Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2006

The 2006 Pro Tour season was the eleventh season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 18 December 2005 the season began with parallel Grand Prixs in Lille and Charlotte. It ended on 3 December 2006 with the conclusion of the 2006 World Championship in Paris. The season consisted of 22 Grand Prixs and 5 Pro Tours, held in Honolulu, Prague, Charleston, Kobe, and Paris. At the end of the season Shouta Yasooka from Japan was proclaimed Pro Player of the year. At the Worlds in Paris the second class of the Hall of Fame was inducted. The inductees were Bob Maher, Jr., Dave Humpherys, Raphaël Lévy, Gary Wise, and Rob Dougherty.

2006 Pro Tour season

Pro Player of the Year	Shouta Yasooka
Rookie of the Year	Sebastian Thaler
World Champion	Makihito Mihara
Pro Tours	5
Grands Prix	22
Hall of Fame inductions	Bob Maher, Jr. Dave Humpherys Raphaël Lévy Gary Wise Rob Dougherty
Start of season	10 December 2005
End of season	3 December 2006
← 2005 2007 →

Grand Prixs – Lille, Charlotte, Hasselt, Richmond, Dortmund

GP Lille (18–19 December) Format: Legacy Attendance: 939 Helmut Summersberger Daniel Krutil Nicholas Labarre Luca Verdiani Martin Brenner Loïc Le Briand Max Bracht Nicolas Francois

GP Charlotte (18–19 December) Format: Extended Attendance: 456 Michael Krumb Alex Majlaton Kyle Goodman David Shiels Antonino De Rosa Alan Hubbard Chris Boozer Thomas LaPille

GP Hasselt (28–29 January) Format: Limited Attendance: 1070 Sam Gomersall Julien Goron Maurice Palijama Ziga Fritz Helge Nelson Dimitri Reinderman Quentin Martin Francois Moreau

GP Richmond (4–5 February) Format: Limited Attendance: 558 Richard Hoaen Jonathan Sonne Adam Chambers John Fiorillo Eugene Harvey Taylor Webb Gerry Thompson Michael Pinnegar

GP Dortmund (18–19 February) Format: Limited Attendance: 1029 David Brucker Julien Goron Mathias Wigge Marco Rothaupt Dennis Grudowski Julien Nuijten Olivier Ruel Stefan Rentzsch

Pro Tour – Honolulu (3–5 March 2006)

Mark Herberholz won Pro Tour Honolulu piloting a green/red aggro-deck. He defeated Craig Jones in the finals. The final eight included both Ruel brothers, Antoine and Olivier. Notably absent from the Top 8 were the Japanese players after thirteen consecutive final day appearances.[1]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 410
Format: Standard
Head Judge: John Shannon[2]

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Craig Jones	3
	8	Antoine Ruel	0
						Craig Jones		3
						Olivier Ruel		2
	5	Max Bracht	2
	4	Olivier Ruel	3
											Craig Jones		2
											Mark Herberholz		3
	2	Osyp Lebedowicz	1
	7	Mark Herberholz	3
						Mark Herberholz		3
						Tiago Chan		1
	3	Tiago Chan	3
	6	Ruud Warmenhoven	0

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Mark Herberholz	$40,000	25	3rd Final day
2	Craig Jones	$22,000	20
3	Tiago Chan	$15,000	16
4	Olivier Ruel	$14,000	16	5th Final day
5	Osyp Lebedowicz	$11,500	12	3rd Final day
6	Max Bracht	$11,000	12
7	Ruud Warmenhoven	$10,500	12
8	Antoine Ruel	$10,000	12	4th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Mark Herberholz	28
2	Olivier Ruel	22
3	Craig Jones	20
4	Tiago Chan	18
5	Max Bracht	15

Grand Prixs – Manila, Cardiff, Madison, Hamamatsu, Barcelona

GP Manila (18–19 March) Format: Limited Attendance: 368 James Porter Jiro Francisco Cynic Kim Bo Sun Jake Hart Felix Gonzales Takuya Osawa Dominic Ortega

GP Cardiff (25–26 March) Format: Limited Attendance: 370 Martin Dingler Wesimo Al-Bacha Roel van Heeswijk Julian Jardine Quentin Martin Bram Snepvangers Raphaël Lévy Antoine Ruel

GP Madison (25–26 March) Format: Team Unified Standard Attendance: 456 (152 teams) 1. Faddy Josh Brian Ziegler Tim Bulger Takanobu Sato 2. Free James Beeton Kyle Goodman Mark Ioli Benjamin Lundquist 3. 4815162342 Richard Hoaen Eric Froehlich Bob Maher, Jr. 4. Cedric Philips Stole My Bike John Pelcak Chris McDaniel Jonathan Sonne

GP Hamamatsu (8–9 April) Format: Team Unified Standard Attendance: 495 (165 teams) 1. Tanii Monogatari Kotatsu Saitou Takahiro Katayama Yuusuke Tanii 2. Stardust Crusader Akira Asahara Masaya Kitayama Shouta Yasooka 3. Limit Break Takuya Oosawa Ryou Ogura Itaru Ishida 4. Kiosk Takashi Ishihara Shuhei Itou Daisuke Saitou

