Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2007

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2007 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the Year Flag of Japan.svg Tomoharu Saitou
Rookie of the Year Flag of Japan.svg Yuuya Watanabe
World Champion Flag of Israel.svg Uri Peleg
Pro Tours5
Grands Prix16
Hall of Fame inductions Kai Budde
Zvi Mowshowitz
Tsuyoshi Fujita
Nicolai Herzog
Randy Buehler
Start of season9 February 2007
End of season9 December 2007

The 2007 Pro Tour season was the twelfth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 9 February 2007 the season began with Pro Tour Geneva. It ended on 9 December 2007 with the conclusion of the 2007 World Championship in New York. The season consisted of 16 Grand Prixs and 5 Pro Tours, held in Geneva, Yokohama, San Diego, Valencia, and New York. At the end of the season Tomoharu Saitou from Japan was proclaimed Pro Player of the year. At the Worlds in New York the third class of the Hall of Fame was inducted. The inductees were Kai Budde, Zvi Mowshowitz, Tsuyoshi Fujita, Nicolai Herzog, and Randy Buehler.

Contents

Pro Tour – Geneva (9–11 February 2007)

Mike Hron of the United States won the Pro Tour, defeating Takuya Oosawa in the Japanese player's second finals appearance. Willy Edel of Brazil became the first South American player with three top eight finishes, and former of player of the year Kenji Tsumura reached the quarter finals for the fifth time. [1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 387
Format: Booster Draft (Time Spiral-Planar Chaos)
Head Judge: David Vogin [2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Shingou Kurihara3
8 Ervin Tormos 1
Shingou Kurihara 1
Takuya Oosawa3
4 Jim Herold 0
5 Takuya Oosawa3
Takuya Oosawa 2
Mike Hron3
2 Kenji Tsumura3
7 Willy Edel 1
Kenji Tsumura 1
Mike Hron3
3 Mike Hron3
6 Marijn Lybaert 1

Final standings

PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment
1 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Hron$40,00025
2 Flag of Japan.svg Takuya Oosawa$22,000202nd Final day
3 Flag of Japan.svg Kenji Tsumura $15,000165th Final day
4 Flag of Japan.svg Shingou Kurihara$14,00016
5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marijn Lybaert $11,50012
6 Flag of Germany.svg Jim Herold$11,00012
7 Flag of Brazil.svg Willy Edel$10,500123rd Final day
8 Flag of the United States.svg Ervin Tormos$10,000122nd Final day

Grand Prixs – Dallas, Singapore, Amsterdam, Kyoto, Massachusetts


Pro Tour – Yokohama (20–22 April 2007)

Frenchman Guillaume Wafo-Tapa won the second Pro Tour of the year, emerging from a Top eight in which every other contestant has at least twice appeared in a PT final eight. Masashi Oiso became only the fifth player to reach the quarter finals more than five times, Portugal's Paulo Carvalho put up his second top eight in three events, and Raphaël Lévy continued his hot streak with his first Pro Tour top eight since 1999. [3]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 387
Format: Time Spiral Block Constructed
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery [2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Kazuya Mitamura3
8 Sebastian Thaler 0
Kazuya Mitamura3
Tomoharu Saitou 2
4 Raphaël Lévy 1
5 Tomoharu Saitou3
Kazuya Mitamura 1
Guillaume Wafo-Tapa3
2 Mark Herberholz3
7 Masashi Oiso 0
Mark Herberholz 2
Guillaume Wafo-Tapa3
3 Paulo Caravlho 2
6 Guillaume Wafo-Tapa3

Final standings

PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment
1 Flag of France.svg Guillaume Wafo-Tapa $40,00025
2 Flag of Japan.svg Kazuya Mitamura$22,000202nd Final day
3 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Herberholz $15,000164th Final day
4 Flag of Japan.svg Tomoharu Saitou $14,000164th Final day
5 Flag of Portugal.svg Paulo Carvalho$11,500122nd Final day
6 Flag of France.svg Raphaël Lévy $11,000123rd Final day
7 Flag of Japan.svg Masashi Oiso $10,500126th Final day
8 Flag of Germany.svg Sebastian Thaler$10,00012

Grands Prix – Stockholm, Columbus, Strasbourg, Montreal


Pro Tour – San Diego (29 June – 1 July 2007)

Pro Tour San Diego was the inaugural and as yet only event for the Two-Headed Giant format at the Pro Tour level. Chris Lachmann and Jacob van Lunen won the tournament, both in their first Pro Tour, playing an innovative sliver strategy. They won the elimination bracket in a combined nine turns making it the shortest semi-final and final ever. [4]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,500
Players: 390 (195 teams)
Format: Two-Headed Giant Booster Draft (Time Spiral-Planar Chaos-Future Sight)
Head Judge: Toby Elliott [2]

Top 4

Semifinals Finals
      
1 Eugene Harvey
John Fiorillo
0
4 Yuuta Takahashi
Kentaro Yamamoto
1
Yuuta Takahashi
Kentaro Yamamoto
0
Chris Lachmann
Jacob van Lunen
1
3 Masami Kaneko
Genki Taru
0
2 Chris Lachman
Jacob van Lunen
1

Final standings

PlacePlayersPrizePro PointsComment
1 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Lachman$50,00020Pro Tour debut
Flag of the United States.svg Jacob van Lunen20Pro Tour debut
2 Flag of Japan.svg Yuuta Takahashi $30,00016
Flag of Japan.svg Kentaro Yamamoto16
3 Flag of the United States.svg John Fiorillo$22,00012
Flag of the United States.svg Eugene Harvey 124th Final day
4 Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kaneko$20,00012
Flag of Japan.svg Genki Taru12

