David Anthony Williams is a professional poker player and popular Magic: The Gathering player who also competed on Season 7 of the popular FOX cooking show MasterChef, where he came as runner-up.
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. Finkel is one of the most decorated players in the history of professional Magic: The Gathering play and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time. During his career he has won 3 Grand Prix events and made the Top 8 of a record 16 Pro Tour events, winning three of those. In the year 2000, he became the Magic: The Gathering World Champion, as well as playing for the United States National Team, which won the team portion of the competition.
Randolph E. "Randy" Buehler Jr. was the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., as well as the commentator for the Magic Pro Tour. He was a former weekly writer for Magicthegathering.com's "Latest Developments" column and former Magic Pro Tour player.
Darwin Kastle Mess, more commonly known as simply Darwin Kastle, is a champion Magic: The Gathering player from the United States of America, and was a member of the inaugural class elected to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2005. Kastle also ranks 12th on the all time Pro Tour earnings list. Kastle's likeness is depicted on the card Avalanche Riders, which he also designed after winning the second Magic Invitational.
Tommi Hovi is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player from Finland. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2005. Hovi was also the first player to win two Pro Tour championships.
Raphaël Lévy is a professional Magic: The Gathering player. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in November 2006. He is the first player to have been inducted while active on the Pro Tour. He is one of only six players to have won a Grand Prix on three different continents. He also currently holds the record for lifetime Pro Points.
Dirk Baberowski is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has won three Pro Tours, tying him in second place with Jon Finkel. Two of those victories were won at team Pro Tours with his teammates of Phoenix Foundation, Kai Budde and Marco Blume.
Michael Turian is a successful professional player of Magic: The Gathering. He won Pro Tour New York with Team Potato Nation. Turian also won two Grand Prixs. In 2008 Mike Turian was voted in the Hall of Fame. He was inducted during the World championship in Memphis.
Shuhei Nakamura is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has reached the Top 8 of six Pro Tours and won seven Grands Prix, as well as being the 2008 Pro Player of the Year. In 2011, he was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.
The 1996 Pro Tour season was the first season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. At the end of 1995 Wizards of the Coast had announced the introduction of a tournament series featuring big cash prizes. Originally coined the "Black Lotus Pro Tour" the tournaments were simply called "Pro Tours" and the name was thus changed quickly. The first Pro Tour, held in New York in February 1996, was won by the American Michael Loconto. Los Angeles and Ohio were the other Pro Tours in the inaugural season along with the 1996 World Championships in Seattle. At the end of the season Olle Råde was proclaimed the first Pro Tour Player of the Year.
The 1996–97 Pro Tour season was the second season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 13 September 1996 with Pro Tour Atlanta, and ended on 17 August 1997 with the conclusion of 1997 World Championship in Seattle. The season consisted of five Grand Prix, and six Pro Tours, located in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Paris, New York, and Seattle. At the end of the season Paul McCabe from Canada was awarded the Pro Player of the year title. It was the first season to host Grand Prix, which are major tournaments awarding cash prizes and Pro Points, but open to all players.
Shouta Yasooka is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player. He is best known for his success in the 2006 Pro Tour season, when he won Pro Tour Charleston with Tomohiro Kaji and Tomoharu Saitou, as well as the Player of the Year title. In 2015, Yasooka was elected into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.
Michael Pustilnik is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His success include a win at Pro Tour Los Angeles 2001, two other Pro Tour top eights, and seven Grand Prix top eights. Pustilnik is one of six players who won a Pro Tour, a Grand Prix, and a Masters tournament.
Osyp Lebedowicz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. He won Pro Tour Venice 2003, and is also known for his involvement in developing the Aether Vial affinity archetype.
Paul McCabe is a Canadian Magic: The Gathering player. He is known for his success in the 1996-97 Pro Tour season. During this season, McCabe reached the top eight of two Pro Tours, and won the Player of the Year title. He has had no significant finishes in Professional Magic since.
Eugene Harvey is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His major successes include four Pro Tour top eights, and five Grand Prix top eights. Harvey was part of the US national team that won the World Championship in 2001, which was Harvey's first Pro Tour. He also won the 2002 US National Championship.
Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa is a Brazilian Magic: The Gathering player. In 2011, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa became the youngest player to ever reach 300 lifetime Pro Points. He was elected into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2012 as the first player from South America, and has twelve Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, which puts him second for the most Pro Tour Top 8s of all time.
Yuuya Watanabe (渡辺雄也) is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player and former World Champion. With five Pro Tour top eights and 27 Grand Prix top eights, Watanabe is best known for his Rookie of the Year title in 2007, and his Player of the Year titles in 2009 and 2012. He is one of only three players to become Player of the Year more than once. He was elected to the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2016, along with Owen Turtenwald.
Owen Turtenwald is an American professional Magic: The Gathering player. He has won a number of awards during his career, notably the 2010 Vintage World Championship and 2011 and 2015-16 Player of the Year. In 2016, he was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.