GP Barcelona (8–9 April) Format: Limited Attendance: 1208 Helmut Summersberger Raphaël Lévy Jelger Wiegersma Johan Sadeghpour Olivier Ruel Aniol Alcaraz Jean Charles Salvin Sebastian Aljiaj

Pro Tour – Prague (5–7 May 2006)

Takuya Osawa won Pro Tour Prague, defeating Aaron Brackmann in the finals. In a Top 8 of rather unknown players Shuhei Nakamura was the only one to have made it to the final stage of a PT before.[3]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245
Players: 415
Format: Booster Draft (Ravnica-Guildpact-Dissension)
Head Judge: Jaap Brouwer[2]

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Takuya Osawa	3
	8	Joe Crosby	0
						Takuya Osawa		3
						Shuhei Nakamura		1
	5	Shuhei Nakamura	3
	4	Antonino De Rosa	2
											Takuya Osawa		3
											Aaron Brackmann		0
	2	Christian Hüttenberger	3
	7	Quentin Martin	2
						Christian Hüttenberger		0
						Aaron Brackmann		3
	3	Aaron Brackmann	3
	6	Rasmus Sibast	2

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Takuya Osawa	$40,000	25
2	Aaron Brackmann	$22,000	20
3	Shuhei Nakamura	$15,000	16	3rd Final day
4	Christian Hüttenberger	$14,000	16
5	Rasmus Sibast	$11,500	12
6	Antonino De Rosa	$11,000	12
7	Joe Crosby	$10,500	12
8	Quentin Martin	$10,000	12

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Mark Herberholz	32
	Olivier Ruel	32
3	Takuya Osawa	30
4	Craig Jones	24
	Quentin Martin	24

Grand Prixs – Torino, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur

GP Torino (3–4 June) Format: Limited Attendance: 656 Nico Bohny Antoine Ruel Bram Snepvangers Klaus Jöns Marco Lombardi Guillaume Wafo-Tapa Giacomo Mallamaci Pierre Canali

GP Toronto (3–4 June) Format: Limited Attendance: 504 Antonino De Rosa Jonathan Sonne Kyle Sanchez Mark Lovin John Fiorillo Brad Taulbee Jay Jiang Jelger Wiegersma

GP Kuala Lumpur (3–4 June) Format: Limited Attendance:316 Kenji Tsumura Osamu Fujita Quentin Martin Ruud Warmenhoven Terry Soh Shouta Yasooka Cynic Kim Itaru Ishida

Pro Tour – Charleston (16–18 June 2006)

The Japanese team "Kajiharu80" won Pro Tour Charleston, defeating the Brazilian team "Raaala Pumba" in the final. "Kajiharu80" consisted of Tomohiro Kaji, Shouta Yasooka, and Tomoharu Saitou. With 525 competitors in 175 teams Pro Tour Charleston was the biggest Pro Tour ever. It was also the only Team Constructed Pro Tour ever.[4]

Tournament data

Players: 525 (175 teams)
Prize Pool: $234,000
Format: 3-Person Team Block Constructed (Ravnica, Guildpact, Dissension)
Head Judge: Sheldon Menery[2]

Top 4

	Semifinals					Semi-finals
	1	Raaala Pumba	2
	4	Big Timing With Big Oots	1
						Raaala Pumba		1
						Kajiharu80		2
	3	Kajiharu80	2
	2	D-25	1

Final standings

Place	Team	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Kajiharu80	Tomohiro Kaji	$75,000	20	3rd Final day
		Shouta Yasooka		20
		Tomoharu Saitou		20	2nd Final day
2	Raaala Pumba	Celso Zampere	$36,000	16
		Willy Edel		16
		Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa		16
3	D-25	Chikura Nakajima	$21,000	12
		Ryuichi Arita		12	4th Final day
		Kazuya Mitamura		12
4	Big Timing With Big Oots	Chris McDaniel	$18,000	12	2nd Final day
		Gadiel Szleifer		12	3rd Final day
		John Pelcak		12

Grand Prixs – Toulouse, St. Louis, Malmo, Hiroshima, Phoenix, Sydney, Athens

GP Toulouse (24–25 June) Format: Limited Attendance: 674 Kenji Tsumura Marijn Lybaert Shuhei Nakamura Adrian Olivera Julien Soum Olivier Ruel Shouta Yasooka Thomas Didierjean

GP St. Louis (22–23 July) Format: Limited Attendance:466 Shuhei Nakamura Zac Hill Kenji Tsumura Chris Fennell Alex Kim Pierre Mondon Dalton King Jeremy Kunkel

GP Malmo (22–23 July) Format: Limited Attendance: 539 Wessel Oomens Vasilis Fatouros Wilco Pinkster Axel Berglund Jelger Wiegersma Kamiel Cornelissen André Coimbra Asbjørn Fallesen

GP Hiroshima (19–20 August) Format: Limited Attendance: 417 Shuhei Nakamura André Coimbra Takahiro Suzuki Basam Tebet Julien Nuijten Kentarou Nonaka Ichirou Shimura Yuusuke Wakisaka

