3rd and 4th 1 pack. $15 entry fee. Eight players receive 2 Magic 2011 boosters and basic lands, building a minimum 30 card deck. Single game matches, single elimination - add a pack when you win!

Friday Featured Public Event:
Grand Prix Trials (Grinders) – Magic 2011 Sealed Deck. Magic 2011 Sealed 32-person single-elimination flights will be starting at noon Friday, with registration running until 8pm. A new tournament will begin each time 32 players are registered. 1st place wins a 3-round bye to Grand Prix-Portland and 1/2 Box of Magic 2011. 2nd place wins 1/2 Box of Magic 2011. 3rd/4th win 1/4 Box each of Magic 2011.

Sunday Featured Public Event:
PTQ 2011 #1 - Win a trip to the first Pro Tour of 2011 and your spot on the Pro Tour! Registration 9:00-10:00am; Start 10am. Format to be announced soon, Swiss rounds with a cut to Top 8 single elimination finals. Prizes: Pro Tour Invite, Magic 2011 boosters, Pro Tour Qualifier Top 8 Pins and Travel Award. Top 8 win PT Top 8 pins, additional booster packs based on participation.

Guest Artists

The Pacific Northwest is home to many of Magic’s best-known artists. Come check out our amazing Artist’s Alley. Confirmed artists to date include:

Rob Alexander
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Rob Alexander
• www.robalexander.com

Heather Hudson
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Heather Hudson
• www.studiowondercabinet.com

Jaime Jones
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Jaime Jones
• www.artpad.org

Kekai Kotaki
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Kekai Kotaki
• www.kekaiart.com

Chuck Lukacs
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Chuck Lukacs
• www.chucklukacs.com

Anson Maddocks
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Anson Maddocks

RK Post
• Magic: The Gathering card art by RK Post
• www.daydream-graphics.com/artists/post/main.asp

Mark Tedin
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Mark Tedin
• www.marktedin.com 

Pete Venters
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Pete Venters

Franz Vohwinkel
• Magic: The Gathering card art by Franz Vohwinkel
• www.franz-vohwinkel.com

Travel Information

Portland, Oregon is easy to get around. It is laid out in quadrants, with the Willamette River forming the boundary between east and west, and Burnside Street/Burnside Bridge forming the boundary between north and south. The Grand Prix-Portland venue is the Oregon Convention Center, located in close-in NE Portland, within sight of the Willamette River and SW Portland’s downtown skyline. The Oregon Convention Center can be located at a distance by its distinct pair of glass spires.

The main north-south highway through Portland is I-5, which runs from Canada to Mexico, passing through Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego on the way. Through Portland, I-5 runs approximately parallel to the Willamette River, crossing the river just south of downtown. I-405 is a half-circle that wraps around the west side of downtown Portland with terminus points at I-5 (I-405 meets I-5 at the north end of downtown at the Fremont Bridge and at the south end of downtown at the Marquam Bridge). Many other bridges connect the east and west sides of Portland via surface streets. I-84 connects downtown to the airport and continues to Eastern Oregon and Idaho.

Public transportation in Portland is extremely accessible, with light rail (MAX), street cars and buses connecting most points of interest in the city. There is a direct MAX line from the airport to the Grand Prix-Portland venue and there is free MAX access from the venue to downtown Portland hotels and restaurants.

Travel by Plane
Portland International Airport (PDX) is located 20 minutes east of downtown Portland. For what it’s worth, Conde Nast has named PDX America’s best airport three times running. The food is good and the wi-fi is free. More importantly, it can be reached by major airlines including: Air Canada, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, Horizon, Jet Blue, Seaport, Southwest, United and US Airways. Rental cars are available at PDX from Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and Hertz.

Portland’s light rail (MAX) provides a direct line from the airport to the Grand Prix-Portland venue (Oregon Convention Center) with service every 15 minutes from 5am to midnight. The MAX line continues across the river into downtown Portland with stops at or a short walk from many area hotels. MAX fare from the airport to downtown is $2.30. Taxi and shuttle service is also available from PDX; depending on traffic, expect to spend 20-40 minutes and $25-45.

Travel by Train or Bus
Amtrak and Greyhound serve Portland from most major US cities. Both stations are located in NW Portland, with light rail (MAX) and bus service available from the stations to hotels, restaurants and the Convention Center.

Travel by Bicycle
Hey, it’s Portland. Yes, there are bike racks at the Convention Center. Yes, you can take your bike on public buses and light rail (MAX). Yes, designated bike lanes are available on most bridges and major roads. Details here.
 

Things to Do in and Around Portland

Eat: Portland has more restaurants per capita than any other US city. Google whatever style of food you are in the mood for and you will find a well-loved restaurant dishing it up. We can’t cover everything here, but check out the following sites for recommendations:

Budget Eats.

Fine Dining.

Food Carts.

Happy Hours.

Willamette Week Readers Poll.

Citysearch.

Drink: Portland is a mother city for US microbrews. Portland’s oldest microbrewery, BridgePort, is located in the Pearl District. If you want to develop your own pub crawl, add in stops at Portland Brewing Company’s Taproom, Widmer Brothers Gasthaus and/or any of the pubs operated by the McMenamin Brothers.

Portland also boasts a great coffee tradition – coffee lovers should particularly look for locally-roasted Stumptown Coffee which is carried at many local establishments. Wine lovers can sample Oregon wines at local restaurants.

Browse: Rose City ComicCon will be running alongside Grand Prix-Portland at the Oregon Convention Center September 10-11. Portland, home to Dark Horse and numerous indies, is second only to New York City as a center of US comic book publishing.

