Gaming to Prevent Suicide
These great stores have applied for and received a trial for byes at the 2023 HBMO.
1/14/2023 Galaxy Gaming Houston, TX
1/15/2023 Halcyon Games Spring, TX
2/4/2023 Cards and Comics Connection Conroe, TX
2/18/2023 Atomic Hobby Shop Cypress, TX
2/24/2023 Madness Comics Denton, TX
2/25/2023 Phat Catz Gaming San Angelo, TX
3/11/2023 Space Cadets Gaming Oak Ridge North, TX
TBD Clockwork Games & Events College Station, TX
TBD One Drop Game Shop Wichita, KS
Stores wishing to run a trial may still apply here until February 1st.
We have several announcements today, so here are links to all of the new information.
Of course, pre-registration is still open for the previously announced events, and the new scheduled events on our Melee.gg hub.
The 2022 HBMO charity gaming event concluded with a bang on Sunday night, setting new benchmarks and a lot of memorable moments. Nothing short of amazing, Gary Wong became the first person in 9 years to not only win the main MTG event twice, but to do it consecutively! If that wasn’t enough, he also became the new leader of top 8 appearances at the HBMO with his name engraved on the trophy three times!
The weekend was fantastic for the cause as we were able to successfully raise almost $25,000 for the foundation and award our first Community Impact Award to Jamison Sacks. Over 100 actual events were run on-site including the Modern $10k sponsored by Greg Burton, and the Modern $5k sponsored by Generation X Comics & Games.
A huge thank you to our sponsors for 2022 which included Ultra-Pro, Panini America, Generation X, Tales of Adventure, Common Ground Games, AKON, Darkhound Game Center, Top-Deck Keep, and so many more! Also, we would like to give a massive thank you to the more than 50 volunteers that made this event happen, including the amazing judge staff and the incredible security/booth staff. As a 100% Volunteer run organization, we couldn’t do this event or the new outreach program without each and every one of you!
Now, we’ll turn it over to one of our amazing commentators, David Palmer for a quick rundown of the $10k Modern event with almost 500 players and the top 8 with decklists!
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The top 8 of 2022’s Hunter Burton Memorial Open showed the diversity of Modern’s first
weekend since the Lurrus of the Dream-Den ban. Eight different decks survived the thirteen rounds of
swiss across two days and emerged with a record of 10-2-1 or better.
The quarterfinals featured Kyle Horn (1) on UR Murktide defeating Zach Mckeown (8) on Grixis
Death Shadow; Robert Wagner (2) on GB Yawg defeating Nathanel Monsees (7) on 4C Yorion
Elementals; Damian Del Nero (6) on E-Tron defeating Arjune Bose (3) on UR Underworld Breach; Gary
Wong (5) on Amulet defeating Michael Smith (4) on BR Goblins.
The semifinals featured Damian Del Nero (6) on E-Tron defeating Robert Wagner (2) on GB Yawg
& Gary Wong (5) on Amulet defeating Kyle Horn (1) on UR Murktide.
That left Damian Del Nero as the only obstacle in Gary Wong’s path to back-to-back HBMO
Championships. The finals went the full three games, with the third game featuring Gary finding a way
to access all three of his Boseiju, Who Endures to keep Damian on the back foot and emerge victorious.
Final Swiss Standings: (Click on the Deck Name to see the full decklist)
1 Gary Wong (AMULET)
2 Damien Del Nero (TRON)
3 Robert Wagner (GB YAWG)
4 Kyle Horn (UR MURKTIDE)
5 Zach Mckeown (GRIXIS SHADOW)
6 Nathaniel Monsees (4C OMNATH)
7 Arjune Bose (UR BREACH)
8 Michael Smith (GOBLINS)
Watch the event unfold live on our HBMO Twitch Channel
Stream Coverage Archive: twitch.tv/hunterburtonmemorialopen
Final Swiss Standings: hbdecklists.com/standings
Complete Searchable Decklists: http://hbdecklists.com/deck/6
2020 has been a year for the history books. As an organization, the Hunter Burton Memorial (HBM) was poised to bring together the largest gathering of our family and community yet. To roll out our new “Kindness in the Community” initiative for game stores across the country and hold for the first time in our seven years a second HBM Open event in a single year. Just like many, we looked forward to 2020 being a year that we could have the largest positive impact yet.
