Grand Prix Oporto Info.

Pro Tour - Los Angeles Qualifier
September 23-24, 2000

Grand Prix Porto will be a Limited tournament, with the Top 64 players advancing to the second day of competition for prizes and invitations.

Grand Prix Porto is a large-scale Qualifier tournament featuring eight invitations to Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Los Angeles in January 2001 and a 25,000 USD cash purse.

Where
Pavilhao Rosa Mota
Rua D. Manuel 11
4050 Oporto

When
September 23-24, 2000
Registration on site starts at 08.00 AM and closes at 09.15 AM.

Cost
Pre-payment : 2000 PTE (Visa/Mastercard/Eurocard)
Payment on site : 2500 PTE

Main Event Schedule
Saturday, September 23 (main competition only, look for details on side-events on location)
08:00 Registration starts
09:15 Registration closes
Short speech and final explanation/clarification of the rules
Competition starts Format Limited Mercadian Masques™ Block
2 short (30 minute) breaks for lunch/dinner will be fitted into the schedule if time allows
22:00 (±) End of competition for day one

Sunday, September 24 (main competition only, look for details on side-events on location)
07:30 Venue opens
08:30 Final Top 64 competition starts, Format : Limited Mercadian Masques™ Block
1 short (30 minute) break for lunch will be fitted into the schedule if time allows
16:00 (±) Quarter-Finals
17:30 (±) Semi-Finals
19:00 (±) Finals
21:00 (±) Award Ceremony

Format
Limited Mercadian Masques™ Block

Day 1 : Sealed Deck : 1 Mercadian Masques™ Tournament Pack / 1 Nemesis™ Booster / 1 Prophecy™ Booster
Sealed Deck - 6 or 7 rounds Swiss Style

Day 2 : Rochester Draft
Mercadian Masques™ Booster / Nemesis™ Booster / Prophecy™ Booster

Artist on site

Mark Zug

Mark Zug spent his early childhood getting schlepped around the world before coming to rest in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he still lives, trying to get his bearings. Along with walking upright he learned to draw, read books for the pictures, and daydream while being spoken to. Then Catholic High School and deep disillusionment. A rock band and tinnitus. Some lost years. Art school. Ayn Rand. N.C. Wyeth. A failed sort-of marriage. But he hung up his machinist's tools forever when he illustrated Harlan Ellison's I Robot screenplay adapted from the Asimov cycle. He also did some 160 full-color pages for a comic of the same story, which was never published. He then moved into games, lured by Last Unicorn's Dune collectible card game, for which he did 40-50 paintings. Since then his work has been published by FASA, Magic: The Gathering, Dragon Magazine, Amazing Stories and other outlets, mostly under the vast wings of Wizards of the Coast. He currently lives in a tiny town with treacherous rollerblading and a stunning view of the Susquehanna River. His goals are to one day buy a computer and silence his friends.

Byes
Tournament Byes (Byes are not cumulative throughout the season or year.)
Byes do not pass down under any circumstances. Byes based on rank announcements will be made four weeks prior to the event.

DCI players with high ratings in the same format as a Grand Prix will earn up to three byes at that Grand Prix. The minimum DCI rating required to earn byes varies depending on the Grand Prix format and location. Byes based on DCI ratings will be announced approximately six weeks prior to each Grand Prix.

Professional players with high Pro Tour player point totals will also earn up to three byes at a Grand Prix. The Pro Tour player point totals required to earn Grand Prix byes vary depending on the Grand Prix format and location. Byes based on Pro Tour player points are based on the professional standing from two Pro Tour stops prior to the Grand Prix.

Example: Byes based on Pro Tour player points for all Grand Prix tournaments occurring between Pro Tour-Los Angeles '99 and Pro Tour-New York '99 will be based on the Pro Tour-Rome '98 professional standing.

Byes are not cumulative within a given Grand Prix or throughout the professional season. Byes based on DCI ratings and Pro Tour player points do not pass down for any reason. Byes are not transferable. Byes may not be deferred from one Grand Prix to another, but must be earned each time.

Players who accrue multiple byes to a Grand Prix receive only a single bye for the greater number of rounds.

Bye Levels
1 bye at 1750, 2 byes at 1850 and 3 byes at 1950 points

Bye for PT points
1 bye at 6, 2 byes at 12 and 3 byes at 24 points

GP Porto Prize Pay-out!

All Competitors ------------ 1700 Rating-Flag Division

Place Prize ----------------Place Prize
1 $2,400 ------------ 1 $1,500
2 $1,700 ------------ 2 $1,000
3 $1,200 ------------ 3-4 $700
4 $1,000 ------------ 5-8 $400
5-8 $800 ---------------------9-16 $250
9-16 $500---------------------Total $7,500
17-32 $250
Total $17,500

Accommodation

Hotels

PENSÃO ESTORIL
RUA DE CEDOFEITA 193
4000 PORTO
Telephone: +351 - 22 - 2002751
Fax: +351 - 22 - 2082468

RESIDENCIAL BELO SOHNO
RUA PASSOS MANUEL 186
4000 PORTO
Telephone: +351 - 22 - 2003389

RESIDENCIAL PÃO DE AÇUCAR
RUA DO ALMADA 262
4300 PORTO
Telephone: +351 - 22 - 2002425
Fax: +351 - 22 - 310239

