Editing Worlds 2002

{{SplashImage|wc 2002 car.jpg|The 2002 World Champion Mathieu Brochu, also pictured with girlfriend and new car.|600px|File:wc 2002 car.jpg}}

'''Worlds 2002''' was the first [[World Championship]] for the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game (and the first Worlds ran by the newly-minted [[DGMA]]). It was ran by [[Decipher]] at DecipherCon 2002, from Thursday, October 31 2002 to Saturday, November 2 2002<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020810223927/http://www.decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/events/worldsformats.html DGMA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002]</ref>.  The Championship itself was a 3-day gauntlet of all-day gameplay, with a prize pool totaling $15,000 USD not including a ''car'' on the line.

== Format ==
All decks used the [[Fellowship Block]] deck format.

* Day 1
** 4 independent events: 2 constructed, 1 sealed, 1 multiplayer
** Swiss tournaments
** Best-of-1
** Top 10% (4 at minimum) move on
* Day 2
** Competition split into 2 separate heats
** Each heat does an 8-round Swiss tournament
** Best-of-1 constructed matches
** Top 8 of each heat moves on
* Day 3
** Top 16 compete in a single-elimination tournament
** 3-round matches, win 2 out of 3 to move on
** 4 matches total to complete (8-12 games total)

== Prizes ==
The total cash prize pool was $15,000, split between the top 16 players as follows:

* 1st - $7,000
* 2nd - $3,000
* 3rd - $1,500
* 4th - $1,000
* 5th - $500
* 6th - $400
* 7th-8th - $300
* 9th-16th- $125

In addition, the top 8 each received a One Ring replica.  On top of that, the World Champion received a custom-painted Chrysler PT Cruiser as well as a guaranteed plane ticket to the next year's Worlds. 

The Top 16 (and winners of other events at DecipherCon) were also invited to participate in private alpha testing for the [[Lord of the Rings Online TCG]] platform<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030207234417/http://lotrtcg.decipher.com/news/ News Archive]</ref>.


== Qualifiers ==
Throughout the 2002 tournament season, players could qualify for Worlds by competing in Territorial, Continental, and Premiere Events<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020810221521/http://www.decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/champcircuit/index.html 2002 Championship Circuit]</ref>.  Placing highly in those events would earn players a bye, permitting them to skip Day 1 of Worlds itself.  115 players ultimately earned a bye in this manner<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20031020031728/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=120 World Championship Byes for LOTR and STCCG announced!] </ref>.

=== Territorial Open Championships ===
For the 2002 circuit, 120 Territorial championships were allocated, of which 103 were scheduled for the LOTR-TCG: 48 in the United States, 41 across Europe, 7 in Canada, 3 in Australia, and 4 elsewhere<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030803224424/http://www.decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/champcircuit/territorials/index-us.html DGMA's Territorial Open Championship Details – United States]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030626064205/http://www.decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/champcircuit/territorials/index-intl.html DGMA's Territorial Open Championship Details – International]</ref>.  Events ran between 1 May 2002 and 30 June 2002 and ran for 1 day.  Due to the timing, only the latest of events could have included any cards from [[Realms of the Elf-lords]]; all others would have been restricted to sets 1 and 2.  All events were 1v1 Swiss events with a minimum of 6 rounds.

The winner of each Territorial earned a bye straight to Day 2 of Worlds.  In addition, the winner and runner up each earned a bye to their local Continental Championship (as well as a Trophy Binder to hold all their card prizes).  Ultimately 230 Continental byes were awarded in this manner<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021024162519/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=33 The Road to the Worlds Continues]</ref>, meaning about 115 events must have been ran.

=== Continental Championships ===
Each continent (except Antarctica, Africa, and Australia (which had an event planned but apparently fell through)) was host to a 2-day Continental Championship.  Day 1 was an open tournament available only to players that lived within the associated continent (which must be skipped by players who placed 1st or 2nd in the earlier Territorial events).  This first Swiss event winnowed down the Day 1 players to the top 10% (minimum 16).  Day 2 opened with a Swiss tournament for those top 10% plus any Territorial players who joined.  The top 8 of that Swiss then went head-to-head in a single-elimination tournament, the winner of whom won not only a bye into Worlds itself, but earned a plane ticket to attend Worlds paid by Decipher (among a small heap of other prizes).  

The winners of each of the Continental Championships were as follows:

* North America: Hayes Hunter<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20031210093806/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/gencon-wrapup.html Decipher Makes a Big Splash at Gen Con 2002]</ref>; [http://web.archive.org/web/20031108062643/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=81 decklist]
* Europe: Marcin Solonczak<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20031210095137/http://www.decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/champcircuit/continentals/europe-wrapup.html 2002 DGMA European Continental Wrap-Up]</ref>; [http://web.archive.org/web/20031108063457/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=68 decklist].
* South America: Daniel Ramos<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021223112457/http://dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=99 Daniel Ramos Wins South American Continental Championship!]</ref>; [https://web.archive.org/web/20021223112457/http://dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=99 decklist]
* Asia: Leonard Chee <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021017074842/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=109 Leonard Chee Asia/Pacific Continental Champion!]</ref> (no decklist found)

=== DGMA Premier Series ===
[[Image:origins 2002 top 16.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Top 16 from day 1 of the Origins Premier Series. Left to right: Peter Leiher, Clint Hays, Matthew Yakobina, Sam Fog, Fred Foure, Chrs Schaut, John Lolli, Mikael Lane, Dominic Gaudreault, Clay Wilburn, Kyle Craft, Ty Hansen, Doug Faust, Jonathan Marchi, Ben Lacey, Brad Eier]]

Four high-profile events were ran through 2002 which would be hosted at popular conventions and award cash prizes.  Three were initially announced in June 2002: Origins<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020802004658/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/origins.html Origins 2002 July 4-7 in Columbus, Ohio]</ref>, Comic-con<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020720151121/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/comiccon.html Comic-Con International 2002 August 1-4 in San Diego, California]</ref>, and SPIEL<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030205001250/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/essen.html Spiel 2002 October 17-20 in Essen, Germany]</ref>, with Dragon*Con<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020802043944/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/dragoncon.html#schedule Dragon*Con 2002 August 30-September 2 in Atlanta, Georgia]</ref> being added after the success of the Premier Series at Origins.  Like other events, the winner would also be awarded a bye to Day 2 of Worlds itself.  

