Hunter Burton Memorial
Gaming to Prevent Suicide
2023 Registration Details and Pricing changes
Registration on Melee.gg
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.
Pricing
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.
Fees
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.
Prizes
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.
2022 HBMO Results & Decklists!
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
Registration Is Live For The 2022 HBMO
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:
- Masks will be required by all attendees, staff, and vendors at the event. (No Exceptions)
- There will be 5 card vendors on hand to both buy and sell cards for MTG, Flesh & Blood, and Poke’mon
- VIP Packages are extremely limited this year so get in before they sell out!
HBMO 2022 – March 11th – 13th & CIP Details
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!
2021 HBMO SIDE EVENTS & SCHEDULE
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!
2021 HBMO Date Information
You may have heard the exciting news on social media, but just in case you haven’t…
THE 2021 Hunter Burton Memorial Open WILL HAPPEN AUGUST 14th/15th!
That’s right, the news is true! Locked in and set to go, the 2021 HBMO is happening! No more date changes and no more waiting, the event is happening this August at the Hurst Conference Center, in Hurst Texas. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us over the last year as we dealt with all the ups and downs 2020 had to offer.
Now that you know the date, let’s talk about the what and the why. First, the reasons we moved the date out of 2020 were fairly obvious and have been talked about in previous articles. The reason why we chose to move the 2021 date back is less so. Here is a statement from Erin Giddings, HBM Director of Operations giving a little more insight:
“It can’t be said enough how much we value our community and as such their safety. After all is said and done, we are an organization based on the foundation of saving lives not risking them. With that said, so many aspects went into our decision to move the date out of June and into August. That started with convention center availability and migrated to where are we in terms of the ever-changing pandemic. After consideration of those aspects and then considering WOTC event policy, we made the decision to move the event back just a little farther into the year. Seeing new developments and improvements in the pandemic as vaccinations expand, we are now confident we made the right decision to make our event as safe as possible. Now we get to begin rebuilding our foundation and getting back to what is important… addressing the ever growing mental health crisis and growing rates of suicide.” – Erin Giddings
We know you have questions, so here we go in answering everything we can!
EVENTS & FORMATS
Saturday, August 14th – $10,000 Main Event (Modern Format) by Ultra Pro
*This event will be capped at 400 players.
Sunday, August 15th – $2500 Co-Main Event (Modern Format) by Generation X Comics & Games
*This event will be capped at 226 players
Sunday, August 15th – $500 Vintage Cash Event (Vintage Format)
Sunday, August 15th – Jeff Zandi Chaos Sealed (Chaos Sealed)
Saturday & Sunday
Commander Pods (On Demand)
Other Events TBD:
– Ian Jasheway Memorial Tournament
– Legacy Event
– Booster Draft Side Events
– Other Side Events will be announced
– VIP Cocktail Party
REGISTRATION
The 2021 event registration is now live! You can register HERE
or by visiting the site: https://hbm.ticketspice.com/2021-hbmo
If you registered in 2020 (and did not request a refund) you are already registered and do not need to take any action. The same goes for special events such as the Jeff Zandi Chaos Sealed. If you signed up and paid, you are locked in and at that original amount!
SPECIAL EDITION ITEMS
T-shirts will for the first time be available ahead of the event and arrive in time for you to wear that weekend! That’s right, stay tuned for our direct order fundraiser on Custom Ink to get yours!
Dice (Custom HBMO) will be available. Yes… 2021 dice are made! More importantly, a VERY limited amount of 2020 dice will be made available through limited ways at the event!
Retro 51 Pens – These are still part of the VIP Package and a very limited amount will be obtainable at the event and after.
OTHER EVENT DETAILS
Vendors – Currently we have at least 3 major vendors attending! They will all be buying and selling!
Prize Wall – This will be back and better than ever!
Transformers / Argent Saga – Unfortunately the Pandemic forced these games to cease.
Poke’mon TCG – This will return at our March 2022 event!
Board Game Library – This will return in March 2022
EVENT SAFETY GUIDELINES
As of now things are still fluid. We currently are asking all participants to wear masks while indoors at the event (however that may change with recent information.) Also, cap is in place to properly size and space for safety. As things change we may open up more cap space, however you should register as soon as possible to ensure your spot (in case that does not happen.) We will stay fluid and always put our attendees safety first as we move closer to the event.
We will be announcing a lot of additional information as the event moves closer. Make sure you are subscribed to our blog to stay up to date on all the latest developments!
NSAM Stream-A-Thon: Saturday, September 5th
You can catch all the action on the HBM Twitch Channel:https://www.twitch.tv/hunterburtonmemorialopen
Join the HBM team as we recognize National Suicide Awareness Month and host an all day stream-a-thon to connect with our community! We have an amazing day planned for you thanks to some amazing volunteers and our friends at RetroDBZ.com.
“The purpose will simply be to talk about suicide and mental health while streaming different games through the day. We have been dealt a massive blow as a community in 2020 due to the pandemic and so much unrest in the country that it’s time we start reconnecting and checking in with our HBM family. What better time to do it than in recognition of National Suicide Awareness Month.”