GP Phoenix (2–3 September) Format: Limited Attendance: 387 Carlos Romão Sean Inoue Raphaël Lévy Sam Stein Geoffrey Siron Gadiel Szleifer André Coimbra Shu Kumuro

GP Sydney (7–8 October) Format: Limited Attendance: 213 James Zhang Anatoli Lightfoot Tomoharu Saitou Jeremy Neeman Steven Aplin Takuya Oosawa Shouta Yasooka Hugh Glanville

GP Athens (14–15 October) Format: Limited Attendance: 469 Sebastian Aljiaj Vincent Lemoine Marcio Carvalho Guillaume Wafo-Tapa David Brucker Antoine Ruel Evangelos Papatsarouchas Aaron Brackmann

Pro Tour – Kobe (20–22 October 2006)

German Jan-Moritz Merkel won Pro Tour Kobe. It was his first appearance at a Pro Tour.[5]

Tournament data

Players: 388
Prize Pool: $240,245
Format: Booster Draft (Time Spiral)
Head Judge: John Shannon[2]

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	Bastien Perez		3
	Kenji Tsumura		1
						Bastien Perez		1
						Jan-Moritz Merkel		3
	Tomoharu Saitou		2
	Jan-Moritz Merkel		3
											1	Jan-Moritz Merkel	3
												Willy Edel	1
	Thomas Didierjean		3
	Bram Snepvangers		2
						Thomas Didierjean		1
						Willy Edel		3
	Takahiro Suzuki		2
	Willy Edel		3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Jan-Moritz Merkel	$40,000	25	Pro Tour debut
2	Willy Edel	$22,000	20	2nd Final day
3	Bastien Perez	$15,000	16
4	Thomas Didierjean	$14,000	16	Pro Tour debut
5	Kenji Tsumura	$11,500	12	4th Final day
6	Bram Snepvangers	$11,000	12	3rd Final day
7	Tomoharu Saitou	$10,500	12	3rd Final day
8	Takahiro Suzuki	$10,000	12

Grand Prixs – New Jersey, Yamagata

GP New Jersey (11–12 November) Format: Limited Attendance: 913 Guillaume Cardin Richard Hoaen Timothy Aten Jason Imperiale Gerry Thompson John Pelcak Andrew Stokinger Shouta Yasooka

GP Yamagata (18–19 November) Format: Limited Attendance: 359 Takihiro Suzuki Takeshi Ozawa Jelger Wiegersma Katsuhiro Mori Richard Hoaen Antoine Ruel Ryo Ogura Yuu Murakami

2006 World Championships – Paris (29 November – 3 December 2006)

Main article: Magic: The Gathering World Championship § 2006 World Championship

The tournament began with the Hall of Fame induction of Bob Maher, Jr., Dave Humpherys Raphaël Lévy, Gary Wise, and Rob Dougherty. In an all-Japanese final Makihito Mihara defeated Ryo Ogura. The Dutch team of Kamiel Cornelissen, Julien Nuijten, and Robert van Medevoort won the team finals against Japan.[6]

Tournament data

Prize pool: $255,245 (individual) + $210,000 (national teams)
Players: 356
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Time Spiral), Extended
Head Judge: Jaap Brouwer, Jason Ness[2]

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Paulo Carvalho	0
	8	Ryo Ogura	3
						Ryo Ogura		3
						Nicholas Lovett		2
	5	Nicholas Lovett	3
	4	Katsuhiro Mori	1
											Ryo Ogura		0
											Makihito Mihara		3
	2	Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa	2
	7	Makihito Mihara	3
						Makihito Mihara		3
						Gabriel Nassif		2
	3	Tiago Chan	2
	6	Gabriel Nassif	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Makihito Mihara	$50,000	25
2	Ryo Ogura	$25,000	20	2nd Final day
3	Nicholas Lovett	$16,000	16	1st Welshmen in a Top 8, Pro Tour debut
4	Gabriel Nassif	$15,000	16	7th Final day
5	Paulo Carvalho	$11,500	12	Pro Tour debut
6	Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa	$11,000	12	2nd Final day
7	Tiago Chan	$10,500	12	2nd Final day
8	Katsuhiro Mori	$10,000	12	2nd Final day

National team competition

1. The Netherlands (Julien Nuijten, Kamiel Cornelissen, Robert van Medevoort)
2. Japan (Hidenori Katayama, Katsuhiro Mori, Shuhei Yamamoto)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Shouta Yasooka was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.[7]

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Shouta Yasooka	60
2	Shuhei Nakamura	56
3	Tiago Chan	51
	Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa	51
5	Tomoharu Saitou	50

References

1. "Living on Heezy Street". Wizards of the Coast. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
2. "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
3. "Osawa's Wurms Flog Prague". Wizards of the Coast. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
4. "Kajiharu80 puts the Char in Charleston". Wizards of the Coast. 18 June 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
5. "Merkel's Time is Now". Wizards of the Coast. 22 October 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
6. "Mihara, Dutch Crowned World Champions!". Wizards of the Coast. 3 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
7. "2006 Player of the Year Race". Wizards of the Coast. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2009.