Magic: The Gathering World Championship

Magic: The Gathering World Championships
Year	Winner	Held in
1994	Zak Dolan	Milwaukee, WI, USA
1995	Alexander Blumke	Seattle, WA, USA
1996	Tom Chanpheng	Seattle, WA, USA
1997	Jakub Slemr	Seattle, WA, USA
1998	Brian Selden	Seattle, WA, USA
1999	Kai Budde	Yokohama, Japan
2000	Jon Finkel	Brussels, Belgium
2001	Tom van de Logt	Toronto, Canada
2002	Carlos Romão	Sydney, Australia
2003	Daniel Zink	Berlin, Germany
2004	Julien Nuijten	San Francisco, CA, USA
2005	Katsuhiro Mori	Yokohama, Japan
2006	Makihito Mihara	Paris, France
2007	Uri Peleg	New York City, NY, USA
2008	Antti Malin	Memphis, TN, USA
2009	André Coimbra	Rome, Italy
2010	Guillaume Matignon	Chiba, Japan
2011	Jun'ya Iyanaga	San Francisco, CA, USA

The Magic: The Gathering World Championships (Worlds) have been held annually since 1994. It is the most important tournament in the game of Magic: The Gathering, offering to the winner a cash prize of $45,000. Originally open to all competitors, Worlds is now an invitation-only event and the last Pro Tour of each season. The invitees are mostly top finishers from the National championships, the top-ranked players of the DCI and high-level pro players.

After the first five World Championships were all held in the United States, Worlds were held in various places outside the US, most of which were either in Europe or Japan. Besides the main event Worlds is always a huge gathering of Magic players, who come to watch the pros and compete in side events.

History

A view over the hall at the 2009 Magic Worlds in Rome.

The first World Championship was held in 1994 at the Gen Con fair in Milwaukee. Despite the name the tournament varied considerably from later Worlds. The tournament was open to all competitors, its mode was single-elimination, and it featured just one format, Type I (now Vintage). Starting with the 1995 Worlds all subsequent Worlds were open to invited players only.

With the introduction of the Pro Tour in 1996 the World Championship became the final stop of each Pro Tour season. As the final event to award Pro points every season, Worlds also since hosts the Pro Player of the Year award ceremony. Traditionally held in August, Worlds was moved to the end of the year between 2004 and 2006, when the Pro Tour season was adjusted to the calendar year. Since the inception of the Hall of Fame in 2005 Worlds also hosts the induction ceremony of each year's class.

Major changes to the World Championships were announced in 2011, to take effect in 2012. As of 2012, the World Championships shall no longer be a single event and instead will be split into a separate national team event and individual player event. The team event shall be called the World Magic Cup, featuring four player national teams. The individual player event, which was altered to feature only 16 players, shall be called the Magic: The Gathering Players Championship.

Mode

Most Worlds have been held over five days, hosting an individual and a team competition. The individual competition consists of three disciplines in which every participant has to compete. Traditionally that has been six rounds of Standard played on the first day, two Drafts of three rounds each on the second, and six rounds of some previously determined constructed format on the third day. The fourth day hosted the national team competition. On the final day the best eight players from the individual competition returned to determine the World Champion in three rounds of single elimination.

Beginning with the 2007 Worlds the tournament has been shortened to four days. The schedule has been altered to further accommodate all parts of the competition.

Participants

World Championship

The following players are eligible to play in the World Championship:

• Current World Champion
• 2nd to 8th place finishers from the previous World Championship.
• Current Pro Player of the Year.
• For countries that hold an invitation-only National Championship, the three members of each national team and that team’s designated alternate.
• For countries that hold an open National Championship, the winner of that National Championship.
• Players with Pro Tour Players Club level 4 or higher. (This includes all members of the Hall of Fame.)
• Players with Pro Tour Players Club level 3 that have not yet used their Players Club invitation
• Top 25 DCI Total-ranked players from the APAC region.
• Top 25 DCI Total-ranked players from Japan.
• Top 50 DCI Total-ranked players from the Europe region.
• Top 50 DCI Total-ranked players from the Latin America region.
• Top 50 DCI Total-ranked players from the North America region.
• Players invited to the Magic Online Championship held the same week (New in 2009).

(Compare Magic Premier Event Invitation Policy). In recent years, the tournament location has alternated between North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

Team World Championship

The Team World Championship consists of three-player teams, with each team representing one country. Players that are eligible to play in the Team World Championship are the first, second and third place players at a country's National Championship.

Magic Players Championship

On 2nd November 2011, Wizards of the Coast announced a major change to the structure of the World Championship. It was announced that as of 2012, the individual World Championship would be renamed the Magic Players Championship and move from being a Pro Tour-sized event to an exclusive sixteen-person tournament. These sixteen players will be:

• Current World Champion/Magic Players Champion
• Current Magic Online Champion
• Winners of the previous three Pro Tours
• The top-ranked player from each geo-region (Asia Pacific, Europe, Japan, Latin America, and North America) in the Planeswalker Points Yearly Professional Total who are not yet invited based on the above criteria
• The top-ranked players in the worldwide Planeswalker Points Yearly Professional Total who are not yet invited based on the above criteria sufficient to bring the total number of invited players to the World Championship to sixteen

In 2012, it was also decided to invite the 2011 Pro Player of the Year, Owen Turtenwald, however this title will be defunct as of 2012.

World Magic Cup

As of 2012, the Team World Championship will be a single separate event which has been named the World Magic Cup. This national team event will consist of four-player teams representing selected countries. The four players eligible to play in each national team will be the three winners of World Magic Cup qualifiers and the National Champion of the country. The National Champion is the highest ranked player from that country in that year's rankings.

