Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2009

2009 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the Year Japan Yuuya Watanabe
Rookie of the Year Germany Lino Burgold
World Champion Portugal André Coimbra
Pro Tours 4
Grands Prix 19
Hall of Fame inductions Antoine Ruel
Kamiel Cornelissen
Frank Karsten
Start of season 17 January 2009
End of season 22 November 2009
← 2008 2010 →

The 2009 Pro Tour season was the fourteenth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 17 January 2009 with Grand Prix Los Angeles, and ended on 22 November 2009 with the conclusion of the 2009 World Championship in Rome. The season consisted of nineteen Grand Prixs, and four Pro Tours, located in Kyoto, Honolulu, Austin, and Rome.[1] At the end of the season, Yuuya Watanabe was awarded the Pro Player of the Year, making him the first player to win both that title and the Rookie of the Year title which he had won two years prior.[2] Frank Karsten, Kamiel Cornelissen, and Antoine Ruel were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the world championships in Rome.[3]

Mode

Four Pro Tours and nineteen Grand Prixs will be held in the 2009 season. Further Pro Points will be awarded at national championships. These Pro Points will be used mainly to determine the Pro Player club levels of players participating in these events, but also decide which player will be awarded the Pro Player of the year title at the end of the season. Based on final standings Pro Points were awarded as follows:[4]

Rank Pro Points awarded at
Pro Tour Grand Prix Nationals Worlds (Team)
1 25 10 10 6
2 20 8 8 5
3–4 16 6 6 4
5–8 12 5 4 3
9–12 8 4 2 2
13–16 8 3 1 1
17–24 7 2
25–32 6 2
33–64 5 1
65–100 4
101–200 3
201+ 2

Grand Prix – Los Angeles, Rotterdam

GP Los Angeles (17–18 January)
  • Attendance: 834
  • Format: Extended
  1. United States Luis Scott-Vargas
  2. United States Brett Piazza
  3. Panama Saul Alvarado
  4. United States Mat Marr
  5. United States Michael Jacob
  6. United States Carl Hendrix
  7. United States Mark Herberholz
  8. United States Asher Hecht
GP Rotterdam (21–22 February)
  • Attendance: 1227
  • Format: Limited
  1. Netherlands Arjan van Leeuwen
  2. Netherlands Robert van Meedevort
  3. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  4. Germany Alex Fanghänel
  5. Germany Aaron Brackmann
  6. Czech Republic Michal Hebky
  7. Czech Republic Tomas Langer
  8. Germany Reinhold Kohl

Pro Tour – Kyoto (27 February – 1 March 2009)

Pro Tour veteran Gabriel Nassif defeated Luis Scott-Vargas in the finals of Pro Tour Kyoto, giving him his first individual title in his ninth Top 8.[5]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 381
Format: Standard, Booster Draft
Head Judge: Riccardo Tessitori[6]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Luis Scott-Vargas 3
8 Masayasu Tanahashi 0
Luis Scott-Vargas 3
Brian Robinson 1
5 Cedric Philips 0
4 Brian Robinson 3
Luis Scott-Vargas 2
Gabriel Nassif 3
2 Matteo Orsini Jones 2
7 Gabriel Nassif 3
Gabriel Nassif 3
Akimasa Yamamoto 1
3 Akimasa Yamamoto 3
6 Jan Ruess 2

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 France Gabriel Nassif $40,000 25 9th Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win
2 United States Luis Scott-Vargas $20,000 20 2nd Final day
3 Japan Akimasa Yamamoto $15,000 16
4 United States Brian Robinson $13,000 16 Pro Tour debut
5 England Matteo Orsini-Jones $11,000 12
6 United States Cedric Philips $10,500 12
7 Germany Jan Ruess $10,000 12 2nd Final day
8 Japan Masayu Tanahashi $9,500 12

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank Player Pro Points
1 United States Luis Scott-Vargas 30
2 France Gabriel Nassif 29
3 United States Brian Robinson 16
Japan Akimasa Yamamoto 16
5 Czech Republic Martin Juza 14

