Players came from all over the UK to Bournemouth to compete in the trials for the Magic the Gathering Madrid grand prix.
The turnout at the Bournemouth University trials was bigger than expected, with 22 players competing for the grand prize.
Similar to Card game Yu-Gi-Oh!, players trade cards and battle each other to become triumphant and gain a victory over their competitors.
The games begun on Saturday, with many of the attendees being experienced players having spent all week perfecting their decks for the challenges ahead.
The format of the grand prix trial was modern, with the players having the chance to use cards from older sets.
There were five rounds of fifty minutes, each consisting of three games. At the end of those rounds, eight leading players were left to play against each other for the chance to win.
Magic the Gathering player Torran Brewers found he was unprepared for the favoured burn decks of this particular competition.
He said: “I have lots of small creatures which will stall them but nothing really effective against them.”
Some players knew from the beginning who was going to succeed.
Player Alex Mortimer wished he’d brought a different deck after playing a weak game in the beginning.
Louis Davies attended with “all of [his] buddies just to play a few games” and came 8th in the running.
The winners of the day were Sean Knowleden and Tim Lansdale.
Sean said that winning is only part of the fun, adding: “I came to see people I haven’t seen in a while. I like the community.”
The grand prix finale event is to take place in Madrid at the end of November. The grand prix trial held in Bournemouth is an independently run qualifier for those competing in the finale events.
Bournemouth is a popular gaming destination with many communities available to join.
Popular gaming stores including Warez on the Winton High Street, Lvl Up Gaming on Charminster high street and Paradox Comics at the end of Poole High Street.
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