– Erin Giddings, Director of Operations for HBM
To start the day, DeQuan Watson will begin streaming several hours with Zendikar previews, discussions about the cause and some casual but always fun games. Then, our entire HBM team will jump in for a live Zoom video call with our community to talk about the cause, discuss what 2020 would have been and most importantly, announce our 2021 date for the Hunter Burton Memorial Open event! From there, Brian “Motumbo” Augustine will take over and play some MTG and Fall Guys as well as answer questions from the chat and maybe have a guest or two call in. Then, we hand off the stream to our amazing friends at RetroDBZ.com as they begin their 6+ hour stream talking about the HBMO, the importance of suicide awareness in the gaming community, and a retrospective look at the Dragon Ball Z Trading Card Game, now more than 20 years old!
We know you may not be able to spend a whole day streaming on Twitch, so here’s a schedule so you have an idea of when the best time to tune in may be:
11:00am CST – DeQuan “PowrDragn” Watson (live)
MTG Zendikar Preview Discussion, Importance of Kindness and Cause in gaming, and some fun casual games as the chat interacts.
1:30pm CST – Live Interview With The HBMO Team (live)
Erin Giddings, Joe Klopchic, Garrett Wilkinson, Brian “Motumbo” Augustine, and DeQuan Watson talk about the HBMO, why the cause is important, share some stories of years past, followed by Joe and Erin announcing the 2021 HBMO event dates!
2:30pm CST – Brian “Motumbo” Augustine Takes Over! (live)
Brian will be playing games of MTG Arena and Fall Guys live on stream while talking about the cause, why it’s important to him, and taking questions from the audience.
• 5:00pm CST – HBMO Discussion with Erin Giddings, HBM Director of Operations (live)
• 5:30pm CST – FanZ Preview and First Discussion with Joey Dicarlo (live)
• 6:00pm CST – Interview with Aik, the technical first ever DBZ TCG World Champion (prerecorded)
• 7:00pm CST – Interview with David “Chippy” Eckhard, One of the original DBZ CCG Designers (live)
• 8:00pm CST – Interview: Erin Giddings and Deanna Cass, The marketing minds at Score Ent. (prerecorded)
• 8:30pm CST – FanZ Preview and Second Discussion with Joey Dicarlo (live)
• 9:00pm CST – Gencon 2012 Rise and Fall of Score Entertainment panel replay
• 10:15pm CST – Interview with Richie Williams (prerecorded)
• 11:00pm CST – Late Night RetroDBZ Zoom after party hosted by Josh and Garrett
You can catch all the action on the HBM Twitch Channel:https://www.twitch.tv/hunterburtonmemorialopen
Want an HBM T-shirt?? We have our new “Vintage Est. 2014” Fundraiser shirt available for a limited time! Order yours here: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/hunterburtonmemorial
UPDATE: 2020 HBMO Date Change
2020 HBMO Date Change Announcement
(IMPORTANT UPDATE 6/17/20)
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:
- Run the event on August 7-9:
Until yesterday, we still planned to move forward with this option but while there are many unknowns about what the scope of the pandemic will look like come August, one thing is certain… it won’t be any safer. While businesses reopen and the state of Texas moves forward to being fully open, we must still understand that playing interactive games in a massive crowd (even with PPE and extreme sanitary measures) is just not safe at this time. While many of our volunteers said they would still help out, we must make sure that what we ask isn’t putting anyone’s life in jeopardy. Our mission after all is to save lives. While our cause of suicide prevention and awareness is needed today more than ever, putting people at risk is not the way to go about it. - Move to the end of September
This was strongly considered however in addition to the unknown safety concerns, and being on the cusp of flu season, there were additional concerns. As an organization we are 100% funded through donations. Small businesses and gaming giants alike help make our event something attendees will enjoy. The donations from our attendees help us work towards our goals of community impact programs. Companies in the gaming industry are dealing with intense financial hardships and the short of it is, having our event in September would mean many of our sponsors and major contributors would not be able to be involved in our 2021 event (with only 5 months to prepare and already facing hardships.) If circumstances at that time were still not safe and another cancelation was necessary, it could cause even more financial issues and safety concerns for HBM and the organizations that so graciously make our event happen each year. - Cancel 2020 and move forward to 2021
Ultimately this decision made the most sense for both the health and safety of the HBM family and the continued health of the organization and its contributors. We can use donations from our 2020 event towards next year, making sure it’s still an amazing event. We can also rest easy at night knowing that we feel good about putting our HBM family’s safety above all else.
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.
Statements from our team:
“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
“The HBMO is my favorite event each year and it’s gut-wrenching to make this decision. I can’t wait to return to Texas and run a safe, amazing event and see the faces of everyone I enjoy once again. I know in 2021 we can make that happen for all involved.”
Joe Klopchic – Tournament Coordinator & Event Manager
“We didn’t want to cancel, but the safety of our players, volunteers and staff is the most important thing to us. It’s not going to put a damper on our mission to save lives and create change. We are more committed now than ever to making a positive impact and bringing awareness to suicide!”
