Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2008

2008 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the Year Japan Shuhei Nakamura
Rookie of the Year Australia Aaron Nicastri
World Champion Finland Antti Malin
Pro Tours 4
Grands Prix 21
Hall of Fame inductions Dirk Baberowski
Mike Turian
Jelger Wiegersma
Olivier Ruel
Ben Rubin
Start of season 15 December 2007
End of season 14 December 2008
← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 Pro Tour season was the thirteenth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 15 December 2007, with Grand Prix Stuttgart, and ended on 14 December 2008, with the 2008 World Championship in Memphis. The season consisted of twenty-one Grand Prixs, and four Pro Tours, located in Kuala Lumpur, Hollywood, Berlin, and Memphis. The Grand Prixs from June until August were designated Summer Series Grand Prixs, awarding more prizes and additional Pro Points. At the end of the season, Shuhei Nakamura became the fourth consecutive Japanese player to win Pro Player of the year. Dirk Baberowski, Michael Turian, Jelger Wiegersma, Olivier Ruel, and Ben Rubin were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Grand Prix – Stuttgart

GP Stuttgart (15–16 December 2007)
  1. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  2. Netherlands Robert van Medevoort
  3. Sweden Jonathan Bergström
  4. Germany Raul Porojan
  5. Spain Joel Calafell
  6. Belgium Fried Meulders
  7. Italy Patrizio Golia
  8. Germany Marc Vogt

Pro Tour – Kuala Lumpur (15–17 February 2008)

Jon Finkel of the US won Kuala Lumpur, becoming the first Hall of Fame member to do so after his induction. The top eight is considered to be one of the best ever, with the players having a total of six Pro Tour wins between them prior to Kuala Lumpur.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 346
Format: Booster Draft (Lorwyn-Morningtide)
Head Judge: Toby Elliott[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Nicolai Herzog 2
8 Marcio Carvalho 3
Marico Carvalho 1
Jon Finkel 3
5 Jon Finkel 3
4 Guillaume Wafo-Tapa 0
Jon Finkel 3
Mario Pascoli 1
2 Mario Pascoli 3
7 Mike Hron 0
Mario Pascoli 3
Ming Xu 2
3 Ming Xu 3
6 Joel Calafell 1

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 United States Jon Finkel $40,000 25 12th Final day, 3rd Pro Tour win
2 Italy Mario Pascoli $20,000 20
3 Portugal Marcio Carvalho $15,000 16 2nd Final day
4 China Ming Xu $13,000 16 1st Chinese Player in a Top 8, Pro Tour debut
5 France Guillaume Wafo-Tapa $11,000 12 2nd Final day
6 United States Mike Hron $10,500 12 2nd Final day
7 Spain Joel Calafell $10,000 12
8 Norway Nicolai Herzog $9,500 12 5th Final day

Grand Prixs – Vancouver, Shizuoka, Vienna, Philadelphia, Brussels

GP Vancouver (23–24 February)
  • Format: Extended
  • Attendance: 395
  1. United States Paul Cheon
  2. United States Ben Lundquist
  3. Canada Marc Bonnefoy
  4. United States Zack Hall
  5. Canada Jason Fleurant
  6. United States Michael Guerney
  7. Canada Aaron Paquette
  8. Hunter Coale
GP Philadelphia (15–16 March)
  • Format: Extended
  • Attendance: 969
  1. United States Gerard Fabiano
  2. United States Adam Yurchick
  3. United States Luis Scott-Vargas
  4. United States Tyler Mantey
  5. Lebanon Paul Mathews
  6. United States Ben Wienburg
  7. United States Matt Hansen
  8. United States Jonathan Sonne
GP Shizuoka (8–9 March)
  • Format: Standard
  • Attendance: 827
  1. Japan Yuuta Takahashi
  2. France Olivier Ruel
  3. Japan Kenji Tsumura
  4. Japan Ryousuke Masuno
  5. Japan Kazuya Mitamura
  6. Japan Shintarou Ishimura
  7. Japan Taichi Fujimoto
  8. Japan Akira Asahara
GP Brussels (3–4 May)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 1430
  1. Netherlands Kamiel Cornelissen
  2. France Gabriel Nassif
  3. France Raphaël Lévy
  4. France Antoine Ruel
  5. France Gaetan Lefebvre
  6. Netherlands Rogier Kleij
  7. Germany Holger Lange
  8. France Alexandre Peset
GP Vienna (15–16 March)
  • Format: Extended
  • Attendance: 1154
  1. Poland Mateusz Kopec
  2. Austria Nikolaus Eigner
  3. Croatia Matija Vlahovic
  4. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  5. Italy Gianluca Bevere
  6. Austria Horst Winkelmann
  7. Poland Wojciech Zuber
  8. Hungary Andras Nagy

