Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1998–99

1998–99 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the Year Germany Kai Budde
Rookie of the Year Germany Dirk Baberowski
World Champion Germany Kai Budde
Pro Tours 5
Grands Prix 14
Start of season 5 September 1998
End of season 8 August 1999
← 1997–98 1999–00 →

The 1998–99 Pro Tour season was the fourth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 5 September 1998 with Grand Prix Boston and ended on 8 August 1999 with the conclusion of 1999 World Championship in Tokyo. The season consisted of fourteen Grand Prix, and five Pro Tours, located in Chicago, Rome, Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. At the end of the season Kai Budde from Germany was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.

Grand Prix – Boston, Lisbon

GP Boston (5–6 September)
  1. United States Jon Finkel
  2. United States Randy Buehler
  3. United States Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
  4. United States Zvi Mowshowitz
  5. United States Darwin Kastle
  6. United States Mike Bregoli
  7. United States Dave Beury
  8. United States Ben Farkas
GP Lisbon (12–13 September)
  1. Portugal Bruno Cardoso
  2. United States Brian Hacker
  3. United States Randy Buehler
  4. Portugal Helder Coelho
  5. Belgium Jean-Louis D'Hondt
  6. France Laurent Pagorek
  7. France Alexis Dumay
  8. Portugal Jorge Martins

Pro Tour – Chicago (25–27 September 1998)

As in the previous season a rookie won the inaugural Pro Tour. In the finals Dirk Baberowski defeated Casey McCarrel. Jon Finkel also had another final eight showing, his third in a row.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 324[2]
Format: Tempest Booster Draft (Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus)[3][4]
Head Judge: Charlie Catino[5]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Dirk Baberowski 3
8 Dominique Coena 1
Dirk Baberowski 3
Benedikt Klauser 0
4 Benedikt Klauser 3
5 Jon Finkel 2
Dirk Baberowski 3
Casey McCarrel 1
3 Jeff Fung 3
6 Ryan Fuller 1
Jeff Fung 0
Casey McCarrel 3
2 Casey McCarrel 3
7 Martin Cedercrantz 2
Loser's Bracket

Pro Tour Chicago also had Top 8 loser's bracket, that had matches held as best of three instead of five. The first round paired the quarter-finals losers against each other. Finkel defeated Coene 2–1 and Fuller defeated Cedercrantz 2–0. In the second and final round the winners of the first round were paired against the losers of the Top 8 semi-finals. Fung defeated Finkel 2–1 and Klauser defeated Fuller 2–1.[6]

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1 Germany Dirk Baberowski $25,000 Pro Tour debut
2 United States Casey McCarrel $15,000 2nd Final day
3 Canada Jeff Fung $10,000
4 Austria Benedikt Klauser $8,000 1st Austrian in a Top 8
5 United States Jon Finkel $6,500 4th Final day
6 Canada Ryan Fuller $5,500
7 Sweden Martin Cedercrantz $4,800
8 Belgium Dominique Coene $4,300

Grand Prix – Austin, Birmingham

GP Austin (10–11 October)
  1. Canada Gary Krakower
  2. United States Darwin Kastle
  3. United States Heath Kennel
  4. United States Richard Van Cleave
  5. United States Jeremy Baca
  6. United States Tony Tsai
  7. United States Sid Rao
  8. United States Jonathan Pechon
GP Birmingham (17–18 October)
  1. England Craig Jones
  2. Germany Kai Budde
  3. United States Darwin Kastle
  4. England Neil Rigby
  5. Finland Arho Toikka
  6. England Warren Marsh
  7. Sweden Andreas Jonsson
  8. Belgium Jean-Louis D'Hondt

Pro Tour – Rome (13–15 November 1998)

Tommi Hovi won Pro Tour Rome, thus becoming the first player to win two Pro Tours. Reportedly Hovi was particularly happy to win another Pro Tour, because he won his first due to a disqualification, and thus felt it was not a proper victory. Olle Råde became the first player to have five Top 8 appearances.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 266[7]
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Carl Crook[5]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Erik Lauer 1
8 Nicolas Labarre 3
Nicolas Labarre 3
Federico Dato 1
4 Mark Le Pine 1
5 Federico Dato 2
Nicolas Labarre 1
Tommi Hovi 3
3 Tommi Hovi 3
6 Justin Gary 2
Tommi Hovi 3
Olle Råde 0
2 Olle Råde 3
7 André Konstanczer 2
Loser's Bracket

The first round of the loser's bracket paired the quarter-finals losers against each other. Le Pine defeated Lauer 2–0 and Gary defeated Konstanczer 2–1. In the second and final round of the loser's bracket the winners of the first round were paired against the losers of the Top 8 semi-finals. Dato defeated Gary 2–1 and Le Pine defeated Råde 2–1.[8]

