Magic:_The_Gathering_Pro_Tour_season_1999-00
The 1999–2000 Pro Tour season was the fifth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 3 September 1999 with Pro Tour Boston and ended on 6 August 2000 with the conclusion of 2000 World Championship in Brussels. The season consisted of twenty Grand Prixs, and six Pro Tours, located in Washington D.C., London, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Brussels. At the end of the season Bob Maher, Jr. was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.
| Pro Player of the Year |  Bob Maher, Jr. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Brian Davis | ||
| World Champion | Jon Finkel | ||
| Pro Tours | 6 | ||
| Grands Prix | 20 | ||
| Start of season | 3 September 1999 | ||
| End of season | 6 August 2000 | ||
| |||
Six Pro Tours and 20 Grand Prix were held in the 1999–2000 season. Based on final standings Pro Points were awarded as follows:[1]
| Rank | Pro Points awarded at | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Tour (individual) |
Pro Tour (teams) |
Grand Prix (individual) |
Grand Prix (teams) |
Worlds (team) | |
| 1 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 3–4 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 5–8 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 9–12 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 13–16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | — |
| 17–24 | 7 | 4 | 1 | — | — |
| 25–32 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| 33–48 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 49–64 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 65–128 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 129+ | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
Washington D.C. was the first team Pro Tour. In a high-profile Top 8 featuring six players who were later inducted into the Hall of Fame, team Your Move Games (YMG) came out on top. YMG consisted of Dave Humpherys, Rob Dougherty, and Darwin Kastle, all eventual members of the Hall of Fame.[2]
Tournament data
Players: 243 (81 teams)
Prize Pool: $100,230[3]
Format: Urza's Saga Team Sealed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, Urza's Destiny) – first day, Urza's Saga Team Rochester Draft (Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny) – final two days
Head Judge: Mike Guptil[4]
Top 8
| Semifinals | Semi-finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Game Empire | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | THL | ||||||||
| Game Empire | |||||||||
| Your Move Games | 2 | ||||||||
| 2 | Your Move Games | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Antarctica | ||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Team | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your Move Games | Rob Dougherty |
$30,000 | 24 | 2nd Final day |
| Dave Humpherys |
24 | 2nd Final day | |||
| Darwin Kastle |
24 | 4th Final day | |||
| 2 | Game Empire | Kurt Burgner |
$15,000 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| Alan Comer |
12 | 3rd Final day | |||
| Brian Selden |
12 | 2nd Final day | |||
| 3 | Antarctica | Jon Finkel |
$9,000 | 10 | 6th Final day |
| Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz |
10 | 3rd Final day | |||
| Daniel O'Mahoney-Schwartz |
10 | ||||
| 4 | THL | Marc Aquino |
$7,500 | 10 | |
| Richard Jones |
10 | ||||
| Drew McLean |
10 |
|
|
|
Kyle Rose won Pro Tour London, defeating Austrian Thomas Preyer in the finals.[5] Darwin Kastle's back to back Top 8 appearances in Washington and London brought him to five final day appearance in his career.[2]
Tournament data
Players: 310[6]
Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Urza's Saga Booster Draft (Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny)
Head Judge: Carl Crook[4]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Mike Bregoli | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Darwin Kastle | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Mike Bregoli | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Kyle Rose | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Kyle Rose | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | William Jensen | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Kyle Rose | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Thomas Preyer | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Gunnar Refsdahl | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Thomas Preyer | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Thomas Preyer | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ben Rubin | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Marc Hernandez | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Ben Rubin | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Rose |
$25,000 | 32 | 3rd Final day |
| 2 |  Thomas Preyer |
$15,000 | 24 | |
| 3 | Mike Bregoli |
$10,000 | 16 | |
| 4 | Ben Rubin |
$8,000 | 16 | 3rd Final day |
| 5 |  Gunnar Refsdal |
$6,500 | 12 | |
| 6 | William Jensen |
$5,500 | 12 | |
| 7 |  Marc Hernandez |
$4,800 | 12 | |
| 8 | Darwin Kastle |
$4,300 | 12 | 5th Final day |
|
|
|
Bob Maher, Jr. won Pro Tour Chicago playing a blue-green-white control deck. He defeated Brian Davis in the finals 3–2. First time Pro Tour attendant Davis reportedly played so horribly, that around spectators the joke went, that Davis was the first to have played 5–0 in the finals and lost, referring to their perception that he could and should have won every single game.[2]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 344
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Nat Fairbanks[4]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Christian Lührs | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Hector Fuentes | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Christian Lührs | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Bob Maher, Jr. | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Bob Maher, Jr. | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Dirk Baberowski | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Bob Maher, Jr. | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Brian Davis | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Brian Davis | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tony Dobson | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Brian Davis | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Raphaël Lévy | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Raphaël Lévy | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Alan Comer | 0 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Maher, Jr. |
