Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2006

2006 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the Year Japan Shouta Yasooka
Rookie of the Year Germany Sebastian Thaler
World Champion Japan Makihito Mihara
Pro Tours 5
Grands Prix 22
Hall of Fame inductions Bob Maher, Jr.
Dave Humpherys
Raphaël Lévy
Gary Wise
Rob Dougherty
Start of season 10 December 2005
End of season 3 December 2006

The 2006 Pro Tour season was the eleventh season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 18 December 2005 the season began with parallel Grand Prixs in Lille and Charlotte. It ended on 3 December 2006 with the conclusion of the 2006 World Championship in Paris. The season consisted of 22 Grand Prixs and 5 Pro Tours, held in Honolulu, Prague, Charleston, Kobe, and Paris. At the end of the season Shouta Yasooka from Japan was proclaimed Pro Player of the year. At the Worlds in Paris the second class of the Hall of Fame was inducted. The inductees were Bob Maher, Jr., Dave Humpherys, Raphaël Lévy, Gary Wise, and Rob Dougherty.

Grand Prixs – Lille, Charlotte, Hasselt, Richmond, Dortmund

GP Lille (18–19 December)
  • Format: Legacy
  • Attendance: 939
  1. Austria Helmut Summersberger
  2. Czech Republic Daniel Krutil
  3. France Nicholas Labarre
  4. Italy Luca Verdiani
  5. Germany Martin Brenner
  6. France Loïc Le Briand
  7. Germany Max Bracht
  8. France Nicolas Francois

GP Charlotte (18–19 December)
  • Format: Extended
  • Attendance: 456
  1. United States Michael Krumb
  2. United States Alex Majlaton
  3. United States Kyle Goodman
  4. United States David Shiels
  5. United States Antonino De Rosa
  6. Alan Hubbard
  7. United States Chris Boozer
  8. United States Thomas LaPille

GP Hasselt (28–29 January)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 1070
  1. England Sam Gomersall
  2. France Julien Goron
  3. Netherlands Maurice Palijama
  4. Slovenia Ziga Fritz
  5. Germany Helge Nelson
  6. Netherlands Dimitri Reinderman
  7. England Quentin Martin
  8. France Francois Moreau

GP Richmond (4–5 February)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 558
  1. Canada Richard Hoaen
  2. United States Jonathan Sonne
  3. United States Adam Chambers
  4. United States John Fiorillo
  5. United States Eugene Harvey
  6. United States Taylor Webb
  7. United States Gerry Thompson
  8. United States Michael Pinnegar

GP Dortmund (18–19 February)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 1029
  1. Germany David Brucker
  2. France Julien Goron
  3. Germany Mathias Wigge
  4. Germany Marco Rothaupt
  5. Germany Dennis Grudowski
  6. Netherlands Julien Nuijten
  7. France Olivier Ruel
  8. Germany Stefan Rentzsch

Pro Tour – Honolulu (3–5 March 2006)

Mark Herberholz won Pro Tour Honolulu piloting a green/red aggro-deck. He defeated Craig Jones in the finals. The final eight included both Ruel brothers, Antoine and Olivier. Notably absent from the Top 8 were the Japanese players after thirteen consecutive final day appearances.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 410
Format: Standard
Head Judge: John Shannon[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Craig Jones 3
8 Antoine Ruel 0
Craig Jones 3
Olivier Ruel 2
5 Max Bracht 2
4 Olivier Ruel 3
Craig Jones 2
Mark Herberholz 3
2 Osyp Lebedowicz 1
7 Mark Herberholz 3
Mark Herberholz 3
Tiago Chan 1
3 Tiago Chan 3
6 Ruud Warmenhoven 0

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 United States Mark Herberholz $40,000 25 3rd Final day
2 England Craig Jones $22,000 20
3 Portugal Tiago Chan $15,000 16
4 France Olivier Ruel $14,000 16 5th Final day
5 United States Osyp Lebedowicz $11,500 12 3rd Final day
6 Germany Max Bracht $11,000 12
7 Netherlands Ruud Warmenhoven $10,500 12
8 France Antoine Ruel $10,000 12 4th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank Player Pro Points
1 United States Mark Herberholz 28
2 France Olivier Ruel 22
3 England Craig Jones 20
4 Portugal Tiago Chan 18
5 Germany Max Bracht 15