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1 Finland Tommi Hovi $25,000 3rd Final day, First player to win two Pro Tours
2 France Nicolas Labarre $15,000
3 United States Mark Le Pine $10,000 2nd Final day
4 Italy Federico Dato $8,000
5 Sweden Olle Råde $6,500 5th Final day
6 United States Justin Gary $5,500
7 United States Erik Lauer $4,800
8 Germany André Konstanczer $4,300

Grand Prix – Manila, Kyoto, San Francisco, Barcelona

GP Manila (12–13 December)
  1. Japan Toshiki Tsukamoto
  2. Philippines Scion Raguindin
  3. Philippines Josua Rivera
  4. Philippines Leo Gonzales
  5. Philippines Rozano Yu
  6. Philippines Francis Robert Profeta
  7. Philippines GeeVee Vegara
  8. Japan Itaru Ishida
GP San Francisco (23–24 January)
  1. United States Richard Van Cleave
  2. United States Mark Schick
  3. United States John Yoo
  4. United States Alan Comer
  5. United States Mike Craig
  6. United States Shawn Keller
  7. United States Hashim Bello
  8. United States Shawn Roush
GP Kyoto (16–17 January)
  1. Japan Yoshikazu Ishii
  2. Japan Hiroshi Watanabe
  3. Japan Masami Ibamoto
  4. Japan Tsuyoshi Fujita
  5. Japan Tadayoshi Komiya
  6. Japan Hirobumi Nakamura
  7. Japan Hideaki Amano
  8. Japan Eisaku Sueyoshi
GP Barcelona (6–7 February)
  1. Germany Kai Budde
  2. United States Alex Shvartsman
  3. Spain Roc Herms
  4. France Raphaël Lévy
  5. England Daniel Nuttal
  6. Netherlands Matt Henstra
  7. France Laurent Laclavie
  8. England Gordon Benson

Pro Tour – Los Angeles (26–28 February 1999)

Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz won Pro Tour Los Angeles defeating his friend and fellow New Yorker Jon Finkel in the final.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 337
Format: Urza's Saga Rochester Draft (Urza's Saga)
Head Judge: Charlie Catino[5]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Lucien Bui 1
8 Jon Finkel 3
Jon Finkel 3
Worth Wollpert 1
4 Worth Wollpert 3
5 Svend Geertsen 2
Jon Finkel 1
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz 3
3 Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz 3
6 Mike Long 1
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz 3*
Terry Lau 2*
2 Patrick Chapin 0
7 Terry Lau 3

* = The semi-final of O'Mahoney-Schwartz against Lau went over six games. One of the games had been a draw. After five games the score was 2–2 and a draw, thus the sixth game became necessary.

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1 United States Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz $25,000 2nd Final day
2 United States Jon Finkel $15,000 5th Final day
3 United States Worth Wollpert $10,000
4 Canada Terry Lau $8,000
5 France Lucien Bui $6,500
6 United States Patrick Chapin $5,500 2nd Final day
7 Denmark Svend Geertsen $4,800 3rd Final day
8 United States Mike Long $4,300 3rd Final day

Grand Prix – Vienna, Kansas City, Oslo, Taipei

GP Vienna (13–14 March)
  1. Germany Kai Budde
  2. Austria Christian Gregorich
  3. United States Jon Finkel
  4. United States Erik Lauer
  5. United States Randy Buehler
  6. Czech Republic Jakub Slemr
  7. Germany Dirk Hein
  8. Germany Peer Kröger
GP Oslo (10–11 April)
  1. Germany Jim Herold
  2. Finland Mikko Lintamo
  3. Norway Christer Ljones
  4. Norway Bjørn Ove Leknes Skogneth
  5. Finland Seppo Toikka
  6. United States Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
  7. Germany André Konstanczer
  8. Finland Jonathan Brown
GP Kansas City (27–28 March)
  1. United States Mark Gordon
  2. United States Chris Pikula
  3. United States Bob Maher, Jr.
  4. United States Scott Seville
  5. United States Jon Finkel
  6. United States Lan D. Ho
  7. United States Randy Buehler
  8. Canada Vincent Johnson
GP Taipei (24–25 April)
  1. Japan Kenichi Fujita
  2. Japan Iwao Takemasa
  3. United States Tobey Tamber
  4. Japan Itaru Ishida
  5. Hong Kong Chi Fai Ng
  6. Hong Kong Kai Cheog Tang
  7. United States Alex Shvartsman
  8. Taiwan Miller Tsai