Grand Prixs – Chicago, Hanover, Singapore, Kobe, Barcelona, Seattle

GP Chicago (7–8 March)
  • Attendance: 1230
  • Format: Legacy
  1. France Gabriel Nassif
  2. United States Andrew Probasco
  3. United States Paul Rietzl
  4. United States James Mink
  5. United States Brian Kowal
  6. United States Tommy Kolowith
  7. Canada David Caplan
  8. United States Brian Six
GP Kobe (18–19 April)
  • Attendance: 545
  • Format: Extended
  1. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  2. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
  3. Taiwan Kuo Tzu-Ching
  4. Japan Kentarou Yamamoto
  5. Japan Katsuya Ueda
  6. Japan Keiichi Kondou
  7. Japan Kenji Hamamoto
  8. Japan Ryouma Shiozu
GP Hanover (13–14 March)
  • Attendance: 925
  • Format: Extended
  1. Germany Lino Burgold
  2. United States Gaudenis Vidugiris
  3. Czech Republic Lukas Kraft
  4. Austria Karim Bauer
  5. Sweden Kenny Öberg
  6. Belgium Pascal Vieren
  7. Austria Helmut Summersberger
  8. Czech Republic Ondra Posolda
GP Barcelona (23–24 May)
  • Attendance: 1495
  • Format: Standard
  1. Spain Joel Calafell
  2. Italy Riccardo Neri
  3. Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
  4. United States Samuel Black
  5. Netherlands Hugo De Jong
  6. Republic of Ireland Sean Og Murphy
  7. Portugal Ricardo Venancio
  8. Greece George Paraskuopoulos
GP Singapore (21–22 March)
  • Attendance: 370
  • Format: Extended
  1. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  2. Japan Masaya Kitayama
  3. Singapore Chin Heng Tan
  4. Japan Yuuta Takahashi
  5. Singapore Yong Han Choo
  6. Taiwan Liang Chen
  7. United States Samuel Black
  8. Taiwan Kuo Tzu-Ching
GP Seattle (30–31 May)
  • Attendance: 1127
  • Format: Standard
  1. France Yann Massicard
  2. United States Benjamin Lundquist
  3. Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
  4. United States Charles Gendron Dupont
  5. United States Luis Scott-Vargas
  6. Russia Nicolay Potovin
  7. United States Michael Jacob
  8. United States Ari Lax

Pro Tour Honolulu (5–7 June 2009)

In his second Pro Tour finals appearance, Kazuya Mitamura defeated Pro Tour newcomer Michal Hebky.[7]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 396
Format: Booster Draft, Block Constructed
Head Judge: Toby Elliot[8]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Christophe Gregoir 1
8 Kazuya Mitamura 3
Kazuya Mitamura 3
Paul Rietzl 0
5 Paul Rietzl 3
4 Tom Ross 2
Kazuya Mitamura 3
Michal Hebky 2
2 Brian Kibler 1
7 Conley Woods 3
Conley Woods 2
Michal Hebky 3
3 Zac Hill 2
6 Michal Hebky 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Japan Kazuya Mitamura $40,000 25 3rd Final day
2 Czech Republic Michael Hebky $20,000 20
3 United States Paul Rietzl $15,000 16
4 United States Conley Woods $13,000 16
5 Belgium Christophe Gregoir $11,000 12
6 United States Zac Hill $10,500 12
7 United States Brian Kibler $10,000 12 2nd Final day
8 United States Tom Ross $9,500 12

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank Player Pro Points
1 United States Luis Scott-Vargas 45
2 France Gabriel Nassif 44
3 Japan Tomoharu Saitou 36
4 Japan Kazuya Mitamura 32
5 Czech Republic Michal Hebky 27