Portland is also home to the world’s largest bookstore – Powell’s City of Books at NW 10th and Burnside www.powells.com. With more than 1.5 million new and used books on the shelves, they hand you a map when you walk in so that you can find your way out again. Techies will also enjoy Powell’s Technical Books annex three blocks east of the main store.

Bike/Kayak/Hike/Windsurf/Ski/Camp: Oregon is home to the great outdoors. Bike and kayak rentals are available a short distance from the Grand Prix venue. Hiking is possible within city limits (Portland’s Forest Park alone boasts 75 miles of wooded hiking trails). Excellent windsurfing is an hour’s drive away at Hood River, skiing is less than an hour’s drive away at Mt Hood, and camping is available throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington at state and national parks. If you plan to extend your trip to Oregon beyond the three days of the Grand Prix, you may want to take in some of these outdoor adventures.

Hotel Reservations

If you want to stay at a more economical hotel while visiting Portland I have arranged for a block of rooms at the Courtyard Marriott.
Its walking distance to the GP . They have very kindly agreed to a discounted room charge of $89 (plus tax) for a room.

Online using the reservation links below:

>> Click Here for Reservations at Courtyard Portland Downtown/Lloyd Center!

Central Reservations 800-321-2211
Hotel Direct 503-234-3200
Ask for the Magic Grand Prix group rate. Group rate code MPXS

Map of Hotels, Banks, and ATMs

Driving Directions & Parking Info

Getting to the Oregon Convention Center is easy and inexpensive. It's central location in the heart of downtown Portland's Rose Quarter/Lloyd District affords numerous and speedy transportation options - whether traveling by car or taxi, riding the city's airport connected lightrail or often by simply strolling a short distance from your hotel. The center offers 800 spaces in its onsite parking garage.

Take Light rail for FREE from Downtown to the Convention Center and out to Lloyd Center (a local shopping center).
Go all the way to the airport for less than $3 per person.

If you are coming by car you can park on site for less than $10 a day (rates vary by day) or park for less in area garages.

Directions

From I-5 Northbound: Take Rose Quarter, Broad-way/Weidler Street Exit (Exit 302 A), go right on Weidler, and right on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

From I-5 Southbound: Take Rose Quarter/City Center Exit, (Exit 302A) go across Broadway, then left on Weidler, and right on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

From I-84: Take Lloyd Blvd. Exit (Exit 1) stay on Lloyd Blvd. all the way to the Convention Center

Oregon Convention Center Parking Locations

1: Oregon Convention Center Garage
2: OCC MLK Parking Lot
3: Lloyd Parking Lot
4: I-5 Exhibitor Parking Lot

Area Parking Locations

Click her for a printable PDF document.

Judges

The Head Judge for Grand Prix–Portland will be Ingrid Lind-Jahn. Staffing is closed for this event.

Tournament Structure

  • 40K, Rules Enforcement Level (REL) is Competitive (Day 1) and Professional (Day 2)
  • All Universal Tournament Rules and Magic: The Gathering Floor Rules are in effect for this event unless specifically overruled by information in this Format Document. Rules documents can be found in the DCI Document Center.
  • Players must bring pen, paper, card sleeves and appropriate counters.
  • In the event that a player who wins an invitation to a Pro Tour stop at a Grand Prix has already qualified for an invitation, the invitation does not pass down under any circumstances. Previous qualification may be through a Qualifier tournament, through performance at a professional tournament, or by being an invited DCI player (valid upon the date of the official rank announcement for the appropriate professional tournament).

  • Modified Swiss-style (50-minute rounds)

  • If 799 or less players register for the event, all players with an X-2-0 record (or better) or the top 64 players - whichever is greater - advance to the second day of competition for prizes and invitations.

  • If 800 or more players register for the event, all players with an X-2-0 record (or better) or the top 128 players - whichever is greater - advance to the second day of competition for prizes and invitations.

  • The top 8 players after the final Swiss round on Day 2 will advance to the Top 8 single-elimination finals.

  • Top 8 matches will be best 2 of 3

  • Top 8 matches will have no time limit

  • Limited: The Top 8 players will be seated randomly at the draft table immediately prior to drafting. The Top 8 bracket will be determined using this random seating.

  • Where necessary, the standings after the Swiss rounds will still be used to determine final order in the standings.

Tournament Byes

Byes will be given to players in the Grand Prix based on the following criteria:
(Byes are not cumulative throughout the season or year. Byes do not pass down under any circumstances. Players that accumulate multiple byes to a particular Grand Prix tournament receive only the bye for the greatest number of rounds):

Third-Round Byes

  • Players with a Players Club level of 4 or higher
  • Players with a DCI Total rating of TBD or higher. Byes are based on DCI Total ratings published on September 8th, 2010.
  • Players with a DCI Constructed rating of 2000 or higher. Byes are based on DCI Sealed ratings published on September 8th, 2010.
  • Winners of Grand Prix–Portland Trial tournaments.

Second-Round Byes

  • Players with a Players Club level of 2 or 3
  • Players with a DCI Total rating of TBD or higher. Byes are based on DCI Total ratings published on September 8th, 2010.
  • Players with a DCI Constructed rating of 1900 or higher. Byes are based on DCI Sealed ratings published on September 8th, 2010.

First-Round Byes

  • Players with a Players Club level of 1
  • Players with a DCI Total rating of TBD or higher. Byes are based on DCI Total ratings published on September 8th, 2010.
  • Players with a DCI Constructed rating of 1800 or higher. Byes are based on DCI Sealed ratings published on September 8th, 2010.

Trial winners
People who win a Trial event are awarded 3 byes in the Grand Prix that it feeds.
Trial byes are not cumulative with other byes and do not pass down.

We reserve the right to change the details of any event we run at any time.

Contact Information

e-mail: questions@cascadegames.com
Phone: (503) 764-9871