Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2003–04

The 2003–04 Pro Tour season was the ninth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 23 August 2003 the season began with parallel Grand Prixs in Yokohama and London. It ended on 5 September 2004 with the conclusion of the 2004 World Championship in San Francisco. Beginning with this season Wizards of the Coast moved the Pro Tour schedule farther backwards in the year to synchronize it with the calendar year. The season consisted of 26 Grand Prixs and 7 Pro Tours, held in Boston, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Kobe, San Diego, Seattle, and San Francisco. Also the Master Series tournaments were discontinued and replaced by payout at the end of the year based on the Pro Player of the year standings. At the end of the season Gabriel Nassif was proclaimed Pro Player of the year, the first player after Kai Budde's three-year-domination period, and also the first player to win the title without winning a Pro Tour in the same season.

2003–04 Pro Tour season
Pro Player of the YearFrance Gabriel Nassif
Rookie of the YearNetherlands Julien Nuijten
World ChampionNetherlands Julien Nuijten
Pro Tours7
Grands Prix26
Start of season23 August 2003
End of season5 September 2004
← 2002–03 2005 →

Grand Prixs – Yokohama, London, Atlanta

Pro Tour – Boston (12–14 September 2003)

"Phoenix Foundation" had its third consecutive Pro Tour Top 4 appearance, but this time they were eliminated by eventual champions "The Brockafellars". The team consisting of William Jensen, Matt Linde, and Brock Parker had allegedly not done a single practice draft in the format.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $200,100
Players: 399 (133 teams)
Format: Team Sealed (Onslaught, Legions, Scourge) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Onslaught-Legions-Scourge) – final two days
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]

Top 4
Semi-finals Finals
      
1 Zabutan Nemonaut 0
4 Original Slackers 2
Original Slackers 0
The Brockafellars 2
2 Phoenix Foundation 0
3 The Brockafellars 2

Final standings
Place Team Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 The Brockafellars United States Brock Parker $60,000 24
United States William Jensen 24 4th Final day
United States Matt Linde 24 2nd Final day
2 Original Slackers Norway Lovre Crnobori $30,000 18
United Kingdom Jake Smith 18
Sweden Rickard Österberg 18
3 Zabutan Nemonaut United States Mike Turian $18,000 12 3rd Final day
Canada Gary Wise 12 4th Final day
United States Eugene Harvey 12 2nd Final day
4 Phoenix Foundation Germany Marco Blume $15,000 12 3rd Final day
Germany Kai Budde 12 9th Final day
Germany Dirk Baberowski 12 5th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 United States Matt Linde 29
2 United States William Jensen 24
United States Brock Parker 24
4 Germany Marco Blume 18
Norway Lovre Crnobori 18
Sweden Rickard Österberg 18
United Kingdom Jake Smith 18

Grand Prixs – Genova, Sydney, Kansas City, Lyon

Pro Tour – New Orleans (31 October – 2 November 2003)

After finishing second with his team in Boston, Rickard Österberg returned to win Pro Tour New Orleans. The Extended format of New Orleans is considered to be one of the most powerful of all time and Österberg's deck was built around the soon to be banned card Tinker, too.[3]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $200,130
Players: 318
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Mike Guptil[2]

Top 8
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Hans Joachim Höh 1
8 Masashi Oiso 3
Masashi Oiso 2
Gabriel Nassif 3
4 Gabriel Nassif 3
5 Tomohiro Yokosuka 0
Gabriel Nassif 2
Rickard Österberg 3
2 Yann Hamon *
7 Nicolas Labarre *
Yann Hamon 0
Rickard Österberg 3
3 Eugene Harvey 2
6 Rickard Österberg 3

* Hamon and Labarre both had to catch a flight on the morning of the Top 8 and did not want to book two new flights. They thus played an unofficial match at their hotel on the preceding evening to decide who would officially concede to the other. Hamon won 3–2.[4]

Final standings
Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Sweden Rickard Österberg $30,000 32 2nd Final day
2 France Gabriel Nassif $20,000 24 3rd Final day
3 France Yann Hamon $15,000 16
4 Japan Masashi Oiso $13,000 16 2nd Final day
5 Germany Hans Joachim Höh $9,500 12
6 United States Eugene Harvey $8,500 12 3rd Final day
7 Japan Tomohiro Yokosuka $7,500 12
8 France Nicolas Labarre $6,500 12 4th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 Sweden Rickard Österberg 50
2 United States Matt Linde 31
3 France Gabriel Nassif 30
4 France Yann Hamon 27
5 United States Brock Parker 26
United States William Jensen 26

Grand Prixs – Shizuoka, Gothenburg, Munich, Anaheim

Pro Tour – Amsterdam (16–18 January 2004)

