Hagon: Mori Cheats

by News | posted at 2010-09-01 23:43:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, StarCityGames, StarCity, SCG, Katsuhiro Mori, Cheat, Cheater, Cheatings, Cheats, Rich Hagon

In his regular StarCityGames.com column, Wizards of the Coast coverage reporter Rich Hagon leveled a strong accusation at former World Champion Katsuhiro Mori: that he cheats. Mori has long suffered from a less-than-reputable standing on the Pro Tour, once serving a six month suspension for behavior. But the comment from Hagon, one of the official broadcasters for the 2010 season in the Pro Tour booth alongside Brian David-Marshall, are some of the most high profile yet. Rich's direct quote:

"I like to see the good in everyone, and I tend to flinch when I see uncompromising views in print or in conversation. To me, the world is generally a much more rounded place than the black and white view sometimes professed, and I like to avoid making blanket statements unless I'm really sure where I'm going. A close friend described the final of Grand Prix: Yokohama earlier this year between Masashiro Kuroda and Katsuhiro Mori as 'Good versus Evil,' and I frankly thought that was, as they say, a bit harsh. Likewise, Sheldon Menery's one sentence dismissal of the 2005 World Champion, who also repeated Worlds Top 8s in 2006 and 2007.

All that said, let's see if I can actually force myself to type a full-on opinion:

Mori cheats. All the time."

Hagon's column, "Removed from Game," regularly covers the happenings on the Pro Tour and outside the comment on Mori was about likely inclusions to the 2010 Hall of Fame after balloting concluded last week. But the reaction from the public has been immediate. The comment quickly went viral and has since been covered around the Magic blogosphere (read a reflection from Alexander Shearer of ChannelFireball.com on his personal blog here).

Mori was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2010, but was left off many ballots in part because of his reputation as a shady player. The Japanese pro has never given a public accounting of his previous exploits in English.

Read Rich's full article on StarCityGames.com here.

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