Many years ago, the tournament landscape in Kentucky dictated that we had to travel long and far for just about every major event. Sure, we got our fair share of Grand Prix Trials, but if you wanted to play in a Pro Tour Qualifier that meant you had to get up early in the morning, get in your car and make a two to six hour drive just to play some cards on a Saturday! The landscape of Kentucky Magic has changed. Louisville now gets to host its fair share of Qualifiers, which is fantastic for players in this area. It's a located pretty close to three metropolitan areas. Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville are no more than two hours away, while cities such as Knoxville, Chicago, and St. Louis measure in at longer four-hour jaunt. This central location gives players another chance to qualify, just one more tournament that we can play in.

It is my opinion that the Kentucky Open was the catalyst to this change. Brennan Moody and the rest of the staff at Bluegrass Magic always ran a tight ship, but felt they had to impress Wizards of the Coast and the DCI in order to be rewarded with Pro Tour Qualifiers and Prereleases.

It all started as a brainstorm by Brennan Moody, the head man in charge, as big money events were few and far between and he wanted to run an experiment. Would players come to this neck of the woods in order to battle it out for cash and prizes? In 2002, the Kentucky Open took shape, (as a humorous note, this event was actually going to be called the Battle in the Barn, but thankfully, someone had better sense than that) and the experiment turned out to be a huge success.

Written by Joshua Claytor

Listed below are the Top 8 finishers form each years Kentucky Open.