Instead, as everyone knows, this year had its own ideas about what would take place. It has caused change across the world and ended businesses, jobs, and precious lives. It has added to the mental health crisis we fight so hard against. It has left people across the world struggling. It has caused an insurmountable and unforgettable loss.
In addition, in a recent fire, both of the HBM motorcycles (painted to depict Hunter, his sister, and Hunter’s favorite Magic the Gathering art) were lost. Thankfully, nobody was injured, but while these were just “physical belongings,” they were very sentimental to the Burton family and our organization. Losing them is “icing on the cake” so to speak for HBM in 2020.
As painful as this year has been so far however, there has been greatness. While a pandemic slowed us all to a halt, a fight against hundreds of years of systemic racism emerged and took center stage. A new movement for equality that will forever be remembered and make a positive impact. A fight we truly believe in and stand beside. As an organization that prides itself in being open and safe for everyone, we are proud to say enough is enough, it’s time for a change. We stand with you in the fight against injustice.
… And that brings me to the main reason for this announcement, our 2020 HBMO. At this time, please understand we want to be very transparent and honest.
Back in March, like everyone, we were riding the waves of learning what COVID-19 was. We had no more knowledge than anyone else and were forced to make decisions based on what our gut said was best for the community and the safety of everyone involved. Based on pressure from the facility to not cancel completely, we made the decision to move to August. This was not our first choice, but with limited options available in scheduling at that time, it was the only choice we had.
Now, being just over six weeks away from our rescheduled event we are at yet another crossroads. We have spoken to our team, had discussions with our volunteers, and spoken to our judge staff. We have opened discussions with sponsors and partners over the last week and taken all the feedback to heart about what they truly feel is best for safety.
With that said, we are sad to announce that we are cancelling the 2020 HBMO. This has been one of the most painful decisions we have ever had to make, but comes solely from a place of love and desire to protect our community and the HBM family.
We essentially had three options… 1.) Run the event in August. 2.) Move to end of September. 3.) Cancel and move on to our 2021 event. Here is why we made this choice:
We are now shifting focus to 2021 and locking in our date. The plan is March like always but with so many events being shuffled around, facility scheduling is even more difficult than normal. We hope and expect to have a new date announcement by the July 4th holiday.
In addition, we have some truly awesome, special things coming for you soon. Including ways of getting your hands on one of those amazing Limited 2020 HBMO sequentially numbered Retro 51 pens and/or one of those highly coveted HBMO dice for 2020 (yes, those both exist!)
Now, I know you have questions and while I can’t answer everything just yet I do want to address the elephants in the room:
1 – REFUNDS (Attendees)
If you would like a refund please email your refund request to HunterBurtonMO@Gmail.com no later than end of business (5:00pm CST) on July 3rd, 2020. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY A REFUND WILL BE PROCESSED (no Facebook messages or posts will work.) All refunds will be processed no later than July 12th, 2020.
If you choose not to refund, your entry will automatically rollover to cover your full 2021 entrance.
2 – SPONSORS
All sponsors will have their 2020 contributions rolled over to the 2021 event. We thank each of the amazing companies and businesses that have supported us and been patient with us through this process.
“This has been one of the most difficult decisions we have ever made in the history of this organization. On one hand our passion compels us to hold this event, bring our HBM family together, and show support and unity at a time the world needs it more than ever. On the other hand, it’s our responsibility to look out for that community and simply do the right thing. Protecting the safety and wellbeing of our community, our HBM family is always the most important thing. As sad as we are to cancel, know it comes from a place of love and dedication to our cause, our community and everyone that believes in this organization.” – Erin Giddings – Director of Event Operations
We have many details to work out and we’ll be making major announcements in the coming days about both what will happen over the next 8 months and what will be happening with our 2021 event. In the meantime, we appreciate your support and patience. We can’t wait to see you in 2021!!