Pro Tour Hollywood (23–25 May 2008)

Charles Gindy became the second American to win a Pro Tour in the 2008 season. Playing a green-black elf/rock deck, he defeated Germany's Jan Ruess, playing merfolk, in the finals.[3]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 371
Format: Standard
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Shuhei Nakamura 3
8 Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2
Shuhei Nakamura 1
Jan Ruess 3
5 Jan Ruess 3
4 Makihito Mihara 2
Jan Ruess 0
Charles Gindy 3
2 Nico Bohny 2
7 Charles Gindy 3
Charles Gindy 3
Yong Han Choo 2
3 Marijn Lybaert 0
6 Yong Han Choo 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 United States Charles Gindy $40,000 25
2 Germany Jan Ruess $20,000 20
3 Japan Shuhei Nakamura $15,000 16 5th Final day
4 Singapore Yong Han Choo $13,000 16
5 Switzerland Nico Bohny $11,000 12
6 Japan Makihito Mihara $10,500 12 3rd Final day
7 Belgium Marijn Lybaert $10,000 12 2nd Final day
8 Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa $9,500 12 3rd Final day

Grand Prixs – Birmingham, Indianapolis, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Kobe, Denver, Copenhagen, Manila, Rimini, Kansas City, Paris

GP Birmingham (30 May – 1 June)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 581
  1. Hong Kong Lee Shi Tian
  2. France Remi Fortier
  3. France Raphaël Lévy
  4. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma
  5. Finland Antti Malin
  6. Switzerland Matthias Künzler
  7. Switzerland Manuel Bucher
  8. England Jonathan Randle
GP Summer Series Indianapolis (21–22 June)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 1124
  1. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma
  2. Lithuania Gaudenis Vidugiris
  3. United States Jamie Parke
  4. United States Tyler Mantey
  5. United States James Beltz
  6. United States Eric Franklin
  7. United States Randy Wright
  8. United States Ben Rasmussen
GP Summer Series Buenos Aires (28–29 June)
  • Format: Standard
  • Attendance: 580
  1. Brazil Francisco Braga
  2. Brazil Felipe Alves Pellegrini
  3. Brazil Adrien Degaspare
  4. Argentina Damian Buckley
  5. Brazil Ivan Taroshi Fox
  6. France Olivier Ruel
  7. Argentina Nicolas Bevacqua
  8. Argentina Sebastian Pozzo

GP Summer Series Madrid (26–27 July)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 1465
  1. Denmark Lasse Nørgaard
  2. Spain Daniel Martin Bermejo
  3. Switzerland Manuel Bucher
  4. France Romain Fenaux-briot
  5. Denmark Allan Christensen
  6. Spain Sergio Salas Martinez
  7. Switzerland Tommi Lindgren
  8. Norway Geir Bakke
GP Summer Series Kobe (2–3 August)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 811
  1. Japan Yuuta Takahashi
  2. Japan Takayuki Takagi
  3. Japan Masaya Tanahashi
  4. Japan Shou Yoshimori
  5. Japan Hirosi Yosida
  6. Japan Katsuya Ueda
  7. Japan Koutarou Ootsuka
  8. Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda
GP Summer Series Denver (9–10 August)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 625
  1. United States Gerry Thompson
  2. United States Lee Steht
  3. United States Nathan Elkins
  4. Kenneth Castor
  5. United States A.J. Sacher
  6. United States Kyle Bundgaard
  7. United States Antonino De Rosa
  8. United States Hunter Burton

