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Grand Prix Florence took place this past weekend, the final Grand Prix leading up to the 2010 World Championships in Chiba Japan. With 1,284 players attending the event it would wind down to just eight. And from those eight only one would rise to the top, Pierluigi Aceto drafted poison and proved victorious in the top 8. Congratulations to him and all the other top competitors.
The biggest news out of the event though is the disqualification of Hall of Fame inductee and Japanese all-star Tomoharu Saito, which we reported on previously.
His disqualification could have serious impacts, today the news broke that ChannelFireball is dropping him from their writing staff. Their announcement included a translated note from Saito:
First of all, let me apologize to those who have always supported me. This disqualification is the realization of the worst possible consequences and is inexcusable.
The stated reason for the ruling was that “After confirming that there was not very much time left in the round, it appeared that this player intentionally stalled.” I do not deny the comments and observations of other players claiming they observed the same thing; all I can say is that at the time I truly did not believe that I was stalling.
Disqualified players write a report to the DCI concerning what happened and what they were thinking during the circumstances leading to the disqualification. I wrote a report and submitted it to the DCI in Florence and now await the results of their investigation.
-Tomoharu Saito
There has been a large outcry from the Twitter community and on forums across the web. His induction to the Hall of Fame was already a source of discord given his past with disqualifications, and the most recent one only causes more upset.
Give us your feedback in the comments below, should Saito's Hall of Fame induction be rescinded? Should the Hall of Fame change their system to punish players with disqualifications or suspensions in their past?
