Suspensions over NPH Leaks

[Klep]

WotC brought the hammer down. 

Guillaume Matignon suspended for three years, Guillaume Wafo-Tapa and two others for a year and a half.

CFB has the story in-depth.  It looks like some guy got stupid in irc.

[voltron00x]

This is really unfortunate.

[Lemnear]

Wow! The World Champion baned for 3 years!
Interesting face Magic: The Gathering shows ... with all their posterboys (Saito, Wafo, matignon, etc.) banned or suspended ...

Why not complete the set and ban the last remaining posterboy too? ;D

Hint: he's wearing a blue hood

[honestabe]

Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some sort of backlash from the pros onto WoTC.  Not only are Matigon and Wafo two of the most respected players in the game, they're also two of the most liked

[Commandant]

What did I learn from this?

Don't trust the French, especially those named Guillaume.

[voltron00x]

Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some sort of backlash from the pros onto WoTC.  Not only are Matigon and Wafo two of the most respected players in the game, they're also two of the most liked

The backlash is over the fact that a French contingent of Pros had access to the Godbook early, in advance of a Pro Tour.  You're not going to see the Pros rally around these guys.

[honestabe]

Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some sort of backlash from the pros onto WoTC.  Not only are Matigon and Wafo two of the most respected players in the game, they're also two of the most liked

The backlash is over the fact that a French contingent of Pros had access to the Godbook early, in advance of a Pro Tour.  You're not going to see the Pros rally around these guys.

Yeah, I just got that, and take it all back.

Looks like WoTC has a real mess on their hands

[The Atog Lord]

This makes me wonder how long, and how often, certain Pro players have had access to card lists before anyone else. That's a really unfair advantage. Having prepared for pro tours, thinking everyone was on the same footing, this is very disappointing. I had hoped for more from Wizards.

[Clown of Tresserhorn]

This makes me sooooo happy.

[Meddling Mike]

I'm actually a little surprised about the lack of severity here, but what do I know about DCI player bannings.

[JACO]

Damnit Klep, you beat me to it.

The investigation was quick, and the response was swift. Wizards of the Coast has already sniffed out the people responsible for the New Phyrexia leaks, and has dropped the banhammer. 2010 Player of the Year runner-up and Level 8 Pro player Guillaume Matignon was given a 3 year ban by the DCI, and Level 8 Pro player Guillaume Wafo-Tapo, Martial Moreau, and David Gauthier were each handed 18 month suspensions. Wizards’ explanation and all the juicy details can be found after the jump!

http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=1491

[LotusHead]

Interesting factoid:

Worlds 2004 (San Francisco) Vintage (side) Event had the two most banninated (from TMD) players in the Finals.

Also, I'm surprized that WOTC just let the DCI handle it, and not some law firm.

Maybe they learned their lesson from RancoredElfGate that the players really just love this game, so hit them where it hurts: their ability to play this game.

[Troy_Costisick]

This makes me wonder how long, and how often, certain Pro players have had access to card lists before anyone else. That's a really unfair advantage. Having prepared for pro tours, thinking everyone was on the same footing, this is very disappointing. I had hoped for more from Wizards.

I was thinking the exact same thing.  I think WotC needs to change their policy on the GodBook and keep it in house.  Lotus Noir or any mag for that matter doesn't need the whole thing.  Obviously, it had become common practice for them to share the spoilers to get "advice" from pros on articles.  That's total BS, IMHO.  One has to wonder if the Guillaumes' success was due in part to having a month to proxy and playtest new sets.  I support WotC's decision 100%.

[Klep]

I think WotC needs to change their policy on the GodBook and keep it in house. 

This.  Frankly I was stunned they gave out the entire godbook to a writer.  There's no reason writers need to see anything more than the preview card(s) they are to write about.  Giving them any more information is nothing but a big security risk and an unfair advantage.

[Bakalias]

Keep in mind that a paper magazine has to be completed like a month before its actual release. So will you buy a mag that has 1 month old news on it, everything already seen online and so on?
All the good mtg mag around the world most likely have the godbook on their hands to be able to produce a set review on their pages the same month the set is released.

Beside this point, yeah, pros able to see the cards before others are kinda unfair, because they're able to playtest. But with who? No so much players I guess, before such a leak appears.
And it never appeared before, so I assume there isn't so much ppl seeing the godbooks, which means the ones who see it don't playtest that much and most likely keep the godbook for their writter job only.

Anyway, yeah, banning those guys was the right decision, even if, to be fair, you and I would probably have done the same than Wafo-Tapa (who didn't sign the NDA after all) and gave the book to friends.
BTW, didn't we actually do it?

[Troy_Costisick]

Keep in mind that a paper magazine has to be completed like a month before its actual release. So will you buy a mag that has 1 month old news on it, everything already seen online and so on?

That's tough for them.  Matignon should have thought of that before he started cheating.  I would find it very hard to believe this is the first time he's shown his pro friends the Godbook.  No doubt it started with one or two cards and eventually got to the point were Matignon was not only comfortable emailing the entire file to his friends, but it was such a commonplace practice that his friends felt they could share it with others!  Is it any wonder that it's been the pros sharing spoilers with MTGSalvation all these years?  Obviously some are getting access to the Godbooks ahead of time, and it needs to stop.

