Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1998–99
Encyclopedia
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
Grand Prix (Magic: The Gathering)
Grands Prix are professional Magic: The Gathering tournaments, awarding cash prizes, Pro Points and invitations to Pro Tours. They are open to all players and are usually the biggest Magic tournaments. The first Grand Prix was held on 22–23 March 1997 in Amsterdam...

 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
Kai Budde
Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

 from Germany was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.

Grand Prix – Boston, Lisbon

GP Boston (5–6 September)
  1.   Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

  2.   Randy Buehler
    Randy Buehler
    Randolph E. Buehler, Jr. was the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., as well as the commentator for the Magic Pro Tour...

  3.   Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
    Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
    Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.-Career:...

  4.   Zvi Mowshowitz
    Zvi Mowshowitz
    -External links:*...

  5.   Darwin Kastle
    Darwin Kastle
    - Other accomplishments :* 2005 Hall of Fame inductee* Last player to have played all Pro Tours after 48 appearances from 1996 PT New York to 2004 PT Kobe- References :...

  6.   Mike Bregoli
  7.   Dave Beury
  8.   Ben Farkas

GP Lisbon (12–13 September)
  1.   Bruno Cardoso
  2.   Brian Hacker
  3.   Randy Buehler
    Randy Buehler
    Randolph E. Buehler, Jr. was the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., as well as the commentator for the Magic Pro Tour...

  4.   Helder Coelho
  5.   Jean-Louis D'Hondt
  6.   Laurent Pagorek
  7.   Alexis Dumay
  8.   Jorge Martins


Pro Tour – Chicago (25–27 September 1998)

As in the previous season a rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 won the inaugural Pro Tour. In the finals Dirk Baberowski
Dirk Baberowski
Dirk Baberowski is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has won three Pro Tours, tying him in second place with Jon Finkel. Two of those victories were won at team Pro Tours with his teammates of Phoenix Foundation, Kai Budde and Marco Blume.In 2008, Barberowski...

 defeated Casey McCarrel. Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

 also had another final eight showing, his third in a row.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635

Format: Tempest Rochester Draft (Tempest
Tempest (Magic: The Gathering)
Tempest was the 20th Magic: The Gathering set and twelfth expert level set, and the first set in the Rath Block, released in October 1997. The release of Tempest represented a large jump in the power level of the card set, compared to the previous Mirage block. Many cards from Tempest instantly...

-Stronghold
Stronghold (Magic: The Gathering)
Stronghold was the 21st Magic: The Gathering set and thirteenth expert level set, and the second set in the Rath Block, released in March 1998. The block includes Tempest and Exodus. Stronghold contains 143 cards...

-Exodus
Exodus (Magic: The Gathering)
Exodus was the 22nd Magic: The Gathering set, fourteenth expert level set, and the third and final set in the Rath Block, released on 15 June 1998. Its expansion symbol is a bridge...

)


Head Judge: Charlie Catino

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1   Dirk Baberowski
Dirk Baberowski
Dirk Baberowski is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has won three Pro Tours, tying him in second place with Jon Finkel. Two of those victories were won at team Pro Tours with his teammates of Phoenix Foundation, Kai Budde and Marco Blume.In 2008, Barberowski...

$25,000 Pro Tour debut
2   Casey McCarrel $15,000 2nd Final day
3   Jeff Fung $10,000
4   Benedikt Klauser $8,000 1st Austrian in a Top 8
5   Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

$6,500 4th Final day
6   Ryan Fuller $5,500
7   Martin Cedercrantz $4,800
8   Dominique Coene $4,300

Grand Prix – Austin, Birmingham

GP Austin (10–11 October)
  1.   Gary Krakower
  2.   Darwin Kastle
    Darwin Kastle
    - Other accomplishments :* 2005 Hall of Fame inductee* Last player to have played all Pro Tours after 48 appearances from 1996 PT New York to 2004 PT Kobe- References :...

