Greetings from Fancy Philippines! As I write this, I am preparing for Grand Prix Manila. So it’s only fitting that today’s Judge of the Week is another judge attending Grand Prix Manila … Simon Lee! Also known as Ximen, (“West Gate” in Chinese) Simon is a Level 2 judge from Hong Kong. He became a judge in the spring of 2000, and leveled up only a year later. Why did he become a judge?

“Very simple. I love the game. Well, back to the days around the millenium, there were very few tournaments in Hong Kong. Some of my friends and I started to run some event by ourselves. Leslie Cheung, Bone Kwok, and I rotated doing the judge work.”

Occupation: Systems Analyst for a trading company

Favourite card: Balance – It’s Mind Twist, Wrath of God, and Armageddon! (And sadly, it’s banned in Commander.)

Least favourite card: Abandon Hope – Hope is not something we should abandon 😉

Favourite format: Chaos Draft*

Commander general: Pheldagriff – It is cute, isn’t it?

Random fact about him: He doesn’t watch local TV dramas.

How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?
Well, it is very nice to meet people from other countries. This broadens my horizon, and has some impact on how I would think or deal with things I encounter.

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
Fun and friendship. I’ve made many friends because of the game.

If you could chat with one person, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Li Bai, one of the great poets of the Tang Dynasty. I know nothing about literature, but his story is very interesting. He could write poems even he was drunk :).

What’s the best part about your local Magic community?
We have some interesting guys who are very keen on organizing some activities outside the event, like where and what to eat, or some trip for vacation.

What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?
Watching some movie, probably. When I was in college, before playing Magic, my biggest hobby besides reading was watching movies. I used to watch one or two movies every week. Now, playing almost every FNM and some events during the weekend, I do not have as much time for films.

And finally…

It’s back! Two Truths and a Lie!
Two of these statements is true and one is false. Figure out which!

1. I love One Piece (a Japanese Manga series)
2. My favourite singer is Mavis Fan from Taiwan.
3. I can name every member of AKB48 (a 64-member Japanese girl group)

Tune in next week to find out the incorrect statement!

Let’s all hope that movies become boring so that Simon never leaves the Magic community! Feel free to leave comments or questions for him down below, and as always, nominate a judge today!

*Chaos draft is a format where all the packs are different.