Norwegian Nicolai Herzog defeated Osamu Fujita in the finals to win Pro Tour Amsterdam. Other than Fujita and Herzog the final eight included only accomplished players with at least one other lifetime Pro Tour final day appearance.[5]

Tournament data

Players: 347
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Rochester Draft (Mirrodin)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk[2]

Top 8
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Farid Meraghni 1
8 Nicolai Herzog 3
Nicolai Herzog 3
Olivier Ruel 0
4 Olivier Ruel 3
5 Mike Turian 1
Nicolai Herzog 3
Osamu Fujita 0
2 Kamiel Cornelissen 1
7 Osamu Fujita 3
Osamu Fujita 3
Anton Jonsson 2
3 Aeo Paquette 0
7 Anton Jonsson 3

Final standings
Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Norway Nicolai Herzog $30,000 32 3rd Final day
2 Japan Osamu Fujita $20,000 24
3 Sweden Anton Jonsson $15,000 16 3rd Final day
4 France Olivier Ruel $13,000 16 2nd Final day
5 Netherlands Kamiel Cornelissen $9,000 12 3rd Final day
6 Canada Aeo Paquette $8,500 12 Pro Tour debut
7 France Farid Meraghni $8,000 12 2nd Final day
8 United States Mike Turian $7,500 12 4th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 Norway Rickard Österberg 52
2 Norway Nicolai Herzog 38
3 France Yann Hamon 36
4 Japan Osamu Fujita 34
United States Matt Linde 34
France Gabriel Nassif 34

Grand Prixs – Okayama, Oakland, Madrid

Pro Tour – Kobe (27–29 February 2004)

On home turf Masashiro Kuroda won the first Pro Tour title for Japan, defeating Gabriel Nassif in the finals.[6]

Tournament data

Players: 239
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Mirrodin Block Constructed (Mirrodin, Darksteel)
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]

Top 8
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Luigi Sbrozzi 1
8 Jelger Wiegersma 3
Jelger Wiegersma 1
Gabriel Nassif 3
4 Ben Stark 2
5 Gabriel Nassif 3
Gabriel Nassif 1
Masashiro Kuroda 3
2 Raffaele Lo Moro 0
7 Masashiro Kuroda 3
Masashiro Kuroda 3
Alexandre Peset 2
3 Alexandre Peset 3
6 Stefano Fiori 2

Final standings
Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Japan Masashiro Kuroda $30,000 32 1st Japanese Player to win a Pro Tour
2 France Gabriel Nassif $20,000 24 4th Final day
3 France Alexandre Peset $15,000 16 Pro Tour debut
4 Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma $13,000 16 2nd Final day
5 Italy Luigi Sbrozzi $9,000 12 Pro Tour debut
6 Italy Raffaele Lo Moro $8,500 12 2nd Final day
7 United States Ben Stark $8,000 12
8 Italy Stefano Fiori $7,500 12

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 Norway Rickard Österberg 59
2 France Gabriel Nassif 58
3 Germany Kai Budde 43
4 Japan Osamu Fujita 42
5 Norway Nicolai Herzog 41

Grand Prixs – Hong Kong, Sendai, Columbus, Birmingham, Washington DC, Bochum

Pro Tour – San Diego (14–16 May 2004)

The second Mirrodin Draft Pro Tour saw three players amongst the final four, who had already finished in the Top 8 in the first Mirrodin Draft Pro Tour. Nicolai Herzog even followed his Amsterdam win up with another win victory, thus taking home the title in both Mirrodin Draft Pro Tours.[7]

Tournament data

Players: 312
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Mirrodin Booster Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel)
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]

Top 8
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Masashi Oiso 1
8 Anton Jonsson 3
Anton Jonsson 2
Antoine Ruel 3
4 Antoine Ruel 3
5 Angel Perez del Pozo 2
Antoine Ruel 0
Nicolai Herzog 3
2 Mike Turian 3
7 Mark Herberholz 0
Mike Turian 1
Nicolai Herzog 3
3 Ben Stark 0
6 Nicolai Herzog 3

Final standings
Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Norway Nicolai Herzog $30,000 32 4th Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win
2 France Antoine Ruel $20,000 24 2nd Final day
3 United States Mike Turian $15,000 16 5th Final day
4 Sweden Anton Jonsson $13,000 16 4th Final day
5 United States Mark Herberholz $9,000 12
6 United States Ben Stark $8,500 12 2nd Final day
7 Spain Angel Perez del Pozo $8,000 12 Pro Tour debut
8 Japan Masashi Oiso $7,500 12 3rd Final day

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 Norway Nicolai Herzog 77
2 Norway Rickard Österberg 65
3 France Gabriel Nassif 63
4 France Antoine Ruel 53
5 Germany Kai Budde 47

Grand Prixs – Brussels, Zurich

Pro Tour – Seattle (9–11 July 2004)

