User:OdinFK/Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2002–03

The 2002–03 Pro Tour season was the eighth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 24 August 2002 the season began with Grand Prix Sapporo. It ended on 10 August 2003 with the conclusion of the 2003 World Championship in Berlin. The season consisted of 21 Grand Prixs and 6 Pro Tours, held in Boston, Houston, Chicago, Venice, Yokohama, and Berlin. Also Master Series tournaments were held at four Pro Tours. At the end of the season Kai Budde was proclaimed Pro Player of the Year for the third time in a row.

Grand Prixs – Sapporo, London, Cleveland

GP Sapporo (24–25 August)

1. Shinichi Kumagai
2. Masahiko Morita
3. Satoshi Nakamura
4. Itaru Ishida
5. Kenji Kimoto
6. Junichi Kinoshita
7. Yuta Hirosawa
8. Nobuaki Shikata

GP London (31 August–1 September)

1. Jakub Slemr
2. Christoph Hölzl
3. Bram Snepvangers
4. Craig Stevenson
5. Pedro Velhinho
6. Christophe Haim
7. Dario Minieri
8. Gérard Garcia

GP Cleveland (7–8 August)

1. Valentin Moskovich
2. Gabriel Tsang
3. Jeremy Pinter
4. Matthew Schrempp
5. Adam Prosak
6. Dave Williams
7. Brian Davis
8. Rob Dougherty

Pro Tour – Boston (27–29 September 2002)

Boston saw Phoenix Foundation win once again. This put all team members on top in regards to overall Pro Tour victories as no other player had then won more than two Pro Tours. The victory was dryly commented as not surprising anyone anymore.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $200,100
Players: 363 (121 teams)
Format: Team Sealed (Odyssey, Torment, Judgment) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Odyssey-Torment-Judgment) – final two days

Top 4

	Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Courtney's Boys	1
	4	2020	2
						2020		1
						Phoenix Foundation		2
	2	Phoenix Foundation	2
	3	Slay Pillage Gerard	0

Final standings

Place	Team	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Phoenix Foundation	Dirk Baberowski	$60,000	24	4th Final day, 3rd Pro Tour win
		Kai Budde		24	7th Final day, 6th Pro Tour win
		Marco Blume		24	2nd Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win
2	2020	Steven Wolfman	$30,000	18
		David Rood		18
		Elijah Pollock		18
3	Courtney's Boys	Gary Wise	$18,000	12	3rd Final day
		Neil Reeves		12	2nd Final day
		Bob Maher, Jr.		12	4th Final day
4	Slay Pillage Gerrard	Jonathan Sonne	$15,000	12
		Gerard Fabiano		12
		Scott McCord		12

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Dirk Baberowski	24
	Marco Blume	24
	Kai Budde	24
4	David Rood	20
5	Elijah Pollock	18
	Steven Wolfman	18

Grand Prixs – Hamburg, Utsonomiya, Copenhagen, Philadelphia

GP Hamburg (28–29 September)

1. Simon Hockwin
2. Arndt Meier
3. Jens Krause
4. Patrