Shuhei Nakamura

Shuhei Nakamura (中村 修平, Nakamura Shūhei, born 3 November 1981) 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.

Shuhei Nakamura 中村 修平
Born	(1981-11-03) 3 November 1981 Osaka (Japan)
Residence	Hirakata-Shi (Japan)
Nationality	Japanese
Pro Tour debut	2002 Pro Tour San Diego[1]
Winnings	$397,400[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)	0 (6)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)	7 (27)[4]
Lifetime Pro Points	595
Planeswalker Level	50 (Archmage)

Career

Nakamura's first success came in a second place at Grand Prix Kobe in 2001. This qualified him for Pro Tour New Orleans. However, he chose not to attend. In January 2002 he played his first Pro Tour in San Diego.

Managing several Top 8 at Japanese Grand Prix, a Top 8 appearance at Pro Tour Columbus in 2005 was his first major showing on the Pro Tour.[5] He followed this finish with another Top 8 at the World Championship the same season.[6] Ultimately, Nakamura would finish fourth in the Player of the Year standings with 66 Pro Points.

In 2006 Nakamura achieved several high finishes at Limited events, including third places at PT Prague[7] and GP Toulouse. Eventually he also won his first major tournament, Grand Prix St. Louis 2006, immediately backing up the victory by winning the next Grand Prix event in Hiroshima four weeks later. As both of his Grand Prix wins were in the Coldsnap limited format, Shuhei earned the nickname 'Snowmaster'.[8] Nakamura gained 56 Pro Points throughout the season placing him second in the 2006 Player of the Year Race, only four points behind winner Shouta Yasooka.[9]

The 2007 season was not quite as successful for Nakamura, however, he did manage to make his fourth Pro Tour Top 8 appearance at PT Valencia.[10]

The 2008 season started off perfect with a victory in the first professional tournament of the season, Grand Prix Stuttgart. This victory made him only the third player to have won a Grand Prix in Europe, Asia, and North America. Nakamura proceeded to manage Top 4 finishes at Pro Tour Hollywood,[11] Grand Prix Copenhagen, and Grand Prix Rimini. He finished the season with 70 Pro Points to become Pro Player of the Year.[12] Nakamura was the fourth of five Japanese players to win the Player of the Year title in a row, preceded by Kenji Tsumura, Shouta Yasooka, Tomoharu Saito and followed by Yuuya Watanabe. Nakamura has personally referred to this period as a 'golden age' for Magic in Japan.[13]

In 2009 Nakamura finished third at Grand Prix Rotterdam in February, but achieved no further final eight appearances until his victory at the Japanese Nationals in July.[14]

On 19 August 2011 it was announced that Nakamura will be inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame along with Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz and Anton Jonsson.[15] The ceremony took place on 17 November at the 2011 Magic: The Gathering World Championship.

In the 2012 season, Shuhei placed tenth in the Pro Players Club Standings at the end of the season with 51 Pro Points.[16] This performance earned Nakamura an invite to the inaugural 2012 Magic Players Championship. Shuhei would take fifth place at the inaugural event, narrowly missing the cut to Top 4.