– Dona Burton – Founder & Treasurer
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!!
2020 HBMO Date Change
The Hunter Burton Memorial Open means so much to so many. We truly have the most amazing community held firm by players, sponsors, vendors, and supporters from across the country. Without each of you we would not be able to hold our annual event or continue to build our outreach program to make positive impacts in gaming communities.
With that said, we have been in constant communication as a foundation and continued to keep our finger on the pulse of the ever changing and ongoing COVID-19 situation. For weeks we have maintained a resolve to move forward with our annual event as planned. As you already know, the last 72 hours has presented a rapid change in both the spread of COVID-19 and the social response to help mitigate that spread. As we have said all along, the mental and physical well being of our HBMO community and family is our main priority.
After many hours of discussion about attendee safety, pressure from sponsors/vendors, and conversations with the convention center and hotel, we have come to the difficult decision to move our 2020 Hunter Burton Memorial Open to August 8th & 9th, 2020. Please understand this is the most difficult decision we have ever made as an organization and nobody is more disappointed than we are.
While the logistics are difficult, the plan is simple… We will hold the event as scheduled on August 8th and 9th in the same venue (The Hurst Conference Center.) While things may change for some details, at this time we intend on keeping as much the same as we possibly can.
We will be holding an MTG Arena Tournament (a mini HBMO so to speak) on March 28th and 29th with entry fees and prizes! It will be live streamed on the HBMO Twitch Channel. Details can be found on our website here: 2020 HBMO ARENA TOURNAMENT
Here are some important questions we have been asked and for clarity purposes we will outline them here:
Q: I pre-registered for the event… what do I do?!
A: Anyone who has pre-paid for entry into any event has the following options…
– Get a full refund by emailing HunterBurtonMO@gmail.com by April 5th, 2020
– Stay entered in your event and attend on August 8th & 9th (you’ll have option to change later)
– Convert your entry into a donation for the charity
Q: What about my hotel room I booked?
A: The connected Hilton Hotel is refunding rooms or willing to transfer reservations to the August dates for you if you reach out to them in a timely manner.
Q: Why are you just now announcing this?
A: We have taken every precaution to not act hastily however the COVID-19 situation has constantly evolved. In the last 48 hours it became apparent that not postponing our event could be more detrimental than moving it to protect the safety of our community. We also wanted to have all future dates locked in, let all sponsors and vendors know and prepare our staff accordingly.
“Nobody takes the decision to move the 2020 HBMO harder than I do. Our team is small, our nonprofit is all volunteer based, and the number of people the decision impacts is great. Our number one priority however is being responsible and protecting the safety of our HBMO family. The bottom line is simply that this is the right thing to do for everyone involved. I personally want to say thank you for all of your support and that I look forward to seeing you in August!”
– Erin Giddings, Director of Operations
“I think it’s important to everyone involved, from players to judges, staff, vendors and coverage that everyone has peace of mind for their own safety and that of the public when it comes to this tournament. Lots of people tell me it’s their favorite event of the year, I know we can live up to that this August, and it has become clear we couldn’t achieve that this March. Thanks again to everyone involved and I can’t wait to have the best Texas Magic tournament this summer!”
– Joe Klopchic, Tournament Operations Organizer
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE ON AUGUST 8th & 9th, 2020 AT THE HURST CONFERENCE CENTER IN HURST, TX!
The HBMO Comes to MTG Arena!
That’s right, starting next week we will have a mini-HBMO tournament on MTG Arena! This year it’s a first so we have started small with just 16 players. The event will be held over four weeks, ending just before the actual 2020 Hunter Burton Memorial Open.
Now to the details! The event will start on Thursday, March 5th at 7:00pm CST and continue each Thursday leading up to the 2020 Hunter Burton Memorial Open in Hurst, TX. The first round will be split between weeks one and two, followed by top 8 in week three, semi-finals and finals in week four, taking place on March 26th. The top two spots will receive paid entry into the actual 2020 HBMO!
A special thanks to Hal Brady, David Palmer, and Brian “Motumbo” Augustine for organizing this event! Expect commentary from them during the event as well as some surprise appearances from other special guests.
… and here are your competitors!
Conor Cole
Jose A Rios
Chad Bentley
Brian Tidwell
Richard Spicer
Hakeem Henson
Vince Ferraiuolo
Shannon West
Nate Milson
Harvey Holmes
Hunter Vaughan
Derrick Steele
Jason Tams
Glenn Nipp
Jacob Dunlap
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The 2020 Hunter Burton Memorial Open is brought to you by these amazing partners and sponsors!
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Charitable Donations
Donate to the cause! Every little bit helps us increase our outreach program, spread awareness, and help educate gaming community members about suicide.
$5.00
Make a Donation Now
Charitable Donations
Donate to the cause! Every little bit helps us increase our outreach program, spread awareness, and help educate gaming community members about suicide.
$5.00
Hunter Burton Memorial 