1994 World championship

Zak Dolan – 1994 World Championship Angel Stasis
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
1 Black Vise 1 Howling Mine 1 Icy Manipulator 1 Ivory Tower 2 Meekstone 1 Winter Orb 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Clone 1 Control Magic 1 Mana Drain 2 Old Man of the Sea 1 Recall 1 Siren's Call 2 Stasis 1 Time Elemental 1 Timetwister 1 Time Walk 1 Vesuvan Doppelganger 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Ley Druid 1 Regrowth 1 Armageddon 2 Disenchant 1 Kismet 4 Serra Angel 4 Swords to Plowshares 1 Wrath of God	1 Library of Alexandria 4 Savannah 2 Strip Mine 4 Tropical Island 4 Tundra 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Jet 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Vault	1 Chaos Orb 1 CoP Red 1 Copy Artifact 1 Diamond Valley 1 In the Eye of Chaos 1 Floral Spuzzem 2 Karma 1 Magical Hack 1 Powersink 1 Presence of the Master 1 Reverse Damage 1 Sleight of Mind 1 Kismet 1 Winter Blast

The first Magic World Championship was held at the Gen Con in Milwaukee, USA on 19–21 August 1994. It is the only Worlds tournament which was held in the Vintage format, then known as Type I. The 1994 Worlds is also the only Worlds which was not an invite-only tournament, instead everybody could register, but the tournament was capped at 512 participants. After two days of single elimination play the final four players featured Bertrand Lestrée, who defeated Cyrille DeFoucaud 2–0 in his semi-final, and Zak Dolan, who defeated Dominic Symens 2–0 in the other semi-final. In the final Dolan defeated Lestrée 2–1.

Final standings

1. Zak Dolan
2. Bertrand Lestrée
3. Dominic Symens
4. Cyrille de Foucaud

1995 World championship

Alexander Blumke – 1995 World Championship Rack Control
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
1 Disrupting Scepter 2 Icy Manipulator 3 The Rack 2 Zuran Orb 3 Dance of the Dead 1 Dark Banishing 4 Dark Ritual 4 Hymn to Tourach 3 Hypnotic Specter 1 Mind Twist 1 Pestilence 1 Royal Assassin 2 Sengir Vampire 2 Terror 1 Power Sink 1 Balance 3 Disenchant 1 Land Tax 1 Spirit Link 1 Swords to Plowshares	3 Adarkar Wastes 1 Bottomless Vault 4 Mishra's Factory 3 Plains 1 Strip Mine 12 Swamp 1 Underground River	1 CoP Artifact 1 CoP Black 2 CoP Red 1 Land Tax 1 Prismatic Ward 4 Gloom 2 Stromgald Cabal 1 Blue Elemental Blast 1 Magical Hack 1 Sleight of Mind

The second Magic Worlds Championship was held on 4–6 August at the Red Lion Inn in Seattle, USA. 71 players from 19 countries participated. The tournament featured five rounds of Sealed Deck on the first day and five rounds of Standard, then known as Type II, on the second day. Points were awarded for each individual game instead of completed matches as today. The top 8 on Sunday were played with the Standard decks from the day before. In the final Alexander Blumke defeated Mark Hernandez 3–2.

Final standings

1. Alexander Blumke
2. Marc Hernandez
3. Mark Justice
3. Henry Stern
5. Ivan Curina
5. Andrea Redi
5. Henri Schildt
5. Mu Luen Wang

Team champion

1. United States – Mark Justice, Henry Stern, Peter Leiher, Michael Long
2. Finland – Rosendahl, Henry Schildt, Kimmo Hovi, Punakallio
3. Australia – Shandley, Hubson, Russell, Liew
4. France – Marc Hernandez, Moulin, Woirgard, Lebas

1996 World championship

Tom Chanpheng – 1996 World Championship White Weenie
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
1 Lodestone Bauble 2 Phyrexian War Beast 1 Zuran Orb 1 Sleight of Mind 1 Armageddon 1 Balance 4 Disenchant 1 Land Tax 4 Order of Leitbur 4 Order of the White Shield 1 Reinforcements 1 Reprisal 4 Savannah Lions 2 Serra Angel 4 Swords to Plowshares 4 White Knight	1 Kjeldoran Outpost 4 Mishra's Factory 15 Plains 4 Strip Mine	2 Arenson's Aura 1 Black Vise 4 Divine Offering 1 Energy Storm 1 Exile 1 Reprisal 1 Spirit Link 1 Sleight of Mind 2 Serrated Arrows 1 Kjeldoran Outpost

The third Magic World Championship was held at the Wizards headquarters in Seattle, USA. It was the first Worlds also to be a Pro Tour. 125 players competed in the event. The tournament featured a Booster Draft, a Standard (Type II), and a Legacy (Type 1.5) portion.

Final standings

1. Tom Chanpheng
2. Mark Justice
3. Henry Stern
3. Olle Råde
5. Matt Place
5. Scott Johns
5. Eric Tam
5. Tommi Hovi

Note that Chanpeng's winning deck included a Sleight of Mind, but no sources of blue mana. This stems from an error in his submitted decklist. He was forced to use plains in lieu of the 4 Adarkar Wastes he had planned to include.

Tom's victory was commemorated with a unique card, named 1996 World Champion.

Team final

1. United States – Dennis Bentley, George Baxter, Mike Long, Matt Place
2. Czech Republic – David Korejtko, Jakub Slemr, Ondrej Baudys, Lucas Kocourek

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Olle Råde
2. Shawn "Hammer" Regnier
3. Mark Justice

1997 World championship

Jakub Slemr – 1997 World Championship
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Black Knight 4 Choking Sands 4 Contagion 4 Fallen Askari 4 Knight of Stromgald 1 Necratog 4 Nekrataal 2 Shadow Guildmage 4 Man-o-War 2 Uktabi Orangutan 2 Earthquake 4 Incinerate	3 City of Brass 3 Gemstone Mine 2 Sulfurous Springs 10 Swamp 1 Underground River 3 Undiscovered Paradise	2 Disenchant 1 Exile 1 Honorable Passage 3 Pyroblast 2 Dystopia 2 Ebony Charm 2 Forsaken Wastes 2 Hydroblast

The fourth Magic World Championship was held on 13–17 August 1997 in Seattle, USA. 153 players competed in the event. It was the first Magic tournament to be filmed by ESPN2. The competition featured Standard, Mirage-Visions-Weatherlight Rochester Draft, and Extended.

