Drew Lichtenstein Wins the San Diego Super Open; Schoenthal inducted to PC Hall of Fame

After an eight-year off-period, Star Wars CCG returned to San Diego with America’s Finest City hosting the 2023 San Diego Super Open. The two-day Scarif-themed event concluded with Drew Lichtenstein (CoffeePass) defeating Daniel Amor (Heisenberg) in the two-game final confrontation match, allowing Lichtenstein to capture his second major victory (2022 Match Play Championship) almost exactly one year later than his first.

Lichtenstein (7-3) and Amor (8-2) outlasted a field of 25 players in a unique and novel 10-game Swiss event that started on Saturday, January 21st, with the first six games and concluding Sunday, January 22nd, with the remaining four games. Players were allowed to submit and use different decks for the latter four games (and final confrontation) vs. the first six.

As the sole 8-2 finisher, Amor was the higher-seeded player going into the finals and opted play Dark Side first – playing his Agents of Black Sun that had just defeated Lichtenstein’s Skywalker Saga – Anakin deck in Game 10. After solidifying a Coruscant battleground site and the Coruscant system, Lichtenstein won Game 1 by 21 Force. Needing to win Game 2 by at least 21, Amor faced a steep hill to climb. Lichtenstein, playing his Carbon Chamber Testing deck – the same archetype he used to win the 2022 MPC vs. Eric Hunter – against Amor’s Quiet Mining Colony, put through enough damage despite a few early hiccups to capture the event title.

Greg Shaw, Phil Aasen and Dennis Reinhardt were the other players to finish 7-3.

Subsequent to the event’s conclusion, Lichtenstein joined Star Wars CCG: Holotheatre to discuss his weekend run, which included a gauntlet of games and re-matches.

All players besides Lichtenstein and Amor were able to participate in the “Throdo Cube
Spectacular” four-game event on Sunday afternoon. After the field built their decks and played four games, two-time World Champion Joe Olson (arebelspy) (and 2022 Worlds Cube 4th-place finisher) emerged victorious among 12 total participants. It was deja vu for Cal Aldred, as he finished in second place behind a teammate, as he did in the 2022 Worlds Cube event.

In addition to the Main Event and Cube event, long-time (since 2009) Tournament Advocate Chris Schoenthal was enshrined into to the Star Wars CCG Players Committee Hall of Fame. His family delivered him his Hall of Fame plaque before games started on Saturday morning. Schoenthal has been instrumental in allowing the Game to continue and grow, fostering core Major, Regional and Local events, spurring on creative Star Wars CCG competitions, and constantly prioritizing a fun and healthy gaming experience to as many players as possible. Chris is the 13th player/volunteer to be added to the PC Hall of Fame.

Match replays for all feature matches may be found on the PC’s YouTube Channel, with thanks going out to the entire Stream Team for their efforts. Formatted decklists from the event may be found here, while GEMP-importable files are available here. Additionally, check out the several Tournament Reports written about the event, including Lichtenstein’s winning narrative and at least one rookie’s experience.

Check out the 2023 San Diego Super Open Forum for any and all additional details.

Special thanks go out to Tournament Director and Event Organizer (and now PC Hall of Famer) Chris Schoenthal, key on-site volunteer Robbie Hendon, Stream Team Lead Dan Tartaglione and Prize Support Guru Kevin Jaap for their help making the event a huge success. Many other volunteers are worthy of “thanks” as well – see here for the full list.

— Dan Tartaglione & Jared Napolitano