Grand Prixs – Sao Paulo, Boston, Brighton, Bangkok, Niigata, Prague, Melbourne

GP São Paulo (13–14 June)
  • Attendance: 639
  • Format: Standard
  1. Brazil Daniel Almeida Alvez
  2. Argentina Andres Monsalve
  3. Brazil Guilherme Vieira
  4. Brazil Wendell Santini
  5. Brazil Allison Abe
  6. Brazil Diego Crusius
  7. Chile Juan Veliz
  8. Brazil Daniel Frias
GP Bangkok (22–23 August)
  • Attendance: 414
  • Format: Limited
  1. Japan Shingou Kurihara
  2. Czech Republic Martin Juza
  3. Japan Koutarou Ootsuka
  4. England Matteo Orsini Jones
  5. Netherlands Ruud Warmenhoven
  6. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
  7. Singapore Ryan Luo
  8. China Zhiyang Zhang
GP Melbourne (10–11 October)
  • Attendance: 416
  • Format: Limited
  1. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
  2. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  3. Malaysia Marcus Teo
  4. Australia Shane Daliston
  5. Australia Brett Hughes
  6. Australia Jacky Zhang
  7. Australia Joel Piotto
  8. Australia Steven Aplin
GP Boston (1–2 August)
  • Attendance: 1503
  • Format: Limited
  1. United States Marlon Egolf
  2. United States Ben Stark
  3. United States David Feinstein
  4. United States Jason Lundberg
  5. United States Jonathan Pearlman
  6. United States Brian Lynch
  7. United States Bradley Wojceshonek
  8. United States Zach Efland
GP Niigata (29–30 August)
  • Attendance: 722
  • Format: Limited
  1. Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda
  2. Japan Shingou Kurihara
  3. Japan Ren Ishikawa
  4. Japan Hajime Nakamura
  5. Japan Sho Ishikawa
  6. Japan Takaya Saitou
  7. United States Gaudenis Vidugiris
  8. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
GP Brighton (8–9 August)
  • Attendance: 760
  • Format: Limited
  1. France Olivier Ruel
  2. Czech Republic Martin Juza
  3. Belgium Dennis Stone
  4. Belgium Mark Dictus
  5. Netherlands Kevin Grove
  6. Belgium Robbert Menten
  7. Germany Reinhold Kohl
  8. Scotland Joseph Jackson
GP Prague (5–6 September)
  • Attendance: 1541
  • Format: Limited
  1. Germany Jan Schmidt
  2. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
  3. Slovenia Bojan Zunko
  4. Croatia Ognjen Cividini
  5. Germany Julien De Graat
  6. Czech Republic Lukas Vozdecky
  7. Slovakia Marcel Kondrk
  8. Poland Radek Kaczmarczyk

Pro Tour Austin (16–18 October 2009)

Both enjoying a comeback to the top level of Magic, Brian Kibler and Tsuyoshi Ikeda met in the finals, with Kibler winning in his second top eight in 2009.[9]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $230,795
Players: 416[10]
Format: Extended, Booster Draft
Head Judge: Riccardo Tessitori[10]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Tsuyoshi Ikeda 3
8 Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2
Tsuyoshi Ikeda 3
Naoki Shimizu 1
5 Martin Juza 2
4 Naoki Shimizu 3
Tsuyoshi Ikeda 0
Brian Kibler 3
2 Evangelos Papatrarouchas 2
7 Brian Kibler 3
Brian Kibler 3
Hunter Burton 2
3 Yuuya Watanabe 2
6 Hunter Burton 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 United States Brian Kibler $40,000 25 3rd Final day
2 Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda $20,000 20 4th Final day
3 Japan Naoki Shimizu $15,000 16
4 United States Hunter Burton $13,000 16
5 Greece Evangelos Papatrarouchas $11,000 12
6 Japan Yuuya Watanabe $10,500 12
7 Czech Republic Martin Juza $10,000 12 2nd Final day
8 Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa $9,500 12 5th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank Player Pro Points
1 Japan Yuuya Watanabe 62
2 Czech Republic Martin Juza 54
3 Japan Tomoharu Saitou 51
4 France Gabriel Nassif 50
5 Japan Shuhei Nakamura 48
United States Luis Scott-Vargas 48

Grand Prixs – Tampa, Kitakyushu, Paris, Minneapolis

GP Tampa (24–25 October)
  • Attendance: 834
  • Format: Limited
  1. United States Gaudenis Vidugiris
  2. United States Conley Woods
  3. United States John Skinner
  4. United States John May
  5. France Gabriel Nassif
  6. United States Alex Majlaton
  7. United States Tom Ross
  8. Czech Republic Martin Juza
GP Minneapolis (14–15 November)
  • Attendance: 1187
  • Format: Limited
  1. United States Zohar Bhagat
  2. United States Matthew Sperling
  3. United States Brian Kibler
  4. United States Brad Nelson
  5. United States Owen Turtenwald
  6. United States David Ochoa
  7. United States Mike Gualtieri
  8. United States Tom Ross
GP Kitakyushu (31 October–1 November)
  • Attendance: 501
  • Format: Limited
  1. Japan Taisuke Ishii
  2. Japan Masashi Oiso
  3. Japan Jun'ya Iyanaga
  4. Japan Ken Yukuhiro
  5. Japan Yuuya Watanabe
  6. Japan Katsuhiro Mori
  7. Japan Takeshi Takagi
  8. Japan Hironobu Sugaya
GP Paris (7–8 November)
  • Attendance: 1961
  • Format: Limited
  1. Germany Adrian Rosada
  2. Germany Danny Ecker
  3. Germany Lino Burgold
  4. Belgium Niels Viaene
  5. Austria Herbert Engleitner
  6. Germany Bernd Brendemühl
  7. France Jérémy Dezani
  8. France Gonzague Allouchery