Final standings

1. Jakub Slemr
2. Janosch Kühn
3. Paul McCabe
3. Svend Geertsen
5. Gabriel Tsang
5. Nikolai Weibull
5. Nate Clark
5. John Chinnock

Team final

1. Canada – Gary Krakower, Michael Donais, Ed Ito, Gabriel Tsang
2. Sweden – Nikolai Weibull, Matthias Jorstedt, Marcus Angelin, Johan Cedercrantz

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Paul McCabe
2. Terry Borer

1998 World championship

Brian Selden – 1998 World Championship RecSur
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
2 Scroll Rack 2 Lobotomy 2 Nekrataal 4 Recurring Nightmare 1 Spirit of the Night 1 Thrull Surgeon 1 Man-o'-War 1 Tradewind Rider 4 Birds of Paradise 2 Spike Feeder 1 Spike Weaver 4 Survival of the Fittest 2 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Verdant Force 4 Wall of Blossoms 2 Wall of Roots 2 Firestorm 1 Orcish Settlers 1 Cloudchaser Eagle	3 City of Brass 8 Forest 1 Gemstone Mine 2 Karplusan Forest 2 Reflecting Pool 1 Swamp 2 Underground River 2 Undiscovered Paradise 1 Volrath's Stronghold	1 Staunch Defenders 3 Emerald Charm 1 Hall of Gemstone 2 Pyroblast 4 Boil 2 Dread of Night 2 Phyrexian Furnace

The fifth Magic World Championship was held on 12–16 August 1998 in Seattle, USA. This tournament featured a Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus Booster Draft, Standard, and Tempest Block Constructed.

203 players competed in the event. The USA dominated the top 8, taking seven of the eight slots. The USA also won the team competition.

Finishing order

1. Brian Selden
2. Ben Rubin
3. Jon Finkel
4. Raphaël Lévy
5. Scott Johns
6. Chris Pikula
7. Brian Hacker
8. Alan Comer

Team final

1. United States – Matt Linde, Mike Long, Bryce Currence, Jon Finkel
2. France – Pierre Malherbaud, Manuel Bevand, Marc Hernandez, Fabien Demazeau

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Jon Finkel
2. Randy Buehler
3. Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz

Rookie of the Year

1. Randy Buehler

1999 World championship

Kai Budde – 1999 World Championship Wildfire
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Cursed Scroll 4 Fire Diamond 4 Grim Monolith 3 Masticore 1 Karn, Silver Golem 2 Mishra's Helix 4 Temporal Aperture 4 Thran Dynamo 4 Voltaic Key 2 Worn Powerstone 4 Covetous Dragon 4 Wildfire	3 Ancient Tomb 4 City of Traitors 13 Mountain	2 Boil 3 Earthquake 2 Rack and Ruin 2 Shattering Pulse 4 Spellshock 1 Mishra's Helix 1 Phyrexian Processor

The sixth Magic World Championship was held on 4–8 August 1999 in Yokohama, Japan. This tournament featured an Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny Rochester Draft, Standard, and Extended.

208 players from 32 countries competed in the event. In the final Kai Budde defeated Mark Le Pine 3–0 in about 20 minutes, the quickest Pro Tour final ever. Budde's win was the first of his seven Pro Tour victories. By winning this title he also claimed the first of his four Pro Player of the Year titles.

Finishing order

1. Kai Budde
2. Mark Le Pine
3. Raffaele Lo Moro
4. Matt Linde
5. Jakub Slemr
6. Jamie Parke
7. Gary Wise
8. Nicolai Herzog

Team final

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

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Kai Budde
2. Jon Finkel
3. Casey McCarrel

Rookie of the Year

1. Dirk Baberowski

2000 World championship

Jon Finkel – 2000 World Championship Tinker
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
1 Crumbling Sanctuary 4 Grim Monolith 4 Masticore 4 Metalworker 1 Mishra's Helix 1 Phyrexian Colossus 4 Phyrexian Processor 4 Tangle Wire 4 Thran Dynamo 4 Voltaic Key 4 Brainstorm 4 Tinker	4 Crystal Vein 9 Island 4 Rishadan Port 4 Saprazzan Skerry	4 Annul 4 Chill 4 Miscalculation 2 Rising Waters 1 Mishra's Helix

The seventh Magic World Championship was held in Brussels, Belgium on 2–6 August 2000. It was the first time the Worlds were held in Europe. The tournament featured a Mercadian Masques-Nemesis-Prophecy Booster Draft, Mercadian Masques Block Constructed, and Standard.

273 players from 46 countries competed in the event. In the final Jon Finkel defeated his friend, Bob Maher. Both played nearly identical decks with a difference of just one card.