  3.   Heath Kennel
  4.   Richard Van Cleave
  5.   Jeremy Baca
  6.   Tony Tsai
  7.   Sid Rao
  8.   Jonathan Pechon

GP Birmingham (17–18 October)
  1.   Craig Jones
  2.   Kai Budde
    Kai Budde
    Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

  3.   Darwin Kastle
    Darwin Kastle
    - Other accomplishments :* 2005 Hall of Fame inductee* Last player to have played all Pro Tours after 48 appearances from 1996 PT New York to 2004 PT Kobe- References :...

  4.   Neil Rigby
  5.   Arho Toikka
  6.   Warren Marsh
  7.   Andreas Jonsson
  8.   Jean-Louis D'Hondt


Pro Tour – Rome (13–15 November 1998)

Tommi Hovi
Tommi Hovi
Tommi Hovi is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player from Finland. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2005...

 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
Olle Råde
Olle Råde is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Sweden. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2005. Olle was also the first player awarded with the coveted Player of the Year award and was the first non-American player to...

 became the first player to have five Top 8 appearances.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635

Format: Extended

Head Judge: Carl Crook

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1   Tommi Hovi
Tommi Hovi
Tommi Hovi is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player from Finland. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2005...

$25,000 3rd Final day, First player to win two Pro Tours
2   Nicolas Labarre $15,000
3   Mark Le Pine $10,000 2nd Final day
4   Federico Dato $8,000
5   Olle Råde
Olle Råde
Olle Råde is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Sweden. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2005. Olle was also the first player awarded with the coveted Player of the Year award and was the first non-American player to...

$6,500 5th Final day
6   Justin Gary
Justin Gary
Justin Gary is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His most notable Pro Tour finish is his win at Pro Tour Houston 2002. Rob Dougherty and Darwin Kastle who both tested with Gary finished second and third respectively at the same event.-Achievements:...

$5,500
7   Erik Lauer $4,800
8   André Konstanczer $4,300

Grand Prix – Manila, Kyoto, San Francisco, Barcelona

GP Manila (12–13 December)
  1.   Toshiki Tsukamoto
  2.   Scion Raguindin
  3.   Josua Rivera
  4.   Leo Gonzales
  5.   Rozano Yu
  6.   Francis Robert Profeta
  7.   GeeVee Vegara
  8.   Itaru Ishida
    Itaru Ishida
    is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player. The bulk of his success has been on the Grand Prix circuit. With seventeen top eights, Ishida ranks fourth in this category behind Alex Shvartsman , and brothers Olivier and Antoine Ruel...



GP San Francisco (23–24 January)
  1.   Richard Van Cleave
  2.   Mark Schick
  3.   John Yoo
  4.   Alan Comer
    Alan Comer
    Alan Comer is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player. He was elected to the Magic Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2005. He was the only member of the class never to have won a Pro Tour...

  5. Mike Craig
  6.   Shawn Keller
  7.   Hashim Bello
  8.   Shawn Roush

GP Kyoto (16–17 January)
  1.   Yoshikazu Ishii
  2.   Hiroshi Watanabe
  3.   Masami Ibamoto
  4.   Tsuyoshi Fujita
    Tsuyoshi Fujita
    Tsuyoshi Fujita is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Osaka, Japan. His most notable finishes include three Pro Tour top eights. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame on 5 December 2007...

  5.   Tadayoshi Komiya
  6.   Hirobumi Nakamura
  7.   Hideaki Amano
  8.   Eisaku Sueyoshi


GP Barcelona (6–7 February)
  1.   Kai Budde
    Kai Budde
    Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

  2.   Alex Shvartsman
    Alex Shvartsman
    Alex Shvartsman is an American Magic: The Gathering player. While having enjoyed only a moderate degree of success on the Pro Tour, he is one of the most successful Grand Prix players ever. With 21 appearances, Shvartsman held the record for most Grand Prix top eights for a long time, and is now...

  3.   Roc Herms
  4.   Raphaël Lévy
    Raphaël Lévy
    Raphaël Lévy is a professional Magic: The Gathering player. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in November 2006. He is the first player to have been inducted while active on the Pro Tour. He is one of only four players to have won Grand Prix on three different...