We’re a couple weeks into 2023 and we have some updates for everyone.
For the very first time, the Hunter Burton Memorial will feature Magic artists from the community. We’re excited to announce that these wonderful folks will be with us in March. Take a look at their portfolios online now, or check them out at the event.
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Jeffrey Laubenstein
Ben Schnuck
Chris Seaman
Sarah Finnigan
We have opened registration for these events on our Melee.gg registration site.
Saturday will feature a Legacy $2k, brought to you by Dave and Adam’s
Sunday will feature a Vintage $1k, as well as the Standard RCQ both sponsored by Card Monster Games
Each day will feature an 10:30 AM cEDH tournament, and an afternoon cEDH event for prize wall prizes, brought to you by GenerationX Comics and Games
We can also announce that the following vendors will be joining us for the event.
Card Monster Games
Laughing Dragon
Card Cache
Darkhound Studios
Area 51 Collectibles
DreamHack first arrived in the United States via Texas in 2016. As the home of the United States Regional Championship, DreamHack is proud to support the Hunter Burton Memorial Open and its message. DreamHack Dallas (June 2 – 4) features the third RC bringing a national audience to the great state of Texas. Both organizations are excited to announce that the 2023 HBMO will feature several invitations for the Dallas RC.
The following events will feature invitations
Main Event – Modern $15k – 2 invitations
Sunday Pioneer $5k – 2 Invitations
Ian Jasheway Memorial Sealed – 1 Invitation
Sunday Standard RCQ – 1 Invitation
Please note that all of our invitation events are Destination events. Anyone is eligible to play even if they are already qualified for the DreamHack Dallas Regional Championships. Invites will not pass down if an already qualified player wins an additional invite.
Events featuring RC invites also include these additional prizes:
Registration Changes and Details
The 2023 Hunter Burton Memorial Open is just around the corner! It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone, but that means the best three days of charity gaming are back!
This year will be our 9th event, and in true HBMO fashion we will be going bigger and better than ever! This year’s event will add things that just a few years ago, those of us involved in the charity thought were only a dream. New special events, big announcements, and so much more! March 17th – 19th will be a weekend of gaming you won’t want to miss.
Now, to kick off our weekly announcements, we start by announcing that this year’s Saturday Magic the Gathering Main Event will once again be Modern Format!
Returning once again will be the weekend’s most popular event, the Jeff Zandi Chaos Sealed Tournament! People attend the HBMO specifically just for this event. Spots always sell out months before the actual tournament, so if you want in on this very special occasion, do not wait!
Excited to get registered and confirm your spot? We thought you might be! Have no fear, registration is live for a handful of events and you can ensure your spot is secure by signing up early!
The main event is expected to potentially reach cap this year, so make sure you secure your spot soon! Additionally, VIP registration is now available and is expected to have some awesome items you won’t want to miss getting your hands on!
Planning to stay at the connected hotel? For the first time ever, room block discounts are available almost 4-months early! Book your hotel now and get the best rates for the Hilton connected to the Hurst Convention Center, offering an indoor pool, bar/restaurant, and open areas for playing games all day or night! (Get your room at the link below.)
But wait… there’s more?! Absolutely!!!
This year’s event will have a better board game library, improved Commander Area, and more side attractions that will make it well worth attending, even if you aren’t planning on playing in the main event! Pokémon, Flesh & Blood, and other games will all have events onsite! In addition we will have artists, silent auctions, plenty of vendors, and more!
Make sure you subscribe to our blog to get the earliest updates and check back weekly to see all the announcements we have in store!
REGISTER FOR THE 2023 HBMO – [CLICK HERE]
*Register for events by clicking the link above. Check back regularly as more events will open registration in the coming days.