Finishing order

1. Jon Finkel
2. Bob Maher, Jr.
3. Dominik Hothow
4. Benedikt Klauser
5. Tom van de Logt
6. Helmut Summersberger
7. Janosch Kühn
8. Nicolas Labarre

Team final

1. United States – Jon Finkel, Chris Benafel, Frank Hernandez, Aaron Forsythe
2. Canada – Ryan Fuller, Murray Evans, Gabriel Tsang, Sam Lau

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Bob Maher, Jr.
2. Darwin Kastle
3. Jon Finkel

Rookie of the Year

1. Brian Davis

2001 World championship

Tom van de Logt – 2001 World Championship Machine Head
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Plague Spitter 3 Phyrexian Scuta 3 Skizzik 2 Flametongue Kavu 2 Crypt Angel 4 Blazing Specter 4 Duress 4 Dark Ritual 4 Terminate 3 Vendetta 3 Urza's Rage	6 Swamp 6 Mountain 4 Rishadan Port 4 Urborg Volcano 4 Sulfurous Springs	4 Scoria Cat 3 Addle 2 Persecute 1 Pyroclasm 3 Phyrexian Arena 1 Flametongue Kavu 1 Crypt Angel

(Complete coverage)

The eighth World Championship was held from 8 to 12 August 2001 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada. The tournament featured Invasion-Planeshift-Apocalypse Rochester Draft, Standard, and Extended as individual formats and Invasion block team rochester as the team format.

296 players from 51 countries competed in the tournament. Tom van de Logt from the Netherlands came out as the new world champion, garnering a prize of $35,000 for his victory (as well as another $1,000 for the success of the Dutch team he was part of). Other finalists included future World Series of Poker bracelet winner Alex Borteh (2nd place), Antoine Ruel (3rd place), Andrea Santin (4th place), Mike Turian (5th place), Jan Tomcani (6th place), Tommi Hovi (7th place), and David Williams (disqualified). John Ormerod did not make the top 8 finishers, but was awarded 8th place after David Williams was disqualified for a marked deck. The team competition was won by the US team, which defeated Norway in the team final.

Finishing Order

1. Tom van de Logt
2. Alex Borteh
3. Antoine Ruel
4. Andrea Santin
5. Mike Turian
6. Jan Tomcani
7. Tommi Hovi
8. John Ormerod

Team final

1. United States – Trevor Blackwell, Brian Hegstad, Eugene Harvey
2. Norway – Nicolai Herzog, Oyvind Odegaard, Jan Pieter Groenhof

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Kai Budde
2. Kamiel Cornelissen
3. Michael Pustilnik

Rookie of the Year

1. Katsuhiro Mori

2002 World championship

Carlos Romão – 2002 World Championship Psychatog
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Nightscape Familiar 4 Psychatog 3 Chainers Edict 3 Circular Logic 4 Counterspell 3 Cunning Wish 3 Deep Analysis 3 Fact or Fiction 3 Memory Lapse 4 Repulse 2 Upheaval	10 Island 2 Cephalid Coliseum 1 Darkwater Catacombs 4 Salt Marsh 3 Swamp 4 Underground River	1 Coffin Purge 4 Duress 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Gainsay 3 Ghastly Demise 1 Hibernation 1 Mana Short 1 Recoil 1 Slay 1 Teferis Response

(Complete coverage)

The ninth World Championship was held from 14 to 18 August 2002 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia. The tournament featured Odyssey-Torment-Judgment Booster Draft, Odyssey Block Constructed, and Standard as individual formats and Odyssey Team Rochester Draft as the team format.

245 players from 46 countries competed in the tournament. 24-year old Carlos "Jaba" Romão from São Paulo, Brazil came out as world champion, defeating Mark Ziegner 3–2 in the final, thereby garnering a prize of $35,000 with the help of his blue/black "Psychatog" deck. Germany won the team competition, defeating the United States in the final 2–1.

Finishing order

1. Carlos Romão
2. Mark Ziegner
3. Diego Ostrovich
4. Dave Humpherys
5. Sim Han How
6. John Larkin
7. Tuomas Kotiranta
8. Ken Krouner

Team final

1. Germany – Kai Budde, Mark Ziegner, Felix Schneiders
2. United States – Eugene Harvey, Andrew Ranks, Eric Franz

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Kai Budde
2. Jens Thorén
3. Alex Shvartsman

Rookie of the Year

1. Farid Meraghni

2003 World championship

Daniel Zink – 2003 World Championship Wake
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Mana Leak 1 Circular Logic 4 Wrath of God 2 Vengeful Dreams 3 Moment's Peace 3 Renewed Faith 3 Mirari's Wake 1 Mirari 4 Deep Analysis 3 Compulsion 3 Cunning Wish 2 Decree of Justice	4 Krosan Verge 4 Skycloud Expanse 4 Forest 4 Plains 7 Island 2 Flooded Strand 2 Elfhame Palace	1 Vengeful Dreams 1 Hunting Pack 1 Wing Shards 1 Circular Logic 1 Ray of Distortion 1 Renewed Faith 1 Krosan Reclamation 2 Exalted Angel 3 Ray of Revelation 3 Anurid Brushhopper

(Complete coverage)

The tenth World Championship was held from 6 to 10 August at the Estrel Hotel in Berlin, Germany. The tournament featured Onslaught-Legions-Scourge Rochester Draft, Extended, and Standard as individual formats and Onslaught Team Rochester Draft as the team format.

312 players from 54 countries participated in the tournament. German Daniel Zink managed to emerge as the new world champion, beating Japan's Jin Okamoto 3–0 in the finals and taking home $35,000 in the process. The total prize money awarded to the top 64 finishers was $208,130. In the team final the United States defeated Finland 2–1.

Finishing order

1. Daniel Zink
2. Jin Okamoto
3. Tuomo Nieminen
4. Dave Humpherys
5. Jeroen Remie
6. Peer Kröger
7. Wolfgang Eder
8. Gabe Walls

Team Finals

1. United States – Justin Gary, Gabe Walls, Joshua Wagner
2. Finland – Tomi Walamies, Tuomo Nieminen, Arho Toikka

Player of the Year Race

1. Kai Budde
2. Justin Gary
2. Mattias Jorstedt

Rookie of the Year

Masashi Oiso

2004 World championship

Julien Nuijten – 2004 World Championship W/G Astral Slide
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Viridian Shaman 4 Eternal Witness 4 Eternal Dragon 4 Wrath of God 4 Renewed Faith 4 Astral Slide 2 Akroma's Vengeance 2 Decree of Justice 1 Plow Under 2 Wing Shards 4 Rampant Growth	4 Secluded Steppe 4 Tranquil Thicket 4 Windswept Heath 6 Plains 7 Forest	4 Oxidize 2 Rude Awakening 3 Scrabbling Claws 3 Circle of Protection: Red 3 Plow Under

(Complete coverage)

The eleventh World Championship was held from 1 to 5 September at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California, USA. The tournament featured Standard on Wednesday, Mirrodin-Darksteel-Fifth Dawn Booster Draft on Thursday, and Mirrodin Block Constructed on Friday. The team format was Mirrodin Block Team Rochester Draft.