  5.   Daniel Nuttal
  6.   Matt Henstra
  7.   Laurent Laclavie
  8. Gordon Benson


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

Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.-Career:...

 won Pro Tour Los Angeles defeating his friend and fellow New Yorker Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

 in the final.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635

Players: 337

Format: Urza's Saga Rochester Draft (Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga is the 15th expert level set, a 350-card Magic: The Gathering expansion set that debuted in October 1998. Some employees of Wizards consider it one of the most powerful sets ever released, with many cards now banned in tournament formats...

)


Head Judge: Charlie Catino

Top 8

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1   Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.-Career:...

$25,000 2nd Final day
2   Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

$15,000 5th Final day
3   Worth Wollpert $10,000
4   Terry Lau $8,000
5   Lucien Bui $6,500
6   Patrick Chapin $5,500 2nd Final day
7   Svend Geertsen $4,800 3rd Final day
8   Mike Long
Mike Long
Michael Long is a former professional Magic: The Gathering card game player. He was a highly influential and controversial Pro Tour mainstay for a number of years in the late 1990s. Despite making four Pro Tour top eights and winning Pro Tour Paris in 1997, Long's legacy is the subject of much...

$4,300 3rd Final day

Grand Prix – Vienna, Kansas City, Oslo, Taipei

GP Vienna (13–14 March)
  1.   Kai Budde
    Kai Budde
    Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

  2.   Christian Gregorich
  3.   Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

  4.   Erik Lauer
  5.   Randy Buehler
    Randy Buehler
    Randolph E. Buehler, Jr. was the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., as well as the commentator for the Magic Pro Tour...

  6.   Jakub Slemr
  7.   Dirk Hein
  8.   Peer Kröger


GP Oslo (10–11 April)
  1.   Jim Herold
  2.   Mikko Lintamo
  3.   Christer Ljones
  4.   Bjorn Ove Leknes Skogneth
  5.   Seppo Toikka
  6.   Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
    Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
    Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.-Career:...

  7.   André Konstanczer
  8.   Jonathan Brown


GP Kansas City (27–28 March)
  1.   Mark Gordon
  2.   Chris Pikula
  3.   Bob Maher, Jr.
  4.   Scott Seville
  5.   Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel
    Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...


  6.   Lan D. Ho
  7.   Randy Buehler
    Randy Buehler
    Randolph E. Buehler, Jr. was the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., as well as the commentator for the Magic Pro Tour...


  8.   Vincent Johnson


GP Taipei (24–25 April)
  1.   Kenichi Fujita
  2.   Iwao Takemasa
  3.   Tobey Tamber
  4.   Itaru Ishida
    Itaru Ishida
    is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player. The bulk of his success has been on the Grand Prix circuit. With seventeen top eights, Ishida ranks fourth in this category behind Alex Shvartsman , and brothers Olivier and Antoine Ruel...

  5.   Chi Fai Ng
  6.   Kai Cheog Tang
  7.   Alex Shvartsman
    Alex Shvartsman
    Alex Shvartsman is an American Magic: The Gathering player. While having enjoyed only a moderate degree of success on the Pro Tour, he is one of the most successful Grand Prix players ever. With 21 appearances, Shvartsman held the record for most Grand Prix top eights for a long time, and is now...

  8.   Miller Tsai


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

In the finals of Pro Tour New York Casey McCarrel defeated Shawn Keller, 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.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635

Format: Urza's Saga Block Constructed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy
Urza's Legacy
Urza's Legacy is a Magic: The Gathering set, second in the Urza Block. Urza's Legacy was released in February 1999.-Set history:This set is the first set to feature premium cards also known as foil cards, inserted randomly into boosters and taking the place of a card in the common slot.- Storyline...

)


Head Judge: Dan Gray

Top 8

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1   Casey McCarrel $25,000 3rd Final day
2   Shawn Keller $15,000
3   Zvi Mowshowitz
Zvi Mowshowitz
-External links:*...

$10,000
4   Dave Humpherys
Dave Humpherys
David Humpherys is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player from the United States. Humpherys now works for the company that produced Magic, Wizards of the Coast. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in November 2006.- Top 8 appearances :- References :...