Hostels
Residencial Paris
R. da Fabrica 27-9
Tel: 32 14 21

Pensao Sao Marino
Pr. Carlos Alberto 59
Tel: 32 54 99

Pousada de Juventude do Porto (HI)
Paulo da Gama 551
Tel: 617 72 47

Rua Rodrigues Lobo 98
Porto 4000
Tel: (2)6065535
Fax: (2)6065535

Websites on accommodation

www.hostels.com
www.hostelseurope.com
www.europeanhostels.com

Websites on general information about Porto
http://www.media.mit.edu/people/nuno/porto.html
http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costaverde/porto/index.html
http://www.portugal-info.net/costaverde/porto.htm

Sightseeing
The official name of this city is Porto. However, in recent times there has been popularity for people from other parts to refer to it as Oporto. This is due to its close and lengthy association with Port wine and the reference to the product, "o porto". The history of this now great city had humble beginnings. In 1120 the then Queen, Dona Teresa, donated the place of little more than a collection of houses surrounded by a wall to the Bishop Dom Hugo. The place only expanded during the Period of the Discoveries when Portugal became the world's nation in trade and needing good home ports for its ships and cargo. As a trading centre at the mouth of the Rio Douro it is the second largest city after Lisbon. The place has a number of distinctive atmospheres and this is very evident when comparing the various parts of the city. The quarter around the riverside known as the Ribeira is full of narrow twisting streets with houses once painted or tiled in colourful facades, and full of the bustling energy of working people during the day and the liveliness of busy tascas and restaurants at night. The district around the Cathedral is full of busy streets and monuments to past achievements, and streets lined with houses built like layers of a cake then crowded together with a maze of small alleys in-between. The Cordoaria quarter is for the students with steep streets and interesting shops. The civic centre of the city is in the Central e Baixa quarter with broad avenues lined with banks and outdoor cafés, or in the Baixa where the the two-tiered covered daily market goes about its business. Lastly, the Boavista area is the arterial route in and out of the city past blocks of apartments and hotels.

As would be expected of such an important city it is full of fascinating buildings. The imposing 12th Century Sé (cathedral) contains within many small-scale treasures from the past. Built in 1842 the inside of the Palácio da Bolsa is almost like being in an Arabian dream. The 14th Century Igreja de São Francisco has an 18th Century interior to amaze the traveller. In this church is the Árvore de Jesse, a carved representation of the genealogy of Christ. Equally as amazing is the Igreja da Santa Clara whose opulent gilded interior has to be seen to be believed. The Feitoria Inglesa built in 1790, is a private club restricted to the traders in Port Wine and is only open to the public by invitation. Its interior is designed around a typical English townhouse with an impressive sweeping staircase. Cut-glass chandeliers containing hundreds of candles light the ballroom in which occasional balls are still held. Other churches of note are Igreja da Misericórdia, Igreja dos Congregados, Igreja dos Clérigos, Igreja
do Carmo and the Igeja de São Martinho de Cedofeita. Among other points of interest is the Terrreiro de Sé with an original Manueline pillory complete with hooks in the corners. The São Bento Railway Station containing tiled pictures by Jorge Colaço depicting early modes of transport and other interesting scenes. Porto lies on the north bank of the Rio Douro and is connected to the south bank by several bridges, one of which is the Dona Maria Pia Railway Bridge, built by Gustave Eiffel in 1886. It is rumoured that the pieces left over were used to span the Rio Arade in the Algarve.

Museums
Museums also abound within and around Porto and these are the main ones. The Museu Soares dos Reis is named after Portugal's leading 19th Century sculpture. Besides his outstanding works there is a collection of contemporary paintings and historical items. The Casa-Museu Guerra Junquiero is the former home of a very active Republican and contains his personal and variable collection. The Museu de Etnográfia e História depicts the life and customs of the city and region from earliest days up to more recent times. The Museu Romântico was once the home of King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia and the upper floor has been turned into a romantic memory of its previous owner. The Museu do Carro Eléctrico keeps alive the city's original transport system with its collection of past trams including one from 1872 drawn by mules. The Fundação de Serralves is devoted to culture and particularly to fine arts with constant exhibitions. The Casa-Museu Fernando de Castro exhibits a personal collection that ranges from religious sculpture to paintings of the 20th Century. The Casa-Oficina de Antonio Carneiro is the studio-home exhibiting the paintings by this artist who died in 1930, and together with the works of his two sons.

Cardlist Mark Zug

Card Title Set
Pegasus Stampede Exodus
Angelic Blessing Exodus
Oath of Lieges Exodus
Elven Palisade Exodus
[Pegasus token card] Unglued
Swamp Unglued
Chicken à la King Unglued
Bureaucracy Unglued
Karn, Silver Golem Urza's Saga
Gaea's Cradle Urza's Saga
Worship Urza's Saga
Cradle Guard Urza's Saga
Voice of Law Urza's Saga
Thundering Giant Urza's Saga
Titania's Chosen Urza's Saga
Absolute Law Urza's Saga
Congregate Urza's Saga
Cessation Urza's Legacy
Planar Collapse Urza's Legacy
Voice of Duty Urza's Destiny
Body Snatcher Urza's Destiny
Skittering Horror Urza's Destiny
Thermal Glider Mercadian Masques
Cloud Sprite Mercadian Masques
Jeweled Torque Mercadian Masques
Ascendant Evincar Nemesis
Laccolith Warrior Nemesis
Phyrexian Prowler Nemesis
Nemesis Splatter Beast 01 Nemesis Packaging
Nemesis Decay 01 Nemesis Packaging
Rhox Starter 2000 Packaging