{"id":3408,"date":"2014-10-16T02:21:04","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T07:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2015-03-25T18:23:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T23:23:52","slug":"kevin-desprez-l5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/kevin-desprez-l5\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Desprez, L5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome, Judges, to another edition of Judge of the Week! It is with great honor we feature this week’s interview… meet Kevin Desprez<\/a><\/span><\/span>, L5 Judge!<\/em><\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong> Kevin DESPREZ\"\"<\/em>
\n Level:<\/strong> 5<\/em>
\n Location:<\/strong> Lille, France<\/em>
\n Judge start dates:<\/strong><\/em>
\n L1:<\/strong> 08\/2002<\/em>
\n L2:<\/strong> 11\/2003<\/em>
\n L3:<\/strong> 12\/2006, Worlds in Paris<\/a><\/em>
\n L4:<\/strong> 12\/2008, Worlds in Memphis<\/a><\/em>
\n L5:<\/strong> 01\/2014, High Level Conference in Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Occupation:<\/strong> GP Organizer and L5 judge<\/em>
\n Favorite card:<\/strong> Aluren<\/a><\/em>
\n Least favorite card:<\/strong> Winter Orb<\/a><\/em>
\n Favorite format:<\/strong> Limited<\/em>
\n DUEL Commander<\/a> general:<\/strong> Azusa, Lost but Seeking<\/a><\/em>
\n Favorite non-Magic Game:<\/strong> Kingsburg<\/a><\/em>
\n Best tournament result:<\/strong> GP Lyon 2003<\/a>, Quarter Finals<\/em>
\n Random fact about yourself:<\/strong> I never roll for higher, because there can be draws. I always go with Even or Odd.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
A young(er) Kevin Desprez wins Round 14 to make Top 8 at GP Lyon, 2003.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why did you become a judge?<\/strong><\/em>
\n I\u2019d say this happened a bit by accident. This is a conversation that happened between my local TO and myself back in the days:<\/em><\/p>\n

“You\u2019re generally curious about the rules, would you like to become a judge?”
\n<\/em>“Why not, what do I need to do?”
\n<\/em>“You read English?”
\n<\/em>“Sure.”
\n<\/em>“Well, here\u2019s this document to read” (the Comprehensive Rules).<\/em><\/p>\n

A few weeks later, after I had dropped from an Invasion Block PTQ, I passed the test in the kitchen of a shop, between the ham and the butter \ud83d\ude00<\/em><\/p>\n

How did you become a L4+?<\/b><\/em>
\n Through my career, I\u2019ve mostly been an Events-oriented judge; the challenge of finishing a tournament on time has always been in my mind. Hence, I\u2019ve started developing tools so that tournaments would go smoother and smoother. In 2008, at PT Berlin\u2019s Side Events, I ran a 340-player Limited PTQ with a constantly changing staff (even the Team Leads were fluctuating, congrats Claire Dupr\u00e9<\/a><\/span><\/span> and Jan de Vries for making it work most of the day!) whose 9 rounds finished in a bit more than 10 hours. That would not be nearly as impressive today, but back at the time, that was pretty amazing. I guess that qualified me as capable to Head Judge GPs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the next PT (Worlds in Memphis), I learnt in the morning that the decision had been taken not to allow L3s to Head Judge GPs anymore. I felt extremely sad as this is one of my personal goals in the Program then I got promoted in the evening. \ud83d\ude00<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Taking<\/a>
Taking a well-deserved rest after PT Berlin, 2008.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s it like being a L4+?\u00a0 What would you like the community to know about being L4+ is like?<\/b><\/em>
\n That\u2019s a tough question. Just like with any position, there are pros and cons.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the upside, I get to work on extremely challenging projects. Here\u2019s part of what I\u2019ve worked on since 2008:<\/em><\/p>\n