$25,000 | 32 | |
| 2 | Brian Davis |
$15,000 | 24 | Pro Tour debut |
| 3 | Christian Lührs |
$10,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 4 | Raphaël Lévy |
$8,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 5 | Alan Comer |
$6,500 | 12 | 4th Final day |
| 6 | Dirk Baberowski |
$5,500 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 7 |  Tony Dobson |
$4,800 | 12 | |
| 8 |  Hector Fuentes |
$4,300 | 12 | 1st Spaniard in a Top 8 |
|
|
|
Trevor Blackwell defeated Chris Benafel in the finals to become Pro Tour Los Angeles champion.[2]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 337
Format: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft (Mercadian Masques)
Head Judge: Dan Gray[4]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Kurt Burgner | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Brian Selden | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Kurt Burgner | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Trevor Blackwell | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Trevor Blackwell | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Andrew Nishioka | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Trevor Blackwell | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Chris Benafel | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Bruce Cowley | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Mike Long | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Mike Long | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Chris Benafel | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Erno Ekebom | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Chris Benafel | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trevor Blackwell |
$25,000 | 32 | |
| 2 | Chris Benafel |
$15,000 | 24 | |
| 3 | Kurt Burgner |
$10,000 | 16 | 3rd Final day |
| 4 | Mike Long |
$8,000 | 16 | 4th Final day |
| 5 |  Erno Ekebom |
$6,500 | 12 | |
| 6 | Bruce Cowley |
$5,500 | 12 | |
| 7 | Andrew Nishioka |
$4,800 | 12 | |
| 8 | Brian Selden |
$4,300 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
|
|
|
1. Black Ops
2. New Wave
3. Legion of Rabbits
4. The Tightans
|
|
1. III Heroes
2. Hammer of Brno
3. Trash A
4. Absolute Samuels
|
|
Sigurd Eskeland won Pro Tour New York, defeating Warren Marsh in the finals.[2] Eskeland played a blue control-deck with the centerpiece of the deck being Rising Waters.[7] His opponent played the deck most present at this tournament, Rebels.[8] PT New York is considered to be the first time where there was a dominant deck at a Pro Tour, the deck did not win the tournament.
43% of the players entering the tournament had chosen rebel decks. On the second day of the tournament rebels were even more present, comprising and unprecedented 57% of the field. These numbers were again topped by the final eight where six of eight decks were rebel decks.[9] In contrast the winning Rising Waters deck comprised only 8.4% of the field on day one and 14.5% on day two. In the top eight the two non-rebel decks were both Rising Waters decks. Rising Waters on both days had the highest winning percentage of all decks played with 60% on day one and 53.8% on day two.[10]
Tournament data
Players: 310
Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Mercadian Masques Block Constructed (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis)
Location: New York State Armory
Head Judge: Cyril Grillon[4]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | John Larkin | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Mattias Kettil | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Mattias Kettil | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Sigurd Eskeland | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Sigurd Eskeland | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Travis Turning | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Sigurd Eskeland | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Warren Marsh | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Mike Bregoli | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Warren Marsh | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Warren Marsh | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ben Rubin | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | John Hunka | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Ben Rubin | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sigurd Eskeland |
$25,000 | 32 | 1st Norwegian to win a Pro Tour |
| 2 | Warren Marsh |
$15,000 | 24 | |
| 3 | Ben Rubin |
$10,000 | 16 | 4th Final day |
| 4 |  Mattias Kettil |
$8,000 | 16 | |
| 5 |  John Larkin |
$6,500 | 12 | 1st Irish Player in a Top 8 |
| 6 | Mike Bregoli |
$5,500 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 7 | Travis Turning |
$4,800 | 12 | |
| 8 | John Hunka |
$4,300 | 12 |
Winner's deck
Sigurd Eskeland played a blue control-deck with the centerpiece of the deck being Rising Waters.
| Sigurd Eskeland – 1999–2000 Pro Tour New York champion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main Deck: | Sideboard: | |
|
4 Drake Hatchling |
18 Island |
2 Bribery |
Team Challenge
The Team Challenge was a predecessor to the Masters Series events that were held from 2000 to 2003. These events were open only to the most accomplished players and awarded cash prizes even for entering the tournament. The Team Challenge at Pro Tour New York 2000 awarded $3,000 for entering the tournament, $9,000 to the runners-up team, and $15,000 to the winners. Four teams were invited to enter the tournament.[11] In a field composed of otherwise American teams the French team Black Ops defeated Game Empire and Antarctica to win the tournament.
| Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Antarctica | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Your Move Games | 1 | |||||||
| Antarctica | 1 | ||||||||
| Black Ops | 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | Black Ops | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Game Empire | 1 | |||||||
| Team | Player | Team | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctica | Daniel O'Mahoney-Schwartz |
Game Empire | Brian Selden | |
| Jon Finkel |
Alan Comer | |||
| Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz |
Kurt Burgner | |||
| Black Ops | Florent Jeudon |
Your Move Games | Rob Dougherty | |
| Antoine Ruel |
Dave Humpherys | |||
| Olivier Ruel |
Darwin Kastle |
1. New Wave
2. Masato Club
3. Godzilla 4. Unluckys
|
1. Antarctica
2. Dogma
3. Your Move Games 4. Hubbo
1. Huey, Ben, and Casey
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. Antarctica
4. Your Move Games
|
Jon Finkel won the 2000 World Championship, defeating teammate Bob Maher, Jr. in the finals. The second place allowed Maher to take the Pro Player of the year title, surpassing Darwin Kastle in the final standings. Finkel became the second player to win two Pro Tours and the first with seven Top 8 appearances. The US team won the national team competition, also with Finkel as reigning national champion at its head.[2]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $201,620 (individual) + $50,000 (national teams)[12]
Players: 273
Individual formats: Formats: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft (Mercadian Masques-Nemesis-Prophecy), Mercadian Masques Block Constructed (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy), Standard
Team Format: Standard
Head Judge: Cyril Grillon[4]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Dominik Hothow | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Nicolas Labarre | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Dominik Hothow | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Bob Maher, Jr. | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Helmut Summersberger | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Bob Maher, Jr. | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Bob Maher, Jr. | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Jon Finkel | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Tom van de Logt | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Benedikt Klauser | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Benedikt Klauser | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Jon Finkel | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Janosch Kühn | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Jon Finkel | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Finkel |
$34,000 | 32 | 7th Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win |
| 2 | Bob Maher, Jr. |
$22,000 | 24 | 2nd Final day |
| 3 | Dominik Hothow |
$16,000 | 16 | |
| 4 | Benedikt Klauser |
$13,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 5 |  Tom van de Logt |
$11,000 | 12 | |
| 6 | Helmut Summersberger |
$9,500 | 12 | |
| 7 | Janosch Kühn |
$8,250 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 8 | Nicolas Labarre |
$7,250 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
National team competition
United States (Jon Finkel, Chris Benafel, Frank Hernandez, Aaron Forsythe)
Canada (Ryan Fuller, Murray Evans, Gabriel Tsang, Sam Lau)
After the World Championship Bob Maher, Jr. was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.[13]
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Maher, Jr. |
72 |
| 2 | Darwin Kastle |
69 |
| 3 | Jon Finkel |
68 |
| 4 | Alex Shvartsman |
58 |
| 5 | Trevor Blackwell |
50 |
| Ben Rubin |
50 |
- "DCI Invitation Policy For Magic: The Gathering Tournaments 1999 – 2000 Professional Season". Wizards of the Coast. 2000. Archived from the original on 18 August 2000. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Rosewater, Mark (26 July 2004). "On Tour, Part 1". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
- "Pro Tour Results Archive Pro Tour – Washington DC, 1999". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 11 February 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
- "Online Coverage Pro Tour London". Wizards of the Coast. 17 October 1999. Archived from the original on 18 June 2000. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Online Coverage Pro Tour London Round 1 Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 15 October 1999. Archived from the original on 3 March 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Top 8 Decks". 15 April 2000. Archived from the original on 2 May 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- "Day 1 Deck Breakdown". 14 April 2000. Archived from the original on 6 November 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- Buehler, Randy (June 2000). "Pro Tour–New York Back to the Armory". The Sideboard. 5 (2): 4–7.
- "Hard Data". The Sideboard. 5 (2): 18. June 2000.
- Buehler, Randy (16 April 2000). "Magic: The Gathering Team Challenge 2000 Semifinals". The Sideboard (online). Archived from the original on 3 November 2001. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- "DCI Invitation Policy For Magic: The Gathering Tournaments 1999 – 2000 Professional Season". Wizards of the Coast. 2000. Appendix B: Prize Schedules. Archived from the original on 18 August 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- "1999–2000 Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 2000. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.