Pro Tour – New York (30 April – 2 May 1999)

In the finals of Pro Tour New York Casey McCarrel defeated Shawn Keller,[1] both playing nearly identical decks, which was designed by Ben Rubin, Lan D. Ho, and Terry Tsang, who also made the Top 8 with the deck. The concept of their decks was to quickly generate huge amounts of mana to play big spells. Rob Dougherty and David Humpherys played nearly identical decks, designed by YMG.[9]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 308[10]
Format: Urza's Saga Block Constructed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy)
Head Judge: Dan Gray[5]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Zvi Mowshowitz 3
8 Terry Tsang 2
Zvi Mowshowitz 2
Casey McCarrel 3
5 Casey McCarrel 3
4 Christian Lührs 2
Casey McCarrel 3
Shawn Keller 1
3 Shawn Keller 3
6 Nicolas Labarre 1
Shawn Keller 3
Dave Humpherys 1
7 Dave Humpherys 3
2 Rob Dougherty 1

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1 United States Casey McCarrel $25,000 3rd Final day
2 United States Shawn Keller $15,000
3 United States Zvi Mowshowitz $10,000
4 United States Dave Humpherys $8,000
5 United States Rob Dougherty $6,500
6 Germany Christian Lührs $5,500
7 France Nicolas Labarre $4,800 2nd Final day
8 Canada Terry Tsang $4,300

Grand Prix – Amsterdam, Washington D.C.

GP Amsterdam (15–16 May)
  1. Germany Kai Budde
  2. Germany Dirk Baberowski
  3. Germany André Konstanczer
  4. Italy Guido Pacifici
  5. Netherlands Bram Snepvangers
  6. Germany Janosch Kühn
  7. Germany Daniel Steinsdorfer
  8. Belgium Vincent Gieling
GP Washington D.C. (19–20 June)
  1. United States Ben Farkas
  2. United States Chris Pikula
  3. United States Noah Weil
  4. United States Zvi Mowshowitz
  5. United States Mike Turian
  6. United States Scott McCord
  7. United States Mark Le Pine
  8. United States Dennis Bentley

1999 World Championships – Tokyo (4–8 August 1999)

Kai Budde won the 1999 World Championship, defeating Mark Le Pine in the finals. The match went into the books as the shortest individual Pro Tour final ever, taking about 20 minutes. The title allowed Budde to take the Pro Player of the year title as well.[1]

The United States defeated Germany in the team finals to win the national team title.[1]

Tournament data

Players: 208
Format: Standard, Rochester Draft (Mirage-Visions-Weatherlight), Extended Individual formats: Urza's Saga Rochester Draft (Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny), Standard, Extended
Team formats: Team Sealed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, Urza's Destiny) – Swiss; Standard – Finals
Head Judge: Charlie Catino[5]

Top 8

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Jakub Slemr 2
8 Matt Linde 3
Matt Linde 2
Mark Le Pine 3
5 Mark Le Pine 3
4 Gary Wise 1
Mark Le Pine 0
Kai Budde 3
3 Jamie Parke 1
6 Kai Budde 3
Kai Budde 3
Raffaele Lo Moro 0
7 Nicolai Herzog 1
2 Raffaele Lo Moro 3

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1 Germany Kai Budde $34,000
2 United States Mark Le Pine 3rd Final day
3 Italy Raffaele Lo Moro
4 United States Matt Linde
5 Czech Republic Jakub Slemr 3rd Final day
6 United States Jamie Parke
7 Canada Gary Wise
8 Norway Nicolai Herzog

National team competition

  1. United States United States (Kyle Rose, John Hunka, Zvi Mowshowitz, Charles Kornblith)
  2. Germany Germany (Marco Blume, Patrick Mello, David Brucker, Rosario Maij)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Kai Budde was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.[11]

Rank Player Pro Points
1 Germany Kai Budde 75
2 United States Jon Finkel 65
3 United States Casey McCarrel 63
4 United States Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz 57
5 United States Mark Le Pine 52

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rosewater, Mark (26 July 2004). "On Tour, Part 1". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  2. ↑ "Pro Tour – Chicago 1998 Semifinals Results and Finals Brackets". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Pro Tour – Chicago '98 Quarterfinals Decks". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Pro Tour - Chicago '98 Booster Draft Preview". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  6. ↑ "Pro Tour - Chicago, 1998". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 13, 2000. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Pro Tour – Rome, 1998". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Pro Tour - Chicago, 1998". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 13, 2000. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Pro Tour-New York 1999 Top 8 Decklists". 2 May 1999. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  10. ↑ "Pro Tour – New York, 1999". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on July 9, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ "1997–1998 Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 1999. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
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