Brad Nelson (gamer)

Last updated

Brad Nelson
NicknamesFFfreaK
Born Fargo, North Dakota [1]
Residence Seattle, United States
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
Pro Tour debut 2009 Pro Tour Honolulu
Winnings US$186,480 [2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)0 (3) [3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)2 (13) [4]
Median Pro Tour Finish57
Lifetime Pro Points386 [5]
Planeswalker Level 50 (Archmage)

Brad Nelson is an American Magic: The Gathering player. Also known by his Magic: The Gathering Online name, FFfreaK, he has three Pro Tour top eights, and thirteen Grand Prix top eights, including two wins. In 2010, Nelson became the first non-Japanese player since Gabriel Nassif in 2004 and the first American player since Bob Maher in 2000 to earn the Player of the Year title. However, Nelson did not receive his title for Player of the Year 2010 until February 2011 after winning the first-ever Player of the Year Tie playoff match against Guillaume Matignon of France. [6]

Contents

Magic: The Gathering

Brad Nelson starting playing Magic: The Gathering in high school, when his best friend William Lies introduced the game to him. [7] Nelson first came to prominence on Magic: The Gathering Online under the screen name FFfreak, [8] a name inspired by his love for the Final Fantasy series of videogames. Whilst Brad was attempting to make it on to the Pro Tour he developed a friendship with 2005 Player of the Year Kenji Tsumura, who would send him his decks to help Brad win a Pro Tour Qualifier. [9] Brad considers Kenji to be his favorite player of all time. [9]

Brad made his Pro Tour debut at Pro Tour Honolulu in 2009, managing to come in 9th place. [7] Brad would also make his first Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Minneapolis that year. Brad would go on to further success on the Pro Tour in the 2010 season. Brad made his first Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour San Juan, though was defeated in the quarterfinals by Guillaume Matignon. At Pro Tour Amsterdam, Brad made his second Pro Tour Top 8 of the year. In the quarterfinals, he became one of only three players to have beaten Kai Budde in the elimination rounds of a Pro Tour. [10] Brad would go on to make the finals of the tournament, losing to Paul Rietzl to take second place. After his performance in Amsterdam, Brad would become the front-runner in the Player of the Year standings. Brad had a 15-point lead going into the final event of the year, the 2010 World Championship. However, Nelson would come in 135th place at Worlds only adding 3 additional points to his overall total. [11] This allowed the 2010 World Champion Guillaume Matignon to earn enough points with his victory to equal Brad's total for an unprecedented Player of the Year tie. [12] The Pro Player of the Year title was decided in a special Player of the Match between Nelson and Matignon at Pro Tour Paris 2011. [6] Nelson won the match 4-2 to claim the 2010 Player of the Year title, becoming the first American to win the title in ten years.

In the 2011 season, Brad had a disappointing year, failing to Top 8 any major events. Discussing his year in an interview with Tristan Shaun Gregson, Brad blamed a loss of confidence for his disappointing performance. [13]

Achievements

 Season  Event type  Location   Format    Date   Rank 
2009 Nationals Kansas City, MissouriStandard and Booster DraftJuly 22–24, 20094
2009 Grand Prix MinneapolisSealed and Booster DraftNovember 14, 20094
2010 Grand Prix Washington D.C.StandardMay 22–23, 20101
2010 Pro Tour San Juan, Puerto RicoBlock Constructed and Booster DraftMay 28–30, 20106
2010 Grand Prix ColumbusLegacyJuly 31–August 1, 20108
2010 Nationals MinneapolisStandard and Booster DraftAugust 19–22, 20108
2010 Pro Tour AmsterdamExtended and Booster DraftSeptember 3–5, 20102
2010 Grand Prix TorontoSealed and Booster DraftOctober 23–24, 20102
2012–13 Grand Prix MinneapolisStandardMay 19–20, 20122
2012–13 Grand Prix Atlantic CityStandardJanuary 12–13, 20133
2013–14 Grand Prix MiamiStandardJune 29–30, 20133
2013–14 Grand Prix LouisvilleStandardOctober 19–20, 20136
2013–14 Grand Prix CincinnatiStandardMarch 22–23, 20142
2014–15 Grand Prix Los AngelesStandardOctober 18–19, 20146
2014–15 Grand Prix MemphisStandardFebruary 21–22, 20153
2014–15 Grand Prix TorontoStandardMay 2–3, 20154
2015–16 Pro Tour MadridStandard and Booster DraftApril 22–24, 20166
2016–17 Grand Prix OmahaStandardJune 2–4, 20171

Last updated: May 8, 2015
Source: wizards.com

Other accomplishments

Media

After winning the Pro Player of the Year title, Richard Hagon wrote a biographical book entitled Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story about Nelson's road to becoming the Pro Player of the Year. [15]

Personal life

Brad Nelson is also the half-brother of Corey Baumeister, [16] a fellow Magic: The Gathering player and three-time North Dakota State Champion. [17] Currently, Brad works for Star City Games in Virginia as an article writer and participates in various video content for the site; which includes various videos of him testing and playing decks against fellow Star City Games pro players like Todd Anderson and Gerry Thompson, and their show "Above the Curve", which is a weekly half-hour show that goes over happenings and news in the competitive Magic scene.

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References

  1. ↑ "Top 8 Player Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.[ dead link ]
  6. 1 2 Bennett, Josh (February 12, 2011). "Player of the Year Match: The Full Nelson". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 David-Marshall, Brian (November 19, 2010). "Meet the December Twelve". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  8. ↑ Stark, Bill (June 5, 2009). "Pro Tour–Honolulu Round 1: Getting FFreaky". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  9. 1 2 David-Marshall, Brian (February 11, 2011). "Player of the Year: Q&A". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  10. ↑ Henke, Tobias (September 5, 2010). "Quarterfinals: New Blood". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 9, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  11. ↑ "2010 World Championships: Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. December 11, 2010. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Stark, Bill (December 12, 2010). "2010 Magic: The Gathering World Championships Feature: Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Magic TV: Extra - Brad Nelson Interview" (Video). ChannelFireball.com. November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Magic Online Community Cup". Wizards of the Coast. April 30, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story". StarCityGames.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  16. ↑ Willoughby, Tim (February 12, 2011). "On the Sidelines at the Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Corey Baumeister Player Profile". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
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