DISCOUNT HOTEL ROOMS – [CLICK HERE]
*Discount rooms can be secured by clicking the above link, or calling the hotel directly at (817)281-5800, giving their stay dates and the code “Hunter Burton Memorial” or “HB23” to receive the group rate.
Friday – March 17th
7:00pm HBMO Cocktail Party – Live music, food, drinks, silent auctions, and more
Saturday – March 18th
9:00am Magic Modern $15k Event – The classic HBMO Main Event (Day 1)
Sunday – March 19th
10:00am Magic Modern $15k Event – The classic HBMO Main Event (Day 2)
3:00pm Jeff Zandi Chaos Sealed Event – The most popular event of the weekend!
For 2023, HBM has chosen to partner with Melee.gg for both our registration system and tournament software. Melee has been very generous and is supporting the event by waiving their normal application fee for us. We’re very excited to work with the new software, which will provide more integrated registration and tournament information, decklist submission, online pairings, and other event information.
You can register for events now on our melee event hub.
As you may have noticed from our announcement or the registration page, HBM has decided to increase our event prices across the board for 2023.
In an effort to maintain transparency, I wanted to acknowledge the change with our fans and supporters and let them know the reasoning behind it.
First off, more than most other industries, running events has become significantly more expensive over the past few years. I love our venue in Hurst, and I know that all of our attendees think its very high quality, especially with the excellent attached hotel. Our venue costs for have increased by a large percentage since 2019, and that’s now reflected in our event prices.
Additionally, HBM features all-star staff who volunteer their time to help make the event amazing. We provide hotel, meals and goodies for our staff, as well as a travel sponsorship budget for judges and staff making their way to the event from far away. As many of you know from planning travel, those costs have gone up as well.
Finally, Magic booster pack product costs have increased. HBM does have very generous sponsors who provide various items and products for running our events and our prize wall, but in the end, we have to cover the cost of a lot of booster packs that Magic players want to open for drafts, or as prizes when they do well in our events.
Given that, I have decided to increase our Main Event entry fee to $80 for 2023. This price is in line with similar events, or even a discount compared to some organizers. I think that most of our attendees will view our event as good value while still supporting the cause.
Our side events will also be increasing in price, to $30 for our scheduled events.
HBM Regulars will recall a $1 fee for each ticket on our previous registration, webconnex. With the move to Melee, we have rolled those fees into individual event prices. We still have to pay the usual approximately 3% processing fee on credit card transactions, the additional $1-2 helps pay for part of those fees.
With an increase to our price, its only reasonable that we bump our prizes as well to appropriately reward the players who succeed in events.
The 2023 HBMO Main Event now features $15,000 in prizes, including paying $100 down to 48th place.
Side events will also have their prize payouts appropriately scaled up.
While VIP and Regular Registration have been live for members of our HBMO Facebook Group for almost two weeks, we are now rolling out the launch publicly for everyone!
You can register for this year’s event by clicking the link below. We HIGHLY recommend that you pre-register to guarantee a spot should the need to cap attendance arise.
A few important notes about the event:
2022 HBMO Dates
As you may already know, the 2022 HBMO is already scheduled and in the works! For the first time ever, we were able to lock in our next year’s event and make the official announcement to everyone in attendance! That being said, September is officially Suicide Awareness Month and we want to honor that by making our 2022 date announcement official AND by giving you the first official details of the new HBMO Community Impact Program.
First, let’s start by confirming that the 2022 Hunter Burton Memorial Open will happen March 11th – 13th at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, TX! That’s right, exactly six months away! All your favorite events will return with the Modern $10k on Saturday and the special $5k on Sunday! As is the new tradition, Friday night will be the Texas-Sized Welcome Party (Cocktail Party) for sponsors, vendors, staff and VIP guests to mingle over dinner and drinks with live music!
Our event in 2021 was the most successful event to date (and that speaks volumes given the pandemic!) For 2022 we will be adding additional side events, more vendors, new games, and onsite counselors all while keeping the same amazing gaming environment you have come to love.