304 players from 51 countries competed in the event. This was the first ever World Championships without a player from the United States in the Top 8. Julien Nuijten won the final 3–1 against Aeo Paquette. At 15 years old, he became the youngest ever Pro Tour winner and took home a total of $52,366 – a new record for winnings in a single collectible card game tournament. The total prize money awarded to the top 64 finishers was $208,130. Team Germany won the team final 2–1 against Belgium.

Finishing order

1. Julien Nuijten
2. Aeo Paquette
3. Ryou Ogura
4. Manuel Bevand
5. Kamiel Cornelissen
6. Terry Soh
7. Gabriel Nassif
8. Murray Evans

Team final

1. Germany – Torben Twiefel, Roland Bode, Sebastian Zink
2. Belgium – Vincent Lemoine, Dilson Ramos Da Fonseca, Geoffery Siron

Player of the Year Race

1. Gabriel Nassif
2. Nicolai Herzog
3. Rickard Österberg

Rookie of the Year

Julien Nuijten

2005 World championship

(Complete coverage)

Katsuhiro Mori – 2005 World Championship Ghazi Glare
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
2 Yosei, The Morning Star 3 Arashi the Sky Asunder 1 Birds of Paradise 4 Selesnya Guildmage 4 Wood Elves 4 Loxodon Hierarch 3 Kodama of the North Tree 3 Llanowar Elves 3 Pithing Needle 3 Umezawa's Jitte 2 Congregation at Dawn 3 Glare of Subdual 2 Seed Spark	4 Vitu-Ghazi, The City Tree 4 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers 4 Brushland 5 Forest 4 Temple Garden 1 Plains	2 Greater Good 1 Kodama of the North Tree 2 Naturalize 2 Carven Caryatid 1 Seedborn Muse 1 Wrath of God 1 Kodama's Reach 2 Yosei, the Morning Star 3 Hokori, Dust Drinker

The twelfth World Championship was held from 30 November to 4 December at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan. The tournament featured Standard on Wednesday, Ravnica Booster Draft on Thursday, and Extended on Friday. The team format was Ravnica Team Rochester Draft. The event began with the induction of the first class of the newly incepted Hall of Fame – Alan Comer, Jon Finkel, Tommi Hovi, Darwin Kastle, and Olle Råde.

287 players from 56 countries competed in the event. Katsuhiro Mori won the tournament, defeating Frank Karsten 3–1 in the final, taking home $35,000. The total prize money awarded to the top 64 finishers was $208,130. In the team final Japan defeated the United States 3–0.

Finishing Order

1. Katsuhiro Mori
2. Frank Karsten
3. Tomohiro Kaji
4. Akira Asahara
5. Marcio Carvalho
6. Ding Leong
7. Shuhei Nakamura
8. André Coimbra

Team final

1. Japan – Takuma Morofuji, Ichirou Shimura, Masashi Oiso
2. United States – Antonino De Rosa, Neil Reeves, Jonathan Sonne

Player of the Year Race

1. Kenji Tsumura
2. Olivier Ruel
3. Masashi Oiso

Rookie of the Year

1. Pierre Canali

Hall of Fame inductees

• Jon Finkel
• Darwin Kastle
• Tommi Hovi
• Alan Comer
• Olle Råde

2006 World championship

(Complete Coverage)

Makihito Mihara – 2006 World Championship Dragonstorm
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Bogardan Hellkite 2 Hunted Dragon 4 Dragonstorm 4 Lotus Bloom 4 Telling Time 4 Seething Song 4 Sleight of Hand 4 Rite of Flame 4 Gigadrowse 4 Remand	1 Dreadship Reef 1 Calciform Pools 8 Island 4 Steam Vents 4 Mountain 4 Shivan Reef	1 Trickbind 3 Pyroclasm 1 Calciform Pools 2 Dreadship Reef 3 Ignorant Bliss 4 Repeal 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

The thirteenth Magic World Championship took place from 29 November – 3 December 2006 at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France. The tournament featured Standard on Wednesday, Time Spiral Booster Draft on Thursday, and Extended on Friday. The team format was Time Spiral Team Rochester Draft. Also on Wednesday Bob Maher, Dave Humpherys, Raphaël Lévy, Gary Wise, and Rob Dougherty were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The winner of this tournament was Makihito Mihara, who defeated Ryou Ogura 3–0 in an all-Japanese final. He piloted a combo deck based on the card Dragonstorm. It is the first time players from the same country have been World Champion in back-to-back seasons. The Netherlands defeated Japan 2–0 in the team final. The total prize money awarded to the top 75 finishers was $255,245.