Grand Prixs – Manila, Cardiff, Madison, Hamamatsu, Barcelona

GP Manila (18–19 March)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 368
  1. Philippines James Porter
  2. Philippines Jiro Francisco
  3. South Korea Cynic Kim
  4. China Bo Sun
  5. Australia Jake Hart
  6. Philippines Felix Gonzales
  7. Japan Takuya Osawa
  8. Philippines Dominic Ortega

GP Cardiff (25–26 March)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 370
  1. England Martin Dingler
  2. Germany Wesimo Al-Bacha
  3. Netherlands Roel van Heeswijk
  4. Scotland Julian Jardine
  5. England Quentin Martin
  6. Netherlands Bram Snepvangers
  7. France Raphaël Lévy
  8. France Antoine Ruel

GP Madison (25–26 March)
  • Format: Team Unified Standard
  • Attendance: 456 (152 teams)
1. Faddy Josh
United States Brian Ziegler
United States Tim Bulger
United States Takanobu Sato
2. Free James Beeton
United States Kyle Goodman
United States Mark Ioli
United States Benjamin Lundquist
3. 4815162342
Canada Richard Hoaen
United States Eric Froehlich
United States Bob Maher, Jr.
4. Cedric Philips Stole My Bike
United States John Pelcak
United States Chris McDaniel
United States Jonathan Sonne

GP Hamamatsu (8–9 April)
  • Format: Team Unified Standard
  • Attendance: 495 (165 teams)
1. Tanii Monogatari
Japan Kotatsu Saitou
Japan Takahiro Katayama
Japan Yuusuke Tanii
2. Stardust Crusader
Japan Akira Asahara
Japan Masaya Kitayama
Japan Shouta Yasooka
3. Limit Break
Japan Takuya Oosawa
Japan Ryou Ogura
Japan Itaru Ishida
4. Kiosk
Japan Takashi Ishihara
Japan Shuhei Itou
Japan Daisuke Saitou

GP Barcelona (8–9 April)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 1208
  1. Austria Helmut Summersberger
  2. France Raphaël Lévy
  3. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma
  4. Sweden Johan Sadeghpour
  5. France Olivier Ruel
  6. Spain Aniol Alcaraz
  7. France Jean Charles Salvin
  8. Germany Sebastian Aljiaj

Pro Tour – Prague (5–7 May 2006)

Takuya Osawa won Pro Tour Prague, defeating Aaron Brackmann in the finals. In a Top 8 of rather unknown players Shuhei Nakamura was the only one to have made it to the final stage of a PT before.[3]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 415
Format: Booster Draft (Ravnica-Guildpact-Dissension)
Head Judge: Jaap Brouwer[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Takuya Osawa 3
8 Joe Crosby 0
Takuya Osawa 3
Shuhei Nakamura 1
5 Shuhei Nakamura 3
4 Antonino De Rosa 2
Takuya Osawa 3
Aaron Brackmann 0
2 Christian Hüttenberger 3
7 Quentin Martin 2
Christian Hüttenberger 0
Aaron Brackmann 3
3 Aaron Brackmann 3
6 Rasmus Sibast 2

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Japan Takuya Osawa $40,000 25
2 Germany Aaron Brackmann $22,000 20
3 Japan Shuhei Nakamura $15,000 16 3rd Final day
4 Germany Christian Hüttenberger $14,000 16
5 Denmark Rasmus Sibast $11,500 12
6 United States Antonino De Rosa $11,000 12
7 United States Joe Crosby $10,500 12
8 England Quentin Martin $10,000 12

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank Player Pro Points
1 United States Mark Herberholz 32
France Olivier Ruel 32
3 Japan Takuya Osawa 30
4 England Craig Jones 24
England Quentin Martin 24

Grand Prixs – Torino, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur

GP Torino (3–4 June)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 656
  1. Switzerland Nico Bohny
  2. France Antoine Ruel
  3. Netherlands Bram Snepvangers
  4. Germany Klaus Jöns
  5. Italy Marco Lombardi
  6. France Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
  7. Italy Giacomo Mallamaci
  8. France Pierre Canali

GP Toronto (3–4 June)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 504
  1. United States Antonino De Rosa
  2. United States Jonathan Sonne
  3. United States Kyle Sanchez
  4. United States Mark Lovin
  5. United States John Fiorillo
  6. United States Brad Taulbee
  7. Canada Jay Jiang
  8. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma

GP Kuala Lumpur (3–4 June)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance:316
  1. Japan Kenji Tsumura
  2. Japan Osamu Fujita
  3. England Quentin Martin
  4. Netherlands Ruud Warmenhoven
  5. Malaysia Terry Soh
  6. Japan Shouta Yasooka
  7. South Korea Cynic Kim
  8. Japan Itaru Ishida

Pro Tour – Charleston (16–18 June 2006)

The Japanese team "Kajiharu80" won Pro Tour Charleston, defeating the Brazlian team "Raaala Pumba" in the final. "Kajiharu80" consisted of Tomohiro Kaji, Shouta Yasooka, and Tomoharu Saitou. With 525 competitors in 175 teams Pro Tour Charleston was the biggest Pro Tour ever. It was also the only Team Constructed Pro Tour ever.[4]

Tournament data

Players: 525 (175 teams)
Prize Pool: $234,000
Format: 3-Person Team Block Constructed (Ravnica, Guildpact, Dissension)
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery[2]

Top 4

Semifinals Semi-finals
      
1 Raaala Pumba 2
4 Big Timing With Big Oots 1
Raaala Pumba 1
Kajiharu80 2
3 Kajiharu80 2
2 D-25 1

Final standings

Place Team Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Kajiharu80 Japan Tomohiro Kaji $75,000 20 3rd Final day
Japan Shouta Yasooka 20
Japan Tomoharu Saitou 20 2nd Final day
2 Raaala Pumba Brazil Celso Zampere $36,000 16
Brazil Willy Edel 16
Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 16
3 D-25 Japan Chikura Nakajima $21,000 12
Japan Ryuichi Arita 12 4th Final day
Japan Kazuya Mitamura 12
4 Big Timing With Big Oots United States Chris McDaniel $18,000 12 2nd Final day
United States Gadiel Szleifer 12 3rd Final day
United States John Pelcak 12

Grand Prixs – Toulouse, St. Louis, Malmo, Hiroshima, Phoenix, Sydney, Athens

GP Toulouse (24–25 June)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 674
  1. Japan Kenji Tsumura
  2. Belgium Marijn Lybaert
  3. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  4. Spain Adrian Olivera
  5. France Julien Soum
  6. France Olivier Ruel
  7. Japan Shouta Yasooka
  8. France Thomas Didierjean

GP St. Louis (22–23 July)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance:466
  1. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  2. United States Zac Hill
  3. Japan Kenji Tsumura
  4. United States Chris Fennell
  5. United States Alex Kim
  6. United States Pierre Mondon
  7. United States Dalton King
  8. Canada Jeremy Kunkel

GP Malmo (22–23 July)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 539
  1. Netherlands Wessel Oomens
  2. Greece Vasilis Fatouros
  3. Netherlands Wilco Pinkster
  4. Sweden Axel Berglund
  5. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma
  6. Netherlands Kamiel Cornelissen
  7. Portugal André Coimbra
  8. Denmark Asbjørn Fallesen

GP Hiroshima (19–20 August)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 417
  1. Japan Shuhei Nakamura
  2. Portugal André Coimbra
  3. Japan Takahiro Suzuki
  4. England Basam Tebet
  5. Netherlands Julien Nuijten
  6. Japan Kentarou Nonaka
  7. Japan Ichirou Shimura
  8. Japan Yuusuke Wakisaka

GP Phoenix (2–3 September)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 387
  1. Brazil Carlos Romão
  2. United States Sean Inoue
  3. France Raphaël Lévy
  4. United States Sam Stein
  5. Belgium Geoffrey Siron
  6. United States Gadiel Szleifer
  7. Portugal André Coimbra
  8. Japan Shu Kumuro

GP Sydney (7–8 October)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 213
  1. Australia James Zhang
  2. Australia Anatoli Lightfoot
  3. Japan Tomoharu Saitou
  4. Australia Jeremy Neeman
  5. Australia Steven Aplin
  6. Japan Takuya Oosawa
  7. Japan Shouta Yasooka
  8. Australia Hugh Glanville

GP Athens (14–15 October)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 469
  1. Germany Sebastian Aljiaj
  2. Belgium Vincent Lemoine
  3. Portugal Marcio Carvalho
  4. France Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
  5. Germany David Brucker
  6. France Antoine Ruel
  7. Greece Evangelos Papatsarouchas
  8. Germany Aaron Brackmann

Pro Tour – Kobe (20–22 October 2006)

German Jan-Moritz Merkel won Pro Tour Kobe. It was his first appearance at a Pro Tour.[5]