The HBM Community Impact Program
We are so excited after almost three years in the works to finally be able to launch the Community Impact Program (CIP). This program has been a priority for the foundation and now we are able to share its beginning with our community and the HBMO family!
The Community Impact Program is our way of reaching gaming communities everywhere. To spread awareness about suicide and how someone can find help if they are struggling, or potentially help others if they see signs they may be struggling. It brings stores, the focal point of most gaming communities, to the front line of defense against suicide by giving them tools and information to help their community each and every day. This program creates leaders within the community that care about others and go above and beyond to show kindness, inclusion, and create the lasting bonds that gaming communities are so well known for. Lastly, but certainly not least, it recognizes and shines light on the hidden struggle that many gamers face and brings a community together to combat them so no one person feels alone.
“The Community Impact Initiative is something Joe and I are extremely passionate about. Since he and I took over this organization several years ago, it has been our mission to get it in the hands of game stores and communities everywhere. Both of us know how powerful a gaming community can be to give someone a sense of belonging or a safe place to be who they are. We want to help grow and educate these communities on how they can better help their members and potentially save someone’s life that is or has been silently struggling.” – Erin Giddings, HBMO Director of Operations
Starting in late October, stores or community leaders will be able to order two types of kits for their store or community center. The first is a standard special event kit with contents that allow a store to host an event especially for suicide awareness. It will have a few prize items such as a custom playmat as well as information and resources for/about suicide.
The second type of kit will be for stores to order that are specifically for display and education purposes. These will include a poster and handouts with resources for those struggling to be displayed in store. It will include brochures as well that players can take to learn more about suicide, how to spot potential signs, and resources that may assist them to help themselves or other members of their communities. The last thing it will do is contain a link for a new community leader to be nominated for our Initiative Program Recognition Award. One IPRA recipient will be flown to the following HBMO (each year) to meet the staff, give a speech during the opening ceremony, and receive the iconic HBMO Watch given out each year. They will be the guest of the HBMO as a thank you for having a positive impact in their community and embodying the values the HBMO stands for in helping others.
As a foundation we are beyond excited for 2022, where we hope to be back to full capacity and with all of our normal festivities! Look for all the fun details to begin releasing soon, with pre-registration going up towards the end of the year (December, 2021.)
Thank you for being part of the HBMO family and we can’t wait to see you all at the 2022 HBMO or at an HBMO in store event soon!
As things have become more clear for space availability, we are finally able to announce the full array of side events for the 2021 HBMO! (See below for image with full event schedule for Saturday/Sunday.)
We’re excited to announce the return of the Legacy $1k (Sponsored by Common Ground Games in Dallas) at this year’s HBMO. The Legacy event will be Saturday starting at noon. Pre-registration is already open at https://hbm.ticketspice.com/2021-hbmo
We have scheduled events each day for the major formats, but if you’re looking to play Standard, Pioneer, Vintage or any other format, head over to our on demand events area, where we will try to pair you with a challenger in a 1v1 match for some prize chips. We will also have a central area for commander players, who are free to grab an open table and sling 100-card decks, or jump in the commander queue to play an organized match for some prize chips.
If you’re looking to draft, we will have on-demand drafts available all weekend, and four scheduled “Draft For Dice” events, where the winner receives a 2020 HBMO die. We have a very limited number of dice, so each of these four events will be limited to 8 players. Expect these to fill up fast!
The HBMO Prize chips will all be redeemable at the Prize Wall for an assortment of goodies, notably Adventures in the Forgotten Realms boosters for 2 chips each, Modern Horizons Packs, and a vast variety of older boosters for various prices.
Still debating on the main event or not? Do not delay… there are a limited number of spots remaining and while cap space has gradually increased, we do expect to cap preregistration. Can’t make Saturday but still want to play Modern in a big event? Come out Sunday for the Modern $5k (Sponsored by Generation X Comics & Games in Bedford.) There are just a few VIP spots left and having just seen the playmat, we promise you won’t want to miss out on an amazing deal to get all the sick VIP swag!