Finishing Order

1. Makihito Mihara
2. Ryou Ogura
3. Nicholas Lovett
4. Gabriel Nassif
5. Paulo Carvalho
6. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
7. Tiago Chan
8. Katsuhiro Mori

Team final

1. Netherlands – Kamiel Cornelissen, Julien Nuijten, Robert Van Medevoort
2. Japan – Katsuhiro Mori, Shuhei Yamamoto, Hidenori Katayama

Player of the Year

1. Shouta Yasooka
2. Shuhei Nakamura
3. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa

Rookie of the Year

1. Sebastian Thaler

Hall of Fame inductees

• Bob Maher, Jr.
• Dave Humpherys
• Raphaël Lévy
• Gary Wise
• Rob Dougherty

2007 World championship

(Complete Coverage)

Uri Peleg – 2007 World Championship Doran Rock
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Birds of Paradise 4 Doran, the Siege Tower 1 Hypnotic Specter 3 Llanowar Elves 4 Ohran Viper 3 Shriekmaw 4 Tarmogoyf 2 Eyeblight's Ending 3 Garruk Wildspeaker 1 Liliana Vess 2 Nameless Inversion 2 Profane Command 4 Thoughtseize	1 Brushland 3 Caves of Koilos 1 Forest 2 Gemstone Mine 4 Gilt-Leaf Palace 1 Horizon Canopy 4 Llanowar Wastes 1 Pendelhaven 4 Treetop Village 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	2 Cloudthresher 2 Loxodon Warhammer 2 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf 1 Oblivion Ring 3 Riftsweeper 2 Serrated Arrows 1 Shriekmaw 2 Stupor

The fourteenth Magic World Championship took place from 6–9 December 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Center of New York in New York City, USA. The tournament featured five rounds of Standard and a Lorwyn Booster Draft on Thursday. Friday featured five rounds of Legacy and another Lorwyn Booster Draft. The team format was Lorwyn Two-Headed Giant Booster Draft. The top 64 individual finishers received $215,600 in prize money.

386 players from 61 countries competed in the event. The winner of the tournament was Uri Peleg, defeating Patrick Chapin 3–1 in the final. Katsuhiro Mori made the top 8 for the third consecutive year, while Gabriel Nassif made his third final eight within four Worlds. Coincidentally, each player mirrored their performance from the previous year (Mori was eliminated in the quarter-finals, Nassif in the semi-finals).

Finishing Order

1. Uri Peleg
2. Patrick Chapin
3. Gabriel Nassif
4. Koutarou Ootsuka
5. Cristoph Huber
6. Yoshitaka Nakano
7. Katsuhiro Mori
8. Roel van Heeswijk

Team final

1. Switzerland – Nico Bohny, Manuel Bucher, Christoph Huber, Raphael Gennari
2. Austria – Thomas Preyer, David Reitbauer, Stefan Stradner, Helmut Summersberger

Pro Tour Player of the Year

1. Tomoharu Saitou
2. Kenji Tsumura
3. Guillaume Wafo-Tapa

Rookie of the Year

1. Yuuya Watanabe

Hall of Fame inductees

• Kai Budde
• Zvi Mowshowitz
• Tsuyoshi Fujita
• Nicolai Herzog
• Randy Buehler

2008 World championship

Antti Malin – 2008 World Championship Faeries
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Mistbind Clique 2 Sower of Temptation 4 Spellstutter Sprite 2 Vendilion Clique 4 Agony Warp 4 Bitterblossom 3 Broken Ambitions 4 Cryptic Command 3 Remove Soul 1 Terror 4 Thoughtseize	1 Faerie Conclave 6 Island 4 Mutavault 4 Secluded Glen 4 Sunken Ruins 2 Swamp 4 Underground River	4 Flashfreeze 2 Glen Elendra Archmage 4 Infest 2 Jace Beleren 1 Mind Shatter 1 Ponder 1 Sower of Temptation

(Official coverage)

The fifteenth Magic World Championship took place from 11–14 December 2008 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, TN, USA. The tournament featured six rounds of Standard play on Thursday, two Shards of Alara Booster Drafts with three rounds of Swiss each on Friday, six rounds of Extended on Saturday, and the finals on Sunday. Also the national teams played two rounds of team constructed each on Thursday and Saturday with the Top 4 teams advancing to the single elimination finals on Sunday. The team format was 3 Person Team Constructed with one player playing Standard, one Extended, and one Legacy. The top 75 individual finishers received $245,245 in prize money.

329 players from 57 countries competed in the event. Antti Malin from Finland won the tournament, thereby claiming the first prize of $45,000. In the team final the United States defeated Australia to become the team champion.

Individual

1. Antti Malin
2. Jamie Parke
3. Tsuyoshi Ikeda
4. Hannes Kerem
5. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
6. Kenji Tsumura
7. Frank Karsten
8. Akira Asahara

Team Competition

1. United States – Michael Jacob, Samuel Black, Paul Cheon
2. Australia – Aaron Nicastri, Brandon Lau, Justin Cheung
3. Brazil – Willy Edel, Vagner Casatti, Luiz Guilherme de Michielli
4. Japan – Yuuya Watanabe, Masashi Oiso, Akihiro Takakuwa

Pro Player of the Year

1. Shuhei Nakamura
2. Olivier Ruel
2. Luis Scott-Vargas

Rookie of the Year

1. Aaron Nicastri

Hall of Fame inductees

• Dirk Baberowski
• Mike Turian
• Jelger Wiegersma
• Olivier Ruel
• Ben Rubin

2009 World championship

André Coimbra – 2009 World Championship Naya Lightsaber
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
4 Baneslayer Angel 4 Bloodbraid Elf 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Ranger of Eos 1 Scute Mob 4 Wild Nacatl 4 Woolly Thoctar 3 Ajani Vengeant 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Path to Exile	4 Arid Mesa 4 Forest 3 Mountain 1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood 4 Plains 4 Rootbound Crag 4 Sunpetal Grove	1 Ajani Vengeant 2 Burst Lightning 4 Celestial Purge 4 Goblin Ruinblaster 4 Great Sable Stag

(Official coverage)

The sixteenth Magic World Championship took place from 19–22 November 2009 at the Palazzo Dei Congressi in Rome, Italy. The tournament featured six rounds of Standard play on Thursday, two Zendikar Booster Drafts with three rounds of Swiss each on Friday, six rounds of Extended on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. Also, the national teams played two rounds of team constructed each on Thursday and Saturday with the Top 4 teams advancing to the single elimination finals on Sunday. The team format was 3 Person Team Constructed with one player playing Standard, one Extended, and one Legacy.

