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Jean-Emmanuel Depraz

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Jean-Emmanuel Depraz
Depraz at MagicCon Chicago in 2024
NicknameJiRock
Born (1994-06-22) 22 June 1994 (age 30)
ResidenceParis
Pro Tour debut2014
Winnings$445,900[1]

Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, nicknamed JiRock[2] (born 22 June 1994),[3][4] is a French Magic: The Gathering player, and the 2023 World Champion.

Magic career

[edit]

Depraz says that he was introduced to Magic: The Gathering in 2005, when a friend shared his cards, and they played for fun.[5] He began to attend competitive events from 2011 through 2013, and first qualified for the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour in 2014.[5] However he failed to repeat the qualification the following year, and it took another three years until he qualified for the Pro Tour by winning the Warsaw Grand Prix in 2017.[5]

After that, starting in 2018, Depraz had a series of successes, including a Top 8 appearance in Bilbao, and a victory in Barcelona[2] as the captain of the French team which won the final World Magic Cup, with Arnaud Hocquemiller, and Timothée Jammot.[6][7] At the end of 2018, Depraz was one of the first 32 players, and the only one from France, invited to the Magic Pro League, the esports Player's Tour equivalent.[8] That year, Depraz says, he abandoned literature, the field he was studying before becoming a professional Magic player.[9]

In 2019, Depraz made two more Top 8 finishes, including one where he came in second to Javier Dominguez of Spain, the 2018 World Champion,[10] and the finals of the overall 2019 Magic: The Gathering World Championship, finishing in 7th place.[2] In 2020, Depraz took second place at the online Players Tour, though the Championship was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][2] In 2021, Depraz came in second place to Yuta Takahashi of Japan in the 27th World Championship, which was held online in the MTG Arena program.[12] Depraz says he does not regret his near misses at the title from those years, and learned a lot from them; though he would have loved to win, as the World Championship prize included appearing on his own Magic card.[11][13]

In September 2023, Depraz won the 29th Magic: The Gathering World Championship in Las Vegas.[14] The three day event included the 110 best players of the season, five of whom were French, including Depraz and Gabriel Nassif. After two days, only Depraz remained of the Frenchmen among the top eight bracket, which was made of players from seven countries. He defeated American Greg Orange, in a close match where he lost the first two games and needed to win all of the last three to continue.[11] He followed with easier matches against Australian Anthony Lee, and Japanese Kazune Kosaka to win the title and prize of US$100,000.[12] The title also comes with the privilege of having the winners likeness on a card, generally released 1–2 years after their victory.[15] Depraz's winning deck included three copies of "Faerie Mastermind", the card made depicting Yuta Takahashi, who defeated him for the World Championship in 2021.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

Jean-Emmanuel Depraz is the son of philosopher Natalie Depraz.[16] He lives in Paris.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Hosler, Corbin (21 July 2023). "The Week That Was: Getting AMP'd for Barcelona". MAGIC: THE GATHERING | ESPORT. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  3. ^ Depraz, Jean-Emmanuel [@JEDepraz] (22 June 2019). "This birthday at #MythicChampionshipIII is starting well with a (fourth) win against Esper. Thanks everyone for the wishes, I'll try to live up to them !" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Depraz, Jean-Emmanuel. "Jean-Emmanuel Depraz: About, Contact, and Basic Info". Facebook. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Dragon, Eliott (10 November 2023). "Magic the Gathering : Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, champion du monde 2024, nous parle de sa passion" [Magic the Gathering: Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, 2024 world champion, tells us about his passion]. IGN France (in French). Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  6. ^ "2018 World Magic Cup | DEUX FOIS C'EST BIEN". Wizards of the Coast. 16 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
  7. ^ Forsans, Emmanuel (18 December 2018). "La France remporte la Coupe du Monde de Magic : The Gathering" [France wins the Magic: The Gathering World Cup]. AFJV (in French). Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  8. ^ Winkie, Luke (14 December 2018). "Magic Pro League aims to establish MTG: Arena as the premier digital card game". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Découvrez le parcours de JE Depraz en interview !" [Discover the journey of JE Depraz in an interview!]. Playin by Magic Bazar (in French). 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  10. ^ Styborski, Adam (30 October 2019). "Depraz's World-Changing Day". MAGIC: THE GATHERING | ESPORT. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Hosler, Corbin (4 October 2023). "Un Moment de Triomphe". MAGIC: THE GATHERING | ESPORT. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Goetz, Sébastien (25 September 2023). "Un Français, Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, est champion du monde de cartes Magic" [A Frenchman, Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, is champion of the world of Magic cards]. Numerama (in French). Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  13. ^ Hosler, Corbin (21 October 2022). "The Week That Was: The Finalists Fight". MAGIC: THE GATHERING | ESPORT. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  14. ^ Forster, Danny (25 September 2023). "Depraz earns first Worlds title with legendary MTG deck at 2023 World Championship". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  15. ^ "World Champion Player Spolight Cards". 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  16. ^ Depraz, Natalie (13 October 2019). "Je ne résiste pas au plaisir de partager ..." (in French). Facebook. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024. Mon fils Jean-Emmanuel, troisième joueur mondial de Magic the Gathering...
  17. ^ Depraz, Jean-Emmanuel. "J-E Depraz". X. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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