Accomplishments

Season	Event type	Location	Format	Date	Rank
2001–02	Grand Prix	Kobe	Block Constructed	18–19 August 2001	2
2001–02	Grand Prix	Fukuoka	Limited	16–17 February 2002	8
2001–02	Grand Prix	Nagoya	Team Limited	11–12 May 2002	2
2002–03	Grand Prix	Utsunomiya	Limited	12–13 October 2002	2
2003–04	Nationals	Osaka	Special	11–13 June 2004	4
2003–04	Grand Prix	Yokohama	Block Constructed	23–24 August 2004	6
2005	Pro Tour	Columbus, Ohio	Extended	29–31 October 2004	2
2005	Grand Prix	Seattle	Extended	5–6 March 2005	3
2005	Grand Prix	Matsuyama	Limited	14–15 May 2005	6
2005	Worlds	Yokohama	Special	30 November – 4 December 2005	5
2006	Pro Tour	Prague	Limited	5–7 May 2006	3
2006	Grand Prix	Toulouse	Limited	24–25 June 2006	3
2006	Grand Prix	St. Louis	Limited	22–23 July 2006	1
2006	Grand Prix	Hiroshima	Limited	19–20 August 2006	1
2007	Pro Tour	Valencia, Spain	Extended	12–14 October 2007	4
2007	Invitational	Essen	Special	18–21 October 2007	6
2008	Grand Prix	Stuttgart	Limited	15–16 December 2007	1
2008	Pro Tour	Hollywood	Standard	23–25 May 2008	3
2008	Grand Prix	Copenhagen	Standard	23–24 August 2008	4
2008	Grand Prix	Rimini	Block Constructed	13–14 September 2008	2
2009	Grand Prix	Rotterdam	Limited	21–22 February 2009	3
2009	Nationals	Hiroshima	Standard and Booster Draft	18–20 July 2009	1
2010	Grand Prix	Houston	Extended	3–4 April 2010	5
2010	Grand Prix	Florence	Sealed and Booster Draft	27–28 November 2010	3
2011	Grand Prix	Prague	Sealed and Booster Draft	21–22 May 2011	3
2012	Grand Prix	Nashville	Sealed and Booster Draft	17–18 March 2012	8
2012–13	Grand Prix	San Jose, Costa Rica	Sealed and Booster Draft	15–16 September 2012	1
2012–13	Grand Prix	Philadelphia	Sealed and Booster Draft	27–28 October 2012	1
2013–14	Grand Prix	Providence	Team Limited	8–9 June 2013	4
2013–14	Grand Prix	Houston	Sealed and Booster Draft	15–16 June 2013	7
2013–14	Grand Prix	Hong Kong	Sealed and Booster Draft	19–20 October 2013	1
2013–14	Grand Prix	Beijing	Standard	29–30 March 2014	5
2014–15	Grand Prix	Shanghai	Sealed and Booster Draft	4–5 October 2014	5
2014–15	Grand Prix	Dallas/Fort Worth	Sealed and Booster Draft	25–26 July 2015	1
2015–16	Grand Prix	Kobe	Standard	21–22 November 2015	8
2015–16	Pro Tour	Atlanta	Modern and Booster Draft	5–7 February 2016	5

Last updated: 7 February 2016
Source: Event Coverage Archive at Wizards.com

Other accomplishments

• 2008 Pro Player of the Year
• 2011 Hall of Fame class (vote leader)
• Most Grand Prix wins (7), tied with Kai Budde and Yuuya Watanabe[4]

References

1. Shuhei Nakamura 2007 Pro Player card (from the Magic: The Gathering Time Spiral expansion)
2. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
3. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
4. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
5. "Canali Crushes Columbus". Wizards of the Coast. 31 October 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
6. "Worlds 2005: Japan's Crowning Achievement". Wizards of the Coast. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
7. "Osawa's Wurms Flog Prague". Wizards of the Coast. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
8. "Pro Tour Hall of Fame 2011: Shuhei Nakamura" (Video). Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
9. "2006 Player of the Year Race". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
10. "Fortier Reigns in Spain". Wizards of the Coast. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
11. "Gindy Puts Name in Lights". Wizards of the Coast. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
12. "2008 Pro Tour Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
13. Nakamura, Shuhei (29 September 2011). "Feature Article – Shouta Yasooka – English". ChannelFireball.com. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
14. "Shuuhei Rocks Japan!". Wizards of the Coast. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
15. "Introducing the 2011 Hall of Fame Class". Wizards of the Coast. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
16. "2012 Pro Players Club Standings". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 1 June 2012.

Preceded by Tomoharu Saitou	Pro Player of the Year 2008	Succeeded by Yuuya Watanabe
Preceded by Masashi Oiso	Magic Japanese National Champion 2009	Succeeded by Katsuhiro Mori