Each event had a $5,000 prize purse which was awarded as follows<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020811050020/http://www.decipher.com/newsflash/2002/062702premierseriesprizes.html DGMA Brings Very Cool Prizes to the Premier Series Tournaments]</ref>:
* 1st place: $2,500
* 2nd place: $1,000
* 3rd place: $600
* 4th place: $400
* 5th-8th place: $125

The Premier Series Ohio was held at the [https://www.originsgamefair.com/ Origins Game Fair] in Columbus, Ohio on July 4-7, 2002<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021023184741/http://decipher.com/conventions/2002/origins-wrapup.html Decipher Shines Bright at Origins 2002 - Decipher's Convention Journal]</ref>. John Lolli was the winner<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020802044045/http://www.decipher.com/conventions/2002/origins-premierseries.html ''The Lord of the Rings™'' TCG Premier Series Wrap-up]</ref> ([http://web.archive.org/web/20031020024713/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=1 decklist]).

The Premier Series San Diego was held at [https://www.comic-con.org/cc/ Comic-con] in Aug-Sept 2002<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021010065246/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=55 Coverage From Premier Series San Diego!]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020812005635/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=62 Premier Series San Diego - Day 2]</ref>.   Nian Perion swept through the PS with only one loss ([http://web.archive.org/web/20030901190122/http://dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=91 top 16 decklists])

Unlike the other three Premier Series, the Premier Series Atlanta was announced after the success of the Origins PS<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020811195514/http://www.dgma.com/news/020730atlantaAnn.asp DGMA Premier Series Tournament Coming to Atlanta!]</ref>, and was held at Dragon*Con<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021223121126/http://dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=92 Premier Series Atlanta Coverage]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021017082343/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=93 Premier Series Atlanta Day Two Coverage]</ref>.  Matthew Yakobina prevailed as the champion ([http://web.archive.org/web/20021017083700/http://dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=95 top 8 decklists]).

Spiel was the host of not only the Premier Series Essen, but also the World Cup (which winners did not win a bye for Worlds, but instead won a trip to New Zealand).  135 players eventually whittled down to Patrick Malboeuf<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021218094104/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=150 Report from Premier Series Essen]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050211205925/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=152 Premier Series Essen - Day Two Report]</ref>([http://web.archive.org/web/20030418093903/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=153 top 16 decklists]).

== The World Championship ==
[[File:wc 2002 top 16.jpg|500px|thumb|right|The Top 16 players at Worlds 2002]]
The actual event itself was a 3-day series of back-to-back game events sprinkled throughout dozens of other scheduled matches that were not a part of the World Championship proper.  

=== Day 1 ===
The events on Day 1 were a last-chance qualifier for any players except the 115 who had already qualified.  4 events were ran, each of which awarded the top 10% (minimum 4 players) the chance to return for Day 2<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021023185653/http://decipher.com/deciphercon/2002/events/eventschedule-lotr.html EVENT SCHEDULE]</ref>:

* 10AM 1v1 Constructed (20 players qualified<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050309075730/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=168 Day 1 Morning Day Two Qualifier Updates]</ref>, meaning 200 participated)
* 10AM 1v1 Sealed (6 players qualified<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20040120102652/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=171 Top 6 Qualifiers from the Sealed Deck Qualifier]</ref>, meaning 60 participated)
* 5PM 1v1 Constructed (15 players qualified<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20040120090206/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=173 Evening LOTR Qualifier for Day Two of Worlds]</ref>, meaning 150 participated)
* 5PM Multiplayer Constructed (4 players qualified<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030228235412/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=174 Multiplayer Qualifiers for Day 2 of the LOTR World Championship]</ref>, which was the minimum, meaning less than 40 participated)

In total, 45 players qualified for Day 2.

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040120100311/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=167 Featured Match #1]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050211210907/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=170 Featured Match #2]

=== Day 2 ===
The 45 players who qualified from Day 1 joined the 115 players who qualified earlier in the year, making the player pool a total of 160.  To make this easier to manage, players were split into two heats, the top 8 of which would move on to day 3.

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040324042537/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=176 Round by round standings updates].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050211212104/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=175 Featured Match 1, 2, and 3].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20021106042719/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=177 Top 16 players].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050211211343/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=178 Quick interviews with 3 of the top 16].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030418095811/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=184 Top 16 qualifying decklists].

=== Day 3 ===

Day 3 was a single-elimination knockout tournament for the top 16, with each matchup being played as a best-of-3, and no time limit.  Mathieu Brochu swept the tournament with an 8-0 record, becoming the first LOTR-TCG World Champion.

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20021106042719/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=177 Starting Top 16 matchups].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030418095717/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=181 Featured matches 1 and 2].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030224081014/http://www.dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=190 Mike Long's match report vs Mathieu Brochu in Round 2].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050211210030/http://dgma.com:80/content/default.asp?id=187 Final Match Play by Play - Mathieu Brochu vs Alex Tennet].
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030418095849/http://www.dgma.com/content/default.asp?id=183 Day 3 Decks - Including World Champion Mathieu Brochu]





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