409 players from 65 countries competed in the event. André Coimbra from Portugal won the tournament, thereby claiming the first prize of $45,000. In the team final, China defeated Austria to become the team champion. This was the first Magic Pro Tour event of any sort in which no player in the Top 8 was from the United States or Japan. It was also the first time a Pro Tour Top 8 consisted of players from eight different countries.

The Magic Online World Championship was held for the first time. It also took place in Rome at the site of the paper Magic World Championship. The tournament was previously announced to be for eight competitors. The qualifications could be gained in special tournaments on Magic Online. The players played three rounds each of Classic, Zendikar Booster Draft, and Standard on computers provided on the site. After nine rounds the two best players determined the title in a final match of Standard. Anssi Myllymäki (screen name: Anathik) of Finland defeated former Pro Player of the Year Shouta Yasooka (yaya3) in the final, thus claiming the grand prize of $13,000. The other contestans won between $4,000 and $9,000.

Individual

1. André Coimbra
2. David Reitbauer
3. Terry Soh
4. Bram Snepvangers
5. William Cavaglieri
6. Manuel Bucher
7. Marijn Lybaert
8. Florian Pils

Team Competition

1. China – Bo Li, Wu Tong, Zhiyang Zhang
2. Austria – Benedikt Klauser, Bernhard Lehner, Benjamin Rozhon
3. Czech Republic – Lucas Blohon, Lukas Jakolvsky, Jan Kotrla
4. Netherlands – Kevin Grove, Niels Noorlander, Tom van Lamoen

Pro Player of the Year

1. Yuuya Watanabe
2. Tomoharu Saito
3. Martin Juza

Rookie of the Year

1. Lino Burgold

Hall of Fame inductees

• Antoine Ruel
• Kamiel Cornelissen
• Frank Karsten

Magic Online World Champion

• Anssi Myllymäki

2010 World championship

Guillaume Matignon – 2010 World Championship Blue-Black Control
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
3 Grave Titan 2 Sea Gate Oracle 1 Cancel 2 Consume the Meek 2 Disfigure 2 Doom Blade 1 Duress 3 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Jace Beleren 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 4 Mana Leak 4 Preordain 4 Spreading Seas	4 Creeping Tar Pit 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Drowned Catacomb 5 Island 1 Misty Rainforest 3 Swamp 4 Tectonic Edge 1 Verdant Catacombs	1 Deprive 2 Disfigure 1 Doom Blade 2 Duress 2 Flashfreeze 3 Memoricide 3 Ratchet Bomb 1 Sorin Markov

(Official coverage)

The seventeenth World Championship took place from 9–12 December in Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. The tournament consisted of six rounds of Standard on Thursday, two Scars of Mirrodin Booster Drafts of three rounds each on Friday, and six rounds of Extended on Saturday. On Sunday the best eight players gathered for the Top 8. They had to play the same decks, they used in the Standard portion of the tournament. Also, the national teams played two rounds of team constructed each on Thursday and Saturday with the Top 2 teams advancing to the single elimination finals on Sunday. The team format is 3 Person Team Constructed with one player playing Standard, one Extended, and one Legacy.

352 players from 60 countries competed in the event. The national teams competition had 57 countries represented.

The 2010 World Champion Guillaume Matignon earned enough pro points with his performance to equal Pro Player of the Year leader Brad Nelson's total. This led to a play-off for the Pro Player of the Year title at Pro Tour Paris 2011, which was ultimately won by Brad Nelson.

Individual

1. Guillaume Matignon
2. Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
3. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
4. Love Janse
5. Eric Froehlich
6. Lukas Jaklovsky
7. Christopher Wolf
8. Jonathan Randle

Team Competition

1. Slovakia – Ivan Floch, Robert Jurkovic, Patrik Surab
2. Australia – Adam Witton, Ian Wood, Jeremy Neeman

Pro Player of the Year

1. Brad Nelson
1. Guillaume Matignon
3. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa

Rookie of the Year

1. Andrea Giarola

Hall of Fame inductees

• Gabriel Nassif
• Brian Kibler
• Bram Snepvangers

Magic Online World Champion

• Carlos Romão

2011 World championship

Jun'ya Iyanaga – 2011 World Championship Wolf Run Ramp
Main Deck:		Sideboard:
1 Birds of Paradise 4 Inferno Titan 4 Primeval Titan 4 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Thrun, the Last Troll 2 Devil's Play 4 Galvanic Blast 2 Green Sun's Zenith 4 Rampant Growth 1 Shock 3 Slagstorm 4 Sphere of the Suns	4 Copperline Gorge 5 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 3 Kessig Wolf Run 6 Mountain 4 Rootbound Crag	2 Ancient Grudge 4 Autumn's Veil 1 Beast Within 1 Slagstorm 2 Sword of Feast and Famine 2 Thrun, the Last Troll 2 Tree of Redemption 1 Viridian Corrupter

(Official coverage)

The eighteenth Magic World Championship was held from 17–20 November in the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, USA, the same site that already hosted the 2004 World Championship. The tournament consisted of six rounds of Standard on Thursday, two Innistrad Booster Drafts of three rounds each on Friday, and six rounds of Modern on Saturday. This was be the first World Championship to feature the new Modern format. On Sunday, the Top 8 players played against each other in elimination rounds, using the Standard decks they played on Thursday. 375 players from 60 countries competed in the event.

