A friend just pointed this out to me, Wizards is running a new Qualifier series for a WPN Championship that is occurring at Pro Tour San Juan. The Championship is a separate feeder series that seems to add another tier below the Pro tour. There are qualifier tournaments that will be held at Advanced-level locations during April and May of 2010.

The qualifier series wins players an invitation to the championship in San Juan, and the winner of the Championship in San Juan will receive what is basically a deluxe vacation for Amsterdam. Wizards wants to make it clear that the WPN Championship qualifiers are not PT Qualifiers, only the Championship gets someone on the Pro tour.

Here is the full prize text for winning the Championship in San Juan:

[easybox]The winner of the Championship Tournament and the Tournament Organizer of the qualifying event in which the tournament winner qualified will each receive one (1) roundtrip coach air ticket from the international airport nearest the player's home to Amsterdam, Netherlands and four (4) night's accommodation (single occupancy, room, and tax only) to attend the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010 tournament. Each winner will receive instructions from Sponsor identifying who he or she must contact and the deadline by which he or she must arrange travel. Sponsor will not refund travel made outside this service. All travel itineraries must include all the dates of that event (September 3-5, 2010). No portion of the prize will be substituted if winners are unable to accept it; and such portion of the prize will be forfeited. All other expenses are the responsibility of the winners and may include, without limitation, ground transportation, taxes, itinerary change fees, passport and visa fees. Approximate retail value of each travel package is $2200. Actual value of trip may vary depending on winners' residence and seasonal rates. This prize package does not include an invitation to play in the Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010 tournament.

Wizards of the Coast reserves the right to award a cash equivalent prize in lieu of the prize package in its sole discretion.

Each winner must arrange his or her travel itinerary no later than (30) days before departure. Failure to complete travel arrangements as directed by Sponsor prior to this deadline will result in forfeiture of the award. Every winner receiving a travel award must provide to Sponsor an executed Prize Winner Agreement or liability release, any applicable or requested taxation forms, and proof of ID and passport/visa (when required by international destination). In all cases, all such documentation must be provided to Wizards of the Coast, or previously on file, at least thirty (30) days before departure. Failure to timely provide such documentation will result in forfeiture of the award. Each winner is solely responsible for obtaining and meeting all requirements of passports and visas necessary to travel internationally.

Odds of winning prize depend on number of eligible entries received and the skill of the participants. Potential winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and publicity and liability release. [/easybox]

Further Reading:

• WPN Championships-San Juan Qualifier Tournaments
• Complete Rules of the WPN Championship–San Juan Tournament
• Pro tour San Juan Public Events

Analysis:

This is an interesting way to go about getting another person on the Pro Tour. The most interesting detail is that the winner of the championship, and the tournament organizer who ran the qualiier that he won, both get to go to Amsterdam. In discussing this with some other people I think we've figured out why, so that the store owner can help get the winner to San Juan so that he or she can compete in the Championship.

Overall it is a new avenue to get onto the Pro Tour, and without paying for transportation, there will be a great deal of attrition between winning qualifiers and playing in the championship. Kudos to Wizards for a new way to get on the Pro Tour which allows tournaments to be run without going through the regional TOs, but it is not a perfect solution.