[Norm4eva]

This makes me wonder how long, and how often, certain Pro players have had access to card lists before anyone else. That's a really unfair advantage. Having prepared for pro tours, thinking everyone was on the same footing, this is very disappointing. I had hoped for more from Wizards.

The nature of the leak (after reading the link from JACO) makes me wonder if this sort of thing actually happens to a game-altering degree.  However, I shared this thought upon reading.  Despite my general naivety about human willpower and habits, I'm forced to consider the option that people with the correct connections on the Pro-Tour would have had access to this sort of information on a regular basis before several sets.  I've never been a part of a hardcore playtest group but I have to imagine that 30 days worth of playtesting new tech is, especially in Limited formats, just a devastating advantage.

[Bera]

Also, I'm surprized that WOTC just let the DCI handle it, and not some law firm.

To be fair them not having to pay level 8 benefits to those players and forcing them to grind from the ground up again is pretty harsh in itself and is probably easier than going through the lawsuit process since they can just suspend them for a year+

[Troy_Costisick]

Well, yeah, that and French law is probably a lot different from American law and rather than fight a transnational courtcase they could just suspend everybody, save the money, and put the incident behind them.

[Russian Alara]

Here are my two cents :
First of all:
I think  that 3 years and 18 months are just too soft of a punishment.  They should of taken back his title! I would also suggest checking his matches that made him regining champion.

Second : Only these two players? Thats admit it had to to be more widespread.. Also  the Judges ( not against Judges), but don't me telll some of the Judges didn't know this was going on probably every year.

Its time to review ethnical practices people..

I gotta admit we had a blow given to the whole Magic community.

[honestabe]

4 players got suspended, but only 2 that people care about

[Russian Alara]

4 players got suspended, but only 2 that people care about

Just 4? It should be more to tell you the truth!

[TheWhiteDragon]

I agree!  WotC didn't intend to spoil the set yet.  Everyone wo passed the book around should get banned for at least a year.  Everyone who even looked at anything spoiled should get banned for at least six months.  I, for one, have not seen anything spoiled, so I'm safe...but the rest of you...off with their heads!

LOL

[mikekilljoy]

I agree!  WotC didn't intend to spoil the set yet.  Everyone wo passed the book around should get banned for at least a year.  Everyone who even looked at anything spoiled should get banned for at least six months.  I, for one, have not seen anything spoiled, so I'm safe...but the rest of you...off with their heads!

LOL

The problem there, is how do you know every person who got their hands on the book?

[Cruel Ultimatum]

I agree!  WotC didn't intend to spoil the set yet.  Everyone wo passed the book around should get banned for at least a year.  Everyone who even looked at anything spoiled should get banned for at least six months.  I, for one, have not seen anything spoiled, so I'm safe...but the rest of you...off with their heads!

LOL

The problem there, is how do you know every person who got their hands on the book?

The problem there, is you can't identify a joke

[mike_bergeron]

This makes me wonder how long, and how often, certain Pro players have had access to card lists before anyone else. That's a really unfair advantage. Having prepared for pro tours, thinking everyone was on the same footing, this is very disappointing. I had hoped for more from Wizards.

Doesn't this also make people wonder about the financial incentive to dump cards or pickup cards based on the new set as well? I realize with lower card count sets, it is such a small margin  if a card is about to be reprinted and rotated back into standard play.(but still unfair)  This reminds me of the movie trading places, where they had the orange crop report before it was public.   

[DubDub]

I for one would have liked the opportunity to conduct insider trading on Splinter Twin.

Threefold return in a month?  Because of a two-card combo that isn't even Standard legal yet?  Who knows what Twin will settle out once NPH is, y'know, released.

[Darkenslight]

Also, I'm surprized that WOTC just let the DCI handle it, and not some law firm.

To be fair them not having to pay level 8 benefits to those players and forcing them to grind from the ground up again is pretty harsh in itself and is probably easier than going through the lawsuit process since they can just suspend them for a year+

Especially when you consider that the ballpark savign for the level 8 players is around $35k-$45k/year, and that just for the PT/Worlds.  IT also saves on legal fees, which is also a considerable saving, meaning that more money can be spent on the game.

[Dr. Sylvan]

If you look at the thread after the Wizards announcement of the bans, you'll see lots of players saying this is too severe. I think they're wrong or blinded by Pro-worship; this is a very appropriate punishment considering that the real penalty could be a lawsuit (especially to Matignon over the NDA violation). Lurking lawyers correct me if I'm way off, but I'd assume---if they wanted to---that Wizards would file the suit under US (Washington state) law, and French courts would respect that the contract was executed under that jurisdiction. Barring some bizarreness, France is not some remote country that doesn't have intellectual-property laws.

Wizards may opt not to sue them due to the high visibility of this banning as a punishment, and the desire not to be perceived as "persecuting the fans" in any greater degree. I'm guessing they're taking a strong look at stopping the special treatment for print magazines---and good riddance. Risking the entire game's marketing strategy on the ability of a bunch of 20-somethings all over the globe to keep a PDF secret is foolhardy, and the backlash over privileging certain pros with information they're undoubtedly using to gain an edge is added weight for withholding future godbooks.

I doubt WotC looks at the "savings" from not paying these pros, since these guys not being around just means other pros will get the Pro points to attain higher levels/prizes.