GP Summer Series Copenhagen (23–24 August)
  • Format: Standard
  • Attendance: 610
  1. Sweden David Larsson
  2. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  3. Czech Republic Jakub Jahoda
  4. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  5. France Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
  6. Italy William Cavaglieri
  7. Austria Philipp Summereder
  8. Netherlands Robert Van Meedevort
GP Summer Series Manila (30–31 August)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 641
  1. Japan Hironobu Sugaya
  2. Japan Shouta Yasooka
  3. Philippines Luis Magisa
  4. Japan Shingou Kurihara
  5. Japan Masami Kaneko
  6. Japan Koutarou Ootsuka
  7. France Raphaël Lévy
  8. Malaysia Wai Keat Ken Lim

GP Rimini (13–14 September)
  • Format: Block Constructed
  • Attendance: 686
  1. Italy Emanuele Giusti
  2. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  3. Italy Claudio Salemi
  4. Italy Marcello Calvetto
  5. Switzerland Matthias Künzler
  6. Spain Rodrigo Renedo
  7. Spain Joel Calafell
  8. Czech Republic Petr Nahodil

GP Paris (18–19 October)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attedance: 1838
  1. Netherlands Arjan van Leeuwen
  2. Belgium Pierre Rensonnet
  3. Netherlands Menno Dolstra
  4. Germany Simon Görtzen
  5. Netherlands Niels Noorlander
  6. France Romain Lisciandro
  7. Poland Artur Cnotalski
  8. Belgium Jan De Coster
GP Kansas City (18–19 October)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 746
  1. United States Tim Landale
  2. Brazil Carlos Romão
  3. United States Jonathan Sonne
  4. United States Sammy Batarseh
  5. United States Brandon Scheel
  6. United States Justin Meyer
  7. United States Chris Pait
  8. Brazil Willy Edel

Pro Tour Berlin (31 October – 2 November 2008)

Luis Scott-Vargas of the US, defeated Matej Zatlkaj in the finals of Pro Tour Berlin. Six of the eight quarter finalists, including all four semi-finalists, played variants on the Elf-Ball combo deck.[4]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 454
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Kenny Öberg 2
8 Luis Scott-Vargas 3
Luis Scott-Vargas 3
Tomoharu Saitou 2
5 Tomoharu Saitou 3
4 Jan Doise 1
Luis Scott-Vargas 3
Matej Zatlkaj 0
2 Martin Juza 2
7 Sebastian Thaler 3
Sebastian Thaler 1
Matej Zatlkaj 3
3 Denis Sinner 2
6 Matej Zatlkaj 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 United States Luis Scott-Vargas $40,000 25
2 Slovakia Matej Zatlkaj $20,000 20
3 Japan Tomoharu Saitou $15,000 16 5th Final day
4 Germany Sebastian Thaler $13,000 16 2nd Final day
5 Sweden Kenny Öberg $11,000 12
6 Czech Republic Martin Juza $10,500 12
7 Germany Denis Sinner $10,000 12
8 Belgium Jan Doise $9,500 12

Grand Prixs – Atlanta, Okoyama, Taipei, Auckland

GP Atlanta (15–16 November)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 684
  1. United States Luis Scott-Vargas
  2. United States Gerry Thompson
  3. United States Chris Fennell
  4. United States Steven Wolansky
  5. United States Brett Piazza
  6. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  7. United States Chris Pait
  8. United States Ken Adams
GP Taipei (29–30 November)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 270
  1. Japan Shu Komuro
  2. Japan Yoshitaka Nakano
  3. Japan Osamu Fujita
  4. Taiwan Homg Gi Tsai
  5. Taiwan Tun Min Huang
  6. Taiwan Sheng Xiu Jian
  7. Hong Kong Lee Shi Tian
  8. Taiwan Kang Nien Chiang
GP Okoyama (22–23 November)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 635
  1. Japan Makihito Mihara
  2. Japan Kazuya Mitamura
  3. Japan Chikara Nakajima
  4. Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda
  5. Japan Daisuke Muramatsu
  6. France Olivier Ruel
  7. Japan Akimasa Yamamoto
  8. France Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
GP Auckland (6–7 December)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 254
  1. Australia Dominic Lo
  2. New Zealand Nick Tung
  3. Australia Justin Cheung
  4. New Zealand Jason Chung
  5. France Olivier Ruel
  6. United States Joseph Combs
  7. Australia Basam Tabet
  8. New Zealand Chris Hay

