Dutch Pauper League

The Dutch Pauper League (DPL) is a non-profit organised group of Magic: The Gathering players focused on the Pauper format. The DPL was founded on January 28, 2024 in Amsterdam and welcomes players from all the Netherlands.

The DPL is part of the international community of Pauper leagues coordinated by Lega Pauper Italia (LPI), the Italian community of Pauper players. Among the other duties, LPI is responsible for defining a common set of guidelines for international leagues and for organising three times a year the Paupergeddon, the largest Pauper tournaments in the world.

The DPL follows the guidelines of LPI, with the goal of providing the Dutch players with a more professional, fun and rewarding game experience.

How do I join the DPL?

There is no special requirement to join the DPL: any player participating in any tournament organised by the DPL is considered a member of the league and is eligible to win tournament prizes.

What is the DPL responsible for?

According to the LPI guidelines, the DPL is responsible for organising:

1. a series of Pauper tournaments across the year, known as legs;
2. a final Pauper tournament at the end of the year, known as knockout.

The DPL is also responsible for:

1. publishing and keeping up to date the yearly league standings on this website;
2. assigning prizes to tournament winners (both legs and knockout).

How do legs and standings work?

A leg is a Pauper swiss-system paid tournament with Regular Rules Enforcement Levels played in the Netherlands.

During a leg, players will score points that will add up into the yearly league standings. The yearly league standings define which players join the final knockout tournament.

According to the LPI guidelines, each swiss round of a leg awards:

• 3 points for a victory;
• 1 point for a draw;
• 0 points for a loss.

Every leg offers prizes to the winners. The number and value of prizes are proportional to the subscription fee and the number of players joining the leg.

How does the final knockout tournament work?

At the end of the year, according to the LPI guidelines, a final knockout tournament is played by the top players of the league. A knockout is a Pauper single-elimination free tournament with Regular Rules Enforcement Levels played in the Netherlands.

Top8 players of the yearly league standings are invited to play the knockout. If multiple people are tied, all the potential Top8 qualifiers will play instead a swiss-system tournament with Top4 to determine the winner.

During the knockout, players will not score points for the yearly league standings.

The knockout prizes partially depend on the number of legs played during the year and to the average number of leg players.

The winner of the knockout is declared the DPL Champion of the year and will represent the Netherlands in one of the most exciting and competitive Pauper tournaments in the world! The player will receive a travel allowance to play the Paupergeddon held every year in Milan. The DPL is committed to make it possible for the travel allowance to entirely cover the cost for the round-trip flight tickets. Additionally, if at least 9 legs were played during the year with an average of 16+ players, the DPL Champion will also receive a bye for the Paupergeddon.

Additionally, if allowed by the remaining budget, also the runner-up of the knockout (i.e. the other finalist that lost against the Champion) will receive a travel allowance to fly to Milan and play the Paupergeddon. This prize cannot be guaranteed upfront, as it depends on the number of players joining tournaments during the year. The DPL will keep players informed on the budget saved in a transparent way, as legs are played across the year. However, if at least 9 legs were played during the year with an average of 26+ players, then the DPL can guarantee that also the runner-up of the knockout will receive a travel allowance to fly to Milan and a bye for the Paupergeddon.

The ambitious goal of the DPL of organising 9 legs during the year with at least 26+ players is rooted in the genuine hope to offer both knockout finalists the combination of tickets and bye for the Paupergeddon. The DPL feels this would be a strong incentive to step up the competitive landscape of Pauper in the Netherlands and a tangible support for experienced players with budget constraints.

After the knockout is played, the yearly league standings is reset.