Martin Juza

Martin Juza is a Czech Magic: The Gathering player. Over the course of his career, Juza has won the Czech national championship, made the top eight of a Pro Tour twice, and won two Grand Prix that were only six weeks apart.

Career

Juza's Pro Tour career began in 2003 when he made his debut with a 194th place finish at Pro Tour New Orleans. He would go on to make one more Pro Tour appearance that season, a 163rd place finish at the World Championship. The following season, he had two Pro Tour appearances again. He also had his first high level finish that season when he won the Czech National Championship.^[4] Juza put up similar results in 2006 and 2007, playing two Pro Tours both years, making his country's national team in 2006, and qualifying for Worlds as the alternate in 2007.

The 2008 season was Juza's breakout year. It was the first time he played every Pro Tour and he only finished outside the top twenty once. After a 10th place finish in Kuala Lumpur, and a 19th place in Hollywood, he made his first Pro Tour top eight at Pro Tour Berlin 2008. In the quarterfinals, Juza was paired against one of his play test partners, former Rookie of the Year Sebastian Thaler, with Thaler winning the Elves mirror match by three games to two.^[5] Juza rounded out the season with a 50th place finish at the World Championship to earn level 7 standing in the Pro Players Club.^[6]

After his breakout season, Juza very much adopted the Pro Tour lifestyle, playing fourteen of nineteen Grand Prix in 2009. He had a strong start to the season, earning 18 pro points by mid March. After a string of midfield finishes from March through July, Juza made back to back Grand Prix finals, losing to Olivier Ruel in Brighton, and to Shingou Kurihara in Bangkok. At Pro Tour Austin, Juza made his second Pro Tour top eight. Paired against Naoki Shimizu, he was once again deafeated in the quarterfinal.^[7] To finish the season, Juza made the top eight of Grand Prix Tampa Bay, and finished 41st at Worlds. With 64 pro points, Juza finished third in the Player of the Year race and gained the highest Pro Players Club Level, 8.^[8]

The following season, Juza did not do so well on the Pro Tour. His best finish being a 30th place at Pro Tour San Diego, he earned only 17 pro points from his Pro Tour results. However, he made up for it on the Grand Prix circuit. Juza played all but one of the Grand Prix, winning Grand Prix Portland and Bochum, and making the top eight of Grand Prix Nashville. Earning 37 points off tour, Juza's 54 point total earned him fourth place in the Player of the Year race and level 8 in the Pro Players Club again.^[9]

In 2011, Juza's Grand Prix dominance continued. Over the course of the year, he reached top eight of Grand Prix in Denver, Kobe, Santiago, and Hiroshima. His win in Hiroshima made Juza the first European to win a Grand Prix in Japan, and he joined Raphaël Lévy, Shuhei Nakamura, and Alex Shvartsman as the fourth player to have won Grand Prix in Europe, North America, and Asia. On the Pro Tour, he had unremarkable results in Paris and Philadelphia, finishing below 100th place both times, but finished just one win short of making the top eight at Pro Tour Nagoya.

Achievements

Last updated: 23 October 2011
Source: wizards.com

References