2008 World Championships – Memphis (11–14 December 2008)

The World Championships began with the induction of Dirk Baberowski, Michael Turian, Jelger Wiegersma, Olivier Ruel, and Ben Rubin, into the Hall of Fame. In the individual competition, Antti Malin of Finland emerged as the World Champion from a top eight including only one player without a prior Sunday appearance. In the team competition, it was the first time that the top four teams would play on Sunday, as opposed to only the top two. The US team defeated Australia in the finals.[5]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $245,245 (individual) + $192,425 (national teams)
Players: 329
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Shards of Alara), Extended
Head Judge: Toby Elliott[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2
8 Jamie Parke 3
Jamie Parke 3
Tsuyoshi Ikeda 0
5 Frank Karsten 0
4 Tsuyoshi Ikeda 3
Jamie Parke 1
Antti Malin 3
2 Antti Malin 3
7 Akira Asahara 1
Antti Malin 3
Hannes Kerem 2
3 Kenji Tsumura 2
6 Hannes Kerem 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Finland Antti Malin $45,000 25 2nd Final day
2 United States Jamie Parke $24,000 20 2nd Final day
3 Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda $15,000 16 3rd Final day
4 Estonia Hannes Kerem $14,000 16 1st player from Estonia to Top Eight
5 Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa $11,000 12 4th Final day
6 Japan Kenji Tsumura $10,500 12 6th Final day
7 Netherlands Frank Karsten $10,000 12 3rd Final day
8 Japan Akira Asahara $9,500 12 2nd Final day

National team competition

  1. United States United States (Michael Jacob, Paul Cheon, Sam Black)
  2. Australia Australia (Aaron Nicastri, Brandon Lau, Justin Cheung)
  3. Brazil Brazil (Willy Edel, Vagner Casatti, Luiz Guilherme de Michielli)
  4. Japan Japan (Masashi Oiso, Yuuya Watanabe, Akihiro Takakuwa)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship, Shuhei Nakamura was awarded the Pro Player of the year title, making Japan the first country to win the title in four consecutive years.[6]

Rank Player Pro Points
1 Japan Shuhei Nakamura 70
2 France Olivier Ruel 58
United States Luis Scott-Vargas
4 Portugal Marcio Carvalho 50
Japan Tomoharu Saitou

Performance by country

Japan had the most Top 8 appearances at 6 although they had less than half as many players on the Pro Tour in the season than the United States, which had the secondmost Top 8 appearances at 5.

Country T8 Q Q/T8 M GT Best Player (PPts)
Japan Japan 6 154 26 155.5 19 Shuhei Nakamura (70)
United States United States 5 347 69 196.5 16 Luis Scott-Vargas (58)
Germany Germany 3 74 25 208 3 Jan Ruess (35)
Belgium Belgium 2 30 15 158.5 3 Marijn Lybaert (33)
Brazil Brazil 2 28 14 185.5 4 Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (42)
France France 1 90 90 183.5 6 Olivier Ruel (58)
Italy Italy 1 74 74 230 3 Mario Pascoli (40)
Spain Spain 1 53 53 224 1 Joel Calafell (33)

T8 = Number of players from that country appearing in a Pro Tour Top 8; Q = Number of players from that country participating in Pro Tours; M = Median finish over all PTs; GT = Gravy Trainers (aka players with a Pro Players Club level of 4 or more) from that country created in the 2009 season; Best Player (PPts) = Player with the most Pro Points from that country, Pro Points of that player in brackets.

References

  1. ↑ "The Magic is Back!". Wizards of the Coast. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  3. ↑ "Gindy Puts Name in Lights". Wizards of the Coast. 25 May 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "LSV + ELVES Equals Champion". Wizards of the Coast. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "Malin, Team USA Crowned Kings of Magic". Wizards of the Coast. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "2008 Player of the Year Race". Wizards of the Coast. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
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