I'm having a bit of a problem with a player that I'm going to need to deal with, I've heard alot of complaining about this particular player and outside of events I've seen the behaviour that players and tournament organizers were talking about.

I believe this player is going to attend one of the events I'll be judging and I want to make sure I understand the options that I have as a judge and that the TO has regarding what we can and can't do.

The basic problem is that this player will show up to play in events even though he is unhappy with the advertised prize payout and complain to anyone who will listen that the TO is ripping players off. Multiple TOs in my area have complained to me about this players behaviour at events I wasn't in attendance for, and I've seen this player make those complaints in online forums both before and after events.

These are what I believe the options are, please let me know if I've got them correct or not:

a) The TO can ban the individual from the venue, preventing them from playing in or attending the tournament. My understanding is that a TO can do that for any reason they choose to. Is this correct?

b) If this is a competitive REL event, can I caution the player to keep complaints about prize support to himself at the beginning of the tournament, then if he makes them publicly issue USC-Minor and follow the upgrade path if the behaviour continues? It seems to fit the description given in the IPG, but it's not listed as one of the examples, so I wanted clarification first.

c) Can the TO choose to remove the player in the middle of the tournament without him having received any prior penalties?

Thank you!

Yes, the TO can deny entry to anyone, without stating a reason; there is always the chance that Wizards Customer Service will hear about it, and want to discuss the matter with the TO.

Also, the Store Owner (if it's a different person) can refuse service to anyone - local laws apply, of course, but Wizards Organized Play recognizes stores' and organizers' need to manage their events and protect their own interests.

As a judge, I'd recommend that you and the TO talk to the player at the start, and ask him if he has any concerns he'd like to share with you about the event. Give him a chance to explain his concerns - that alone may defuse the whole situation. If he doesn't express any concerns to the TO at that point, but starts complaining later - then you and/or the TO can certainly ask him to stop (as a direct instruction from a tournament official), and apply USC as appropriate from there.

I recommend trying to avoid the whole situation: either give him the chance to discuss his concerns at the start, or - if you're quite sure that won't help, and he'll try to cause trouble - just deny him the opportunity by refusing him entry. (Doing that will almost certainly lead to all sorts of social media attacks, etc.)

Thanks - Scott Marshall, L5, NetRep