Team "Von Dutch" from the Netherlands defeated Japanese "www.shop-fireBall.com2" in the finals to become the 2004 Pro Tour Seattle champions. The team consisted of Jeroen Remie, Jelger Wiegersma, and Kamiel Cornelissen.[8]

Tournament data

Players: 321 (107 teams)
Prize Pool: $200,100
Format: Team Sealed (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel-Fifth Dawn)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk[2]

Top 4
Quarter-finals Semi-finals
      
1 Von Dutch 2
4 Pocket Rockets 1
Von Dutch 2
www.shop-fireball.com2 1
3 www.shop-fireball.com2 2
2 S.A.I. 1

Final standings
Place Team Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Von Dutch Netherlands Jeroen Remie $60,000 24 3rd Final day
Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma 24 3rd Final day
Netherlands Kamiel Cornelissen 24 4th Final day
2 www.shop-fireball.com2 Japan Itaru Ishida $30,000 18
Japan Tsuyoshi Ikeda 18 2nd Final day
Japan Jin Okamoto 18 2nd Final day
3 S.A.I. Japan Ichirou Shimura $18,000 12
Japan Masami Ibamoto 12
Japan Ryuuichi Arita 12
4 Pocket Rockets Canada Paul Russell $16,200 12 Pro Tour debut
Canada Joseph Derro 12 Pro Tour debut
Canada Matthew Wood 12 Pro Tour debut

Pro Player of the year standings
Rank Player Pro Points
1 Norway Nicolai Herzog 80
2 France Gabriel Nassif 71
Sweden Rickard Österberg 71
4 Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma 64
5 France Antoine Ruel 61

Grand Prixs – Kuala Lumpur, Orlando, New Jersey, Nagoya

2004 World Championships – San Francisco (1–5 September 2004)
Main article: Magic: The Gathering World Championship § 2004 World Championship

Fifteen-year-old Julien Nuijten from the Netherlands won the 2004 World Championship, defeating Aeo Paquette in the finals. Gabriel Nassif had his third final eight appearance within the season and thus claimed Pro Player of the year title. It was also his and Kamiel Cornelissen's fifth overall Top 8. Germany won the national team competition, defeating Belgium in the finals.[9]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $208,130 (individual) + $208,000 (national teams)
Players: 304
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel-Fifth Dawn), Mirrodin Block Constructed (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk, Collin Jackson[2]

Top 8
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
         
1 Kamiel Cornelissen 1
8 Manuel Bevand 3
Manuel Bevand 1
Aeo Paquette 3
4 Aeo Paquette 3
5 Gabriel Nassif 1
Aeo Paquette 1
Julien Nuijten 3
2 Julien Nuijten 3
7 Murray Evans 2
Julien Nuijten 3
Ryou Ogura 2
3 Terry Soh 2
6 Ryou Ogura 3

Final standings
Place Player Prize Pro Points Comment
1 Netherlands Julien Nuijten $35,000 32 Pro Tour debut
2 Canada Aeo Paquette $23,000 24 2nd Final day
3 Japan Ryou Ogura $15,000 16
4 France Manuel Bevand $13,000 16
5 Netherlands Kamiel Cornelissen $9,500 12 5th Final day
6 Malaysia Terry Soh $8,500 12
7 France Gabriel Nassif $7,500 12 5th Final day
8 Canada Murray Evans $6,500 12

National team competition
  1. Germany Germany (Sebastian Zink, Torben Twiefel, Roland Bode)
  2. Belgium Belgium (Dilson Ramos Da Fonseca, Vincent Lemoine, Geoffrey Siron)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Gabriel Nassif was awarded the Pro Player of the year title. He was the first player to win the title without winning a Pro Tour in the same season.

Rank Player Pro Points Prize
1 France Gabriel Nassif 86 $20,000
2 Norway Nicolai Herzog 82 $19,800
3 Sweden Rickard Österberg 76 $19,600
4 France Antoine Ruel 68 $19,400
5 Netherlands Jelger Wiegersma 66 $19,200

References
  1. "Live Coverage of 2003 Pro Tour Boston". Wizards of the Coast. 14 September 2003. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
  2. "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009.
  3. Rosewater, Mark (9 August 2004). "On Tour, Part 2". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009.
  4. David-Marshall, Brian (2 November 2003). "Labarre forfeits". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009.
  5. "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Amsterdam". Wizards of the Coast. 18 January 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
  6. "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Kobe". Wizards of the Coast. 29 February 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
  7. "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour San Diego". Wizards of the Coast. 16 May 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
  8. "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Seattle". Wizards of the Coast. 11 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008.
  9. "Nuijten, Nassif dominate Worlds". Wizards of the Coast. 5 September 2004. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008.
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