Grand Prixs – San Francisco, Florence

Pro Tour – Valencia (12–14 October 2007)

Pro Tour Valencia began with a bumpy start. The first day of play to be canceled due to flooding. On the other two days the schedule had to be altered somewhat, including additional rounds on Saturday and three rounds on Sunday before Top 8. In the end, Frenchman Remi Fortier defeated Germany's André Müller in the final, making Valencia the third consecutive extended Pro Tour to be won by a French player. [5]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 424
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Jaap Brouwer [2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Giulio Barra3
8 Makihito Mihara 0
Giulio Barra 1
Remi Fortier3
4 Tine Rus 2
5 Remi Fortier3
Remi Fortier3
André Müller 2
2 Takayuki Koike 1
3 Shuhei Nakamura3
Shuhei Nakamura 2
André Müller3
3 André Müller3
6 Sam Stein 1

Final standings

PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment
1 Flag of France.svg Remi Fortier$40,00025
2 Flag of Germany.svg André Müller$22,000202nd Final day
3 Flag of Italy.svg Giulio Barra$15,00016
4 Flag of Japan.svg Shuhei Nakamura $14,000164th Final day
5 Flag of Japan.svg Takayuki Koike$11,50012Pro Tour debut
6 Flag of Slovenia.svg Tine Rus$11,000121st Slovenian in a Top 8, Pro Tour debut
7 Flag of the United States.svg Sam Stein$10,50012
8 Flag of Japan.svg Makihito Mihara $10,000122nd Final day

Grand Prixs – Brisbane, Bangkok, Krakow, Kitakyuushuu, Daytona Beach

2007 World Championships – New York City (6–9 December 2007)

The World Championships began with the induction of the third class into the hall of fame. The inductees were Kai Budde, Zvi Mowshowitz, Tsuyoshi Fujita, Nicolai Herzog, and Randy Buehler. In the individual competition Uri Peleg became the first Israeli, not only to reach the top eight, but also to win a Pro Tour. For Mori it was his third consecutive Worlds Top 8 appearance. In the team competition, the Swiss defeated the Austrian team in the finals [6]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $215,600 (individual) + $192,200 (national teams)
Players: 386
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Lorwyn), Legacy
Head Judge: Mike Guptil [2]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Christoph Huber 1
8 Koutarou Ootsuka3
Koutarou Ootsuka 1
Uri Peleg3
4 Katsuhiro Mori 0
5 Uri Peleg3
Uri Peleg3
Patrick Chapin 1
2 Gabriel Nassif3
7 Roel van Heeswijk 1
Gabriel Nassif 2
Patrick Chapin3
3 Yoshitako Nakano 2
6 Patrick Chapin3

Final standings

PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment
1 Flag of Israel.svg Uri Peleg$40,000251st Israeli to win a Pro Tour
2 Flag of the United States.svg Patrick Chapin $22,000203rd Final day
3 Flag of France.svg Gabriel Nassif $15,000168th Final day
4 Flag of Japan.svg Koutarou Ootsuka$14,00016
5 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Christoph Huber$11,00012
6 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshitako Nakano$10,00012
7 Flag of Japan.svg Katsuhiro Mori $9,000123rd Final day
8 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Roel van Heeswijk$8,00012

National team competition

  1. Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland (Nico Bohny, Manuel Bucher, Raphael Genari, Christoph Huber)
  2. Flag of Austria.svg Austria (Thomas Preyer, Stefan Stradner, David Reitbauer, Helmut Summersberger)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Tomoharu Saitou was awarded the Pro Player of the year title. [7]

RankPlayerPro Points
1 Flag of Japan.svg Tomoharu Saitou 68
2 Flag of Japan.svg Kenji Tsumura 62
3 Flag of France.svg Guillaume Wafo-Tapa 59
4 Flag of Japan.svg Shingou Kurihara57
5 Flag of France.svg Olivier Ruel 54

Performance by country

Japan players dominated the season, making 16 Top 8 appearances although they had only about half as many players on the Pro Tour as the United States, which had the secondmost Top 8 appearances at 9. Both countries generated 21 level 4+ pro players in this season. For the Netherlands despite having generated 7 level 4+ pro players in the season success on the Pro Tour was almost elusive with a single 8th place being their only Top 8 appearance.

CountryT8Q*Q/T8GTBest Player (PPts)
Flag of Japan.svg Japan161711121 Tomoharu Saitou (68)
Flag of the United States.svg United States93303721Paul Cheon (52)
Flag of France.svg France4108277 Guillaume Wafo-Tapa (59)
Flag of Germany.svg Germany383286André Müller (36)
Flag of Italy.svg Italy161610Giulio Barra (18)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands154547 Frank Karsten (37)
Flag of Spain.svg Spain055551Saul Aguado (20)

T8 = Number of players from that country appearing in a Pro Tour Top 8; Q* = Number of players from that country participating in Pro Tours (PT San Diego is missing as no country breakdown is available for that event); GT = Gravy Trainers (aka players with a Pro Players Club level of 4 or more) from that country generated in the 2007 season; Best Player (PPts) = Player with the most Pro Points from that country, Pro Points of that player in brackets.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenji Tsumura</span>

Kenji Tsumura is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Japan. He is one of only eight players to have reached the top eight of a Pro Tour more than five times.

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Tomoharu Saitou is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players and the owner of Hareruya Store in Tokyo.

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