md_codes Wins Mudwater Open #2 Without Losing a Series
md_codes won all six series at Mudwater Open #2, recovering from 2-1 down in each of his last three. MoonSpirit finished second, while Moon Dust climbed to third in face-up card usage.
md_codes won Mudwater Open #2 without losing a series, beating MoonSpirit 3-2 in the grand final early on Nov. 7, 2026. The 34-player double-elimination tournament began the previous evening and ended at 12:56 a.m. Eastern.
His 6-0 series run included three straight comebacks. md_codes trailed 2-1 against defending champion honeybd in the upper semifinal, then against MoonSpirit in both the upper final and grand final. He won games four and five every time, finishing 15-8 in individual games. His title-clinching game ended 5-4 on the board.
MoonSpirit earned the rematch by beating honeybd 3-1 in the losers final. They finished second and third respectively, both with 5-2 series records. Both of MoonSpirit's losses came against md_codes.
md_codes wrote after the final:
Made things interesting with a few blunders and weird experiments, but really happy to take the win!
The free event introduced double elimination after Open #1 used single elimination, giving players a second chance after a series loss. Every card was unlocked and no NFT holdings were required, but players could no longer change decks between rounds. Their card selection had to last the entire run.
The listed pack prizes were two for first place and one for second. Shortly before play, the host announced additional prizes from @boringmerch: a Removable Patch Swap Hat for second and ApeChain Blue Cotton Crew Socks for third.
The official statistics record 66 played series and 172 games. Compared with Open #1:
- Going first won less often: The first player won 45% of games finished on the board, down from 54%. That was 77 wins in 171 games, excluding one resignation.
- The top two cards held their places: Bottle Rocket led with 234 face-up plays, followed by Bored Stiff with 209.
Card counts include face-up placements and upgrades; cards used as rocks remain private.
Moon Dust climbed from 10th to third with 106 face-up plays. Open #2 produced just over twice as many games as Open #1, but Moon Dust's use still roughly doubled after accounting for the longer tournament, rising from 0.31 to 0.62 face-up plays per game.