Michael Hamilton battled through three days of competition to become the inaugural Flesh and Blood World Champion and earn $100,000 today in San Jose, California by defeating Christopher Iaali in the tournament finals.
After years of events, this weekend was the culmination of hard work for competitive Flesh and Blood players. Hamilton emerged victorious after 16 rounds of Classic Constructed, Draft, and Blitz to enter the top eight where he piloted Iyslander, Stormbind to add another accolade to his already impressive resume.
Hamilton is a two-time Calling champion and the United States national champion. He entered the tournament as one of the more accomplished players in the field and now can call himself the first-ever Flesh and Blood world champion.
“After winning nationals with like a very out there deck I really wanted to see what I could do if I spend all my time…it really paid off,” Hamilton said during a post-match interview.
He entered the top-eight bracket as the eighth-seeded player. He won an Iyslander mirror match against top-ranked Viet Pham in the quarterfinals. He then took down both Pei-Tung Liao and Iaali running Briar, a matchup Hamilton said he practiced against a lot while preparing for the tournament.
The final match between Iaali and Hamilton was a strong display of high-level Flesh and Blood. It was a delicate dance between both players looking for their big, game-altering attacks. Each list wants to play a slower game plan that depends on the accumulation of resources and working toward a scenario where a key turn will bust the game open.
Briar was one of the top-performing decks throughout the competitive scene. It entered the tournament with 922 Living Legend points, nearing the 1000 mark for it to receive a ban in Classic Constructed. Living Legend is a soft rotation system Flesh and Blood uses to keep the metagame fresh. Briar avoids Living Legend status for now and Iyslander will gain 300 points toward her total, bringing it up to 492 points.
Alongside the World Championship was the Calling: San Jose tournament, which was another major tournament. In a surprising result, Chandler To won the event with a Rhinar decklist, a substantial underdog list coming into the event.
He defeated Patrick Requejo and his Bravo list in the finals.
Both the World Championship and Calling award Professional Tournament Invitations, which are the gateway to competing in major Pro Tour events and the 2023 World Championship. Players will begin battling it out for their spot next year with the upcoming Pro Quest season and the release of Flesh and Blood’s next set Dynasty on Nov. 11.