$8,000
5   Rob Dougherty
Rob Dougherty
Robert R. Dougherty is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Framingham, Massachusetts. He was inducted to the Magic Hall of Fame in November 2006. He is also a tournament organizer and the founder of Your Move Games...

$6,500
6   Christian Lührs $5,500
7   Nicolas Labarre $4,800 2nd Final day
8   Terry Tsang $4,300

Grand Prix – Amsterdam, Washington D.C.

GP Amsterdam (15–16 May)
  1.   Kai Budde
    Kai Budde
    Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

  2.   Dirk Baberowski
    Dirk Baberowski
    Dirk Baberowski is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has won three Pro Tours, tying him in second place with Jon Finkel. Two of those victories were won at team Pro Tours with his teammates of Phoenix Foundation, Kai Budde and Marco Blume.In 2008, Barberowski...

  3.   André Konstanczer
  4.   Guido Pacifici
  5.   Bram Snepvangers
    Bram Snepvangers
    Bram Snepvangers is a Dutch Magic: The Gathering player. He is now considered retired, but has been on and off the Pro Tour for twelve years. In addition to his success playing Magic, he is known as a community builder both as a judge and a tournament organiser. Each year he hosts an invitational...

  6.   Janosch Kühn
  7.   Daniel Steinsdorfer
  8.   Vincent Gieling


GP Washington D.C. (19–20 June)
  1.   Ben Farkas
  2.   Chris Pikula
  3.   Noah Weil
  4.   Zvi Mowshowitz
    Zvi Mowshowitz
    -External links:*...

  5.   Mike Turian
    Mike Turian
    Michael Turian is a successful professional player of Magic: The Gathering. He won Pro Tour New York with Team Potato Nation. Turian also won two Grand Prixs. In 2008 Mike Turian was voted in the Hall of Fame. He was inducted during the World championship in Memphis.- Career :Mike Turian qualified...

  6.   Scott McCord
  7.   Mark Le Pine
  8.   Dennis Bentley


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

Kai Budde
Kai Budde
Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

 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.

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

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
Urza's Destiny
Urza's Destiny is a Magic: The Gathering set, third in the Urza Block. Urza's Destiny was released on June 23, 1999. It was released in digital form on Magic Online on April 13, 2011.- Storyline :...

)
, Standard, Extended

Team formats: Team Sealed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, Urza's Destiny) – Swiss; Standard – Finals

Head Judge: Charlie Catino

Top 8

Final standings

Place Player Prize Comment
1   Kai Budde
Kai Budde
Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

2   Mark Le Pine 3rd Final day
3   Raffaele Lo Moro
4   Matt Linde
5   Jakub Slemr 3rd Final day
6   Jamie Parke
7   Gary Wise
Gary Wise
Gary Wise is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Canada. He was inducted to the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in November 2006. He also wrote the "Wise Words" and "Limited Skills" articles....

8   Nicolai Herzog

National team competition

  1.   United States (Kyle Rose, John Hunka, Zvi Mowshowitz
    Zvi Mowshowitz
    -External links:*...

    , Charles Kornblith)
  2.   Germany (Marco Blume
    Marco Blume
    Marco Blume is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He has won two Pro Tours and one Masters as a member of team Phoenix Foundation, his teammates being Kai Budde and Dirk Baberowski. He also won a German national championship individually in 1999.- Top 8...

    , Patrick Mello, David Brucker, Rosario Maij)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Kai Budde
Kai Budde
Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

 was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.
Rank Player Pro Points
1   Kai Budde
Kai Budde
Kai Budde , is a professional Magic: The Gathering player, who holds the records for earnings, Pro Tour victories and lifetime Pro Points. His performances earned him the nicknames "The Juggernaut" and "King of the Grand Prix"...

75
2   Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel
Jon Finkel is an American Magic: The Gathering and poker player. In the year 2000, he became the world champion of Magic, as well as being on the team that became the team world champion.-Career:...

65
3   Casey McCarrel 63
4   Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. At the height of his career in the late 1990s, he was considered one of the best players. He is well known as a friend and teammate to Jon Finkel.-Career:...

57
5   Mark Le Pine 52
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