Tournament data

Players: 388
Prize Pool: $240,245
Format: Booster Draft (Time Spiral)
Head Judge: John Shannon[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
Bastien Perez 3
Kenji Tsumura 1
Bastien Perez 1
Jan-Moritz Merkel 3
Tomoharu Saitou 2
Jan-Moritz Merkel 3
1 Jan-Moritz Merkel 3
Willy Edel 1
Thomas Didierjean 3
Bram Snepvangers 2
Thomas Didierjean 1
Willy Edel 3
Takahiro Suzuki 2
Willy Edel 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Germany Jan-Moritz Merkel $40,000 25 Pro Tour debut
2 Brazil Willy Edel $22,000 20 2nd Final day
3 France Bastien Perez $15,000 16
4 France Thomas Didierjean $14,000 16 Pro Tour debut
5 Japan Kenji Tsumura $11,500 12 4th Final day
6 Netherlands Bram Snepvangers $11,000 12 3rd Final day
7 Japan Tomoharu Saitou $10,500 12 3rd Final day
8 Japan Takahiro Suzuki $10,000 12

Grand Prixs – New Jersey, Yamagata

GP New Jersey (11–12 November)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 913
  1. Canada Guillaume Cardin
  2. Canada Richard Hoaen
  3. United States Timothy Aten
  4. United States Jason Imperiale
  5. United States Gerry Thompson
  6. United States John Pelcak
  7. United States Andrew Stokinger
  8. Japan Shouta Yasooka

GP Yamagata (18–19 November)
  • Format: Limited
  • Attendance: 359
  1. Japan Takihiro Suzuki
  2. Japan Takeshi Ozawa
  3. Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma
  4. Japan Katsuhiro Mori
  5. Canada Richard Hoaen
  6. France Antoine Ruel
  7. Japan Ryo Ogura
  8. Japan Yuu Murakami

2006 World Championships – Paris (29 November – 3 December 2006)

The tournament began with the Hall of Fame induction of Bob Maher, Jr., Dave Humpherys Raphaël Lévy, Gary Wise, and Rob Dougherty. In an all-Japanese final Makihito Mihara defeated Ryo Ogura. The Dutch team of Kamiel Cornelissen, Julien Nuijten, and Robert van Medevoort won the team finals against Japan.[6]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $255,245 (individual) + $210,000 (national teams)
Players: 356
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Time Spiral), Extended
Head Judge: Jaap Brouwer, Jason Ness[2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Paulo Carvalho 0
8 Ryo Ogura 3
Ryo Ogura 3
Nicholas Lovett 2
5 Nicholas Lovett 3
4 Katsuhiro Mori 1
Ryo Ogura 0
Makihito Mihara 3
2 Paulo Vitor
Damo da Rosa
2
7 Makihito Mihara 3
Makihito Mihara 3
Gabriel Nassif 2
3 Tiago Chan 2
6 Gabriel Nassif 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Japan Makihito Mihara $50,000 25
2 Japan Ryo Ogura $25,000 20 2nd Final day
3 Wales Nicholas Lovett $16,000 16 1st Welshmen in a Top 8, Pro Tour debut
4 France Gabriel Nassif $15,000 16 7th Final day
5 Portugal Paulo Carvalho $11,500 12 Pro Tour debut
6 Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa $11,000 12 2nd Final day
7 Portugal Tiago Chan $10,500 12 2nd Final day
8 Japan Katsuhiro Mori $10,000 12 2nd Final day

National team competition

  1. Netherlands The Netherlands (Julien Nuijten, Kamiel Cornelissen, Robert van Medevoort)
  2. Japan Japan (Hidenori Katayama, Katsuhiro Mori, Shuhei Yamamoto)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Shouta Yasooka was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.[7]

Rank Player Pro Points
1 Japan Shouta Yasooka 60
2 Japan Shuhei Nakamura 56
3 Portugal Tiago Chan 51
Brazil Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 51
5 Japan Tomoharu Saitou 50

References

  1. "Living on Heezy Street". Wizards of the Coast. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  3. "Osawa's Wurms Flog Prague". Wizards of the Coast. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  4. "Kajiharu80 puts the Char in Charleston". Wizards of the Coast. 18 June 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  5. "Merkel's Time is Now". Wizards of the Coast. 22 October 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  6. "Mihara, Dutch Crowned World Champions!". Wizards of the Coast. 3 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  7. "2006 Player of the Year Race". Wizards of the Coast. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.