The swiss rounds were dominated by American player Conley Woods, who would go 16–2 with his only losses being tactical concessions to other ChannelFireball teammates. Ultimately, four ChannelFireball teammates would make it into the Top 8: Conley Woods, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Luis Scott-Vargas and Josh Utter-Leyton. For Paulo this was his fourth World Championship Top 8, making him the first player to achieve this, and his eighth Pro Tour Top 8 overall. Also, for the first time players playing in the Magic Online World Championships managed to make the Top 8 of the Pro Tour, with Jun’ya Iyanaga (SEVERUS on MTGO) and David Caplan (goobafish on MTGO) making it to Sunday. The quarterfinals saw three of the four ChannelFireball teammates eliminated, with only Conley Woods making it to the semifinals after narrowly defeating Craig Wescoe 3-2. The semifinals would be clean sweeps with Jun'ya Iyanaga and Richard Bland defeating Conley Woods and David Caplan 3-0 respectively. The finals would see Jun'ya Iyanaga defeat Richard Bland in another 3-0 clean sweep to become the 2011 World Champion. Jun'ya Iyanaga's prize money for winning the World Championship and placing seventh in the Magic Online World Championship was $51,000, making him the second highest earner in the history of the World Championships behind 2004 World Champion Julien Nuijten.

In the team event, Japan played against Norway for the World Team Title. The Japanese team of Ryuichiro Ishida, Tomoya Fujimoto,and former World Champion Makihito Mihara were victorious.

In the Magic Online World Championship finals, Reid Duke (reidderrabbit on MTGO) played against Florian Pils (flying man on MTGO) in the Modern format. Reid Duke won the match 2–1 to become the Magic Online World Champion, the first American and the first Magic Online Player of the Year to win the title.

Individual

1. Jun'ya Iyanaga
2. Richard Bland
3. Conley Woods
4. David Caplan
5. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
6. Luis Scott-Vargas
7. Josh Utter-Leyton
8. Craig Wescoe

Team Competition

1. Japan – Ryuichiro Ishida, Tomoya Fujimoto, Makihito Mihara
2. Norway – Sveinung Bjørnerud , Kristoffer Jonassen, Andreas Nordahl

Pro Player of the Year

1. Owen Turtenwald
2. Luis Scott-Vargas
3. Martin Juza

Rookie of the Year

1. Matthias Hunt

Hall of Fame inductees

• Shuhei Nakamura
• Anton Jonsson
• Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz

Magic Online World Champion

• Reid Duke

2012 World championship

As of 2012, the World Championship has been drastically altered alongside changes to the ranking system used in Magic: The Gathering. The individual World Championship is to be changed from a Pro Tour-sized event to a sixteen-player event, which shall be called the Magic Players Championship. The team event, formerly held alongside the individual event, will now take place before the individual tournament and will feature four-player teams instead of the previous three-player teams.

Magic World Cup

The first ever Magic World Cup will be held on 16-19 August at Gen Con 2012 in Indianapolis. The World Magic Cup is a modified national team event featuring four-player teams. The four players will be three winners of Magic World Cup qualifiers and the National Champion, the highest ranked player from that country.

On Day 1 there will be seven Swiss rounds including three rounds of Magic 2013 Booster Draft and four rounds of Standard. Players gain points for the team (Win- 3, Draw- 1, Loss- 0) and the best three scores in each team are added together to make a combined team score. The Top 32 teams with the highest combined team score will advance to Day 2. Day 2 involves only teams of three players, with the lowest scoring player in each team being eliminated from Day 2.

On Day 2, the team play begins with teams being sorted, according to seeding, into eight pools of four teams. The teams will play in three rounds with the format being Magic 2013 Team Sealed Deck. After these rounds, the top two teams from each pool advance to the second stage, leaving sixteen teams. The teams will then be sorted into four pools of four teams and will play three rounds of Team Constructed, with a player from each team playing Standard, Modern and Innistrad Block Constructed.

On Day 3, the top eight teams from Day 2 compete in seeded single-elimination rounds, in the Team Constructed format, to determine the winner of the World Magic Cup.

Magic Players Championship

The first Magic: The Gathering Players Championship will be held in 2012. The Players Championships will replace the former Pro Tour-sized World Championship event. The Players Championship is an exclusive sixteen-person tournament, though the exact tournament structure has yet to be announced. Although originally entitled the 2012 World Championship, the tournament was renamed the Players Championship in an announcement in December 2011. The Players Championship will also replace the former Pro Player of the Year title.

Participants

• Owen Turtenwald (2011 Pro Tour Player of the Year)
• Samuele Estratti (Pro Tour Philadelphia Champion)
• Jun'ya Iyanaga (2011 World Champion)
• Reid Duke (2011 Magic Online Champion)
• Brian Kibler (Pro Tour Dark Ascension Champion)
• Pro Tour Avacyn Restored Champion
• Top-ranked player in each geo-region (North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, APAC) based on Professional Points from June 13, 2011, to May 13, 2012
• Top-ranked players based on Professional Points from June 13, 2011, to May 13, 2012 who are not already invited to bring the total to 16 players

Performance by country

Japan and the United States are tied for the most individual titles won. The United States have won the most team titles and also have had most competitors amongst the final eight. Germany and the Netherlands are the only other countries with more than one champion. Italy and Austria are the most successful nations that have never won a title.

Country	Wins	Top 8	Team Wins
United States	3	34	8
Japan	3	16	2
Germany	2	9	2
Netherlands	2	8	1
Switzerland	1	3	1
France	1	12	0
Finland	1	6	0
Brazil	1	5	0
Portugal	1	5	0
Czech Republic	1	3	0
Australia	1	1	0
Israel	1	1	0
Canada	0	7	1
Slovakia	0	1	1
China	0	0	1
Austria	0	5	0
Italy	0	5	0
Sweden	0	3	0
Belgium	0	2	0
England	0	2	0
Estonia	0	1	0

As of 20 November 2011 (2011 -11-20)

External links

• Official MTG "Tournament Center"
• Top 4 decklists 1994–2000
• Event Coverage Archive