2009 World Championships – Rome (19–22 November 2009)

The 2009 World Championship marked several firsts in Pro Tour history. For the first time ever, eight different countries were represented in the quarterfinals, and there were no American or Japanese players in the top eight. Playing in his second Worlds top eight, André Coimbra of Portugal defeated Austrian David Reitbauer to become World Champion. In the team event, Austria finished second as well, losing to the Chinese team in the final.[11]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $245,245 (individual) + $192,425 (teams)
Players: 409 (55 National teams)
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft, Extended
Team Formats: Standard, Extended, Legacy
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery[12]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 David Reitbauer 3
8 Florian Pils 0
David Reitbauer 3
Terry Soh 2
5 Terry Soh 3
4 Manuel Bucher 2
David Reitbauer 0
André Coimbra 3
2 William Cavaglieri 2
7 Bram Snepvangers 3
Bram Snepvangers 2
André Coimbra 3
3 André Coimbra 3
6 Marijn Lybaert 1

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Portugal André Coimbra $45,000 25 2nd Final day, first Portuguese player to win a Pro Tour
2 Austria David Reitbauer $24,000 20
3 Malaysia Terry Soh $15,000 16 3rd Final day
4 Netherlands Bram Snepvangers $14,000 16 4th Final day
5 Italy William Cavaglieri $11,000 12
6 Switzerland Manuel Bucher $10,500 12
7 Belgium Marijn Lybaert $10,000 12 3rd Final day
8 Germany Florian Pils $9,500 12

National team competition

  1. China China (Wu Tong, Bo Lin, Zhiyang Zhang)
  2. Austria Austria (Benedikt Klauser, Benjamin Rozhon, Bernhard Lehner)
  3. Czech Republic Czech Republic (Lukas Jaklovsky, Lukas Blohon, Jan Kotrla)
  4. Netherlands Netherlands (Kevin Grove, Niels Noorlander, Tom van Lamoen)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship, Yuuya Watanabe was awarded the Pro Player of the year title, making him the fifth consecutive Japanese player to win the award.[2]

Rank Player Pro Points
1 Japan Yuuya Watanabe 78
2 Japan Tomoharu Saitou 66
3 Czech Republic Martin Juza 64
4 France Gabriel Nassif 60
5 Japan Shuhei Nakamura 56
Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 56
7 United States Luis Scott-Vargas 52
8 Japan Kazuya Mitamura 50

Performance by country

The United States had the most Top 8 appearances at ten, but they also had by far the most players playing in the Pro Tour. With Japan at 17 they share the highest number of level 4+ professional Magic players, too.

Country T8 Q Q/T8 M GT Best Player (PPts)
United States United States 10 426 43 208 17 Luis Scott-Vargas (52)
Japan Japan 6 175 29 149 17 Yuuya Watanabe (78)
Germany Germany 2 73 37 168 5 Lino Burgold (32)
Belgium Belgium 2 34 17 191 4 Marijn Lybaert (25)
Czech Republic Czech Republic 2 35 18 113 3 Martin Juza (64)
France France 1 81 81 198 5 Gabriel Nassif (60)
Brazil Brazil 1 39 39 196 2 Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (56)
Italy Italy 1 73 73 248 2 Riccardo Neri (24)

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. ↑ "Tournaments and Events Schedule". Wizards of the Coast. 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 "2009 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  3. ↑ David-Marshall, Brian (7 August 2009). "2009 Pro Tour Hall of Fame Class". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Magic: The Gathering Pro Points Structure". Wizards of the Coast. 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Nassif: The Greater Power". Wizards of the Coast. 1 March 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "Photo Essay: The View from Kyoto". Wizards of the Coast. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  7. ↑ "Mitamura Finds Gold in Paradise". Wizards of the Coast. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Friday, June 5, 5:38 pm – What Makes a Judge Dance?". Wizards of the Coast. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  9. ↑ "Kibler Completes Comeback with Austin Victory". Wizards of the Coast. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  10. 1 2 Hagon, Rich (16 October 2009). "Pro Tour–Austin Feature: Anatomy of a Round". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "All Roads Lead to Victory for Coimbra, China". Wizards of the Coast. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  12. ↑ "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
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