So I was thinking about this situation today and thought I'd bring it up. What if a player wins a PPTQ and later asks the judge who head judged that PPTQ to be a member of their team. Would this be alright? This seems to me like it would be a conflict of interest for a judge to join a team where the winner was part of a PPTQ he/she judged.

I know for a competitive level event that judges are not allowed to play for that reason, but this seems like it could create a loop hole and set a bad precedent if allowed. However when I was looking up the RPTQ and the players who could not be selected as a team for the RPTQ it only listed players who were already qualified for the pro tour.

Rather an unusual scenario, to be sure - but it's not a concern.

If a player approaches a judge before the PPTQ is over and makes such an offer, there is likely to be a perception of bias among other players; I'll even admit that, in some unfortunate circumstances, it could create a bias for a judge who now really wants that player to win. Let's go ahead and say, in this public forum, that this sort of thing should never happen, and any judge who receives such an offer should clearly and absolutely refuse it.

However, once the PPTQ is over? There's no further concern, and really no good way to police it, anyway. The only potential for concern is perception by some that maybe the offer happened before or during the PPTQ; public perception is - as we all experience at times - a very fickle and uncontrolled thing. Still, if this were to actually happen, it'd be acceptable.

d:^D