Paul Rietzl

Paul Rietzl
Residence Los Angeles, CA, United States
Nationality United States United States
Pro Tour debut 2002 Pro Tour Osaka
Winnings US$173,090[1]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8) 1 (4)[2]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8) 2 (11)[3]
Median Pro Tour Finish 91
Lifetime Pro Points 307[4]
Planeswalker Level 48 (Archmage)

Paul Rietzl is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His greatest success was his win at Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010, but his resume includes three more Pro Tour top eights, and nine Grand Prix top eights including two wins. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2014.[5]

Magic: The Gathering

Career

Paul Rietzl was a longtime member of Rob Dougherty's Team Your Move Games.[6] Rietzl's first major result came at Grand Prix Anaheim in 2003 where he made Top 8. The Top 8 also featured future Hall of Fame members Ben Stark and Ben Rubin. Rietzl would lose in the quarterfinals to Peter Szigeti taking 6th place in the overall standings. Rietzl would go on to make the Top 8 of the very next Grand Prix in Oakland. Again Paul would lose out in the quarterfinals taking 7th place.

Rietzl would take a break from competitive play but returned with a splash in 2009.[7] Rietzl made his third Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Chicago 2009. Rietzl would make it to the semifinals this time, losing out to Andrew Probasco, and take third place in the tournament. Rietzl's result at Grand Prix Chicago qualified him for Pro Tour Honolulu 2009. Rietzl prepared for the tournament with various prominent players including Ben Rubin, Gabriel Nassif and Brian Kibler.[8] Rietzl would make his first Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour Honolulu, losing in the semifinals to eventual winner Kazuya Mitamura.[9]

Rietzl would have the biggest success of his career in the 2010 season winning Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010.[10] The Pro Tour was noted for one of the most impressive Sunday rosters in Magic: The Gathering history, which included Kai Budde, Brian Kibler, Guillaume Wafo-Tapa and future Player of the Year Brad Nelson. Rietzl's win would be all the more impressive for the fact that he did not lose a single game within the Top 8, beating Thomas Ma, Michael Jacob and Brad Nelson 3-0 in their best of five game matches. Rietzl prepared for the Pro Tour with various pro players but gave particular credit to Gabriel Nassif who helped design his deck.[11]

Rietzl would make his third Pro Tour Top 8 in as many years at Pro Tour Paris 2011.[12] Rietzl would defeat Patrick Chapin in the quarterfinals and Vincent Lemoine in the semifinals to face Ben Stark in the finals of the tournament. Ultimately Paul lost 3-1 to Stark finishing in second place.[13] Pro Tour Paris 2011 was held alongside Grand Prix Paris 2011 which started the day after the Pro Tour. Having secured his place in the Top 8 of the Pro Tour, Rietzl took the unusual step of entering the Grand Prix largely because he believed he would lose quickly in the quarterfinals to Patrick Chapin.[14] After three-byes, Rietzl went 6-1 in the Grand Prix earning a place in Day 2 of the Grand Prix, this meant that he was playing the Top 8 of the Pro Tour as well as Day 2 of the Grand Prix. Ultimately, Rietzl would take 24th place at the Grand Prix despite also playing in the Top 8 of the Pro Tour. Rietzl's overall record for the weekend was 24-6-1.

Rietzl became eligible for the Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2011, having played in his first Pro Tour over ten seasons prior and having amassed over 150 lifetime pro points.[15] Rietzl placed 20th, 21st and 20th in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 ballots respectively. In 2014 he was inducted into the Hall, placing second with 72.59% support.

Top 8 finishes

Season Event type Location Format Date Rank
2003–04 Grand Prix Anaheim Extended 13–14 December 2003 6
2003–04 Grand Prix Oakland Limited 7–8 February 2004 7
2009 Grand Prix Chicago Legacy 7–8 March 2009 3
2009 Pro Tour Honolulu Block Constructed and Booster Draft 5–7 June 2009 3
2010 Pro Tour Amsterdam Extended and Booster Draft 3–5 September 2010 1
2011 Pro Tour Paris Standard and Booster Draft 10–13 February 2011 2
2012 Grand Prix Seattle-Tacoma Limited 3–4 March 2012 6
2012 Grand Prix Mexico City Limited 24–25 March 2012 1
2012–13 Grand Prix Anaheim Block Constructed 26–27 May 2012 2
2012–13 Grand Prix San Jose Team Limited 13–14 October 2012 1
2012–13 Grand Prix Portland Modern 11–12 May 2013 8
2013–14 Pro Tour Dublin Standard and Booster Draft 11–13 October 2013 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Albuquerque Standard 23–24 November 2013 8
2014–15 Grand Prix Salt Lake City Limited 6–7 September 2014 5
2014–15 Grand Prix San Jose Team Limited 31 January–1 February 2015 2

Last updated: 2 February 2015
Source: Event Coverage at Wizards.com

References

  1. ↑ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  2. ↑ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  3. ↑ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  4. ↑ "Planeswalker Points (requires login)". Wizards of the Coast. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  5. ↑ http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/twtw/2014-class-pro-tour-hall-fame-2014-08-01
  6. ↑ "Grand Prix Anaheim 2003 Top 8 Player Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "ChannelFireball Author Profile". ChannelFireball.com. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Pro Tour Honolulu 2009 Top 8 Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Semifinals: Pings and Swings". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Rietzl Sweeps to Victory in Amsterdam". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Rietzl, Paul. "A Champion Returns". TCGPlayer.com. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Stark Flies High with Planeswalkers in Paris". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Willoughby, Tim. "Finals: Paul Rietzl vs. Ben Stark". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Willoughby, Tim. "Feature: Paul Rietzl's Long Weekend". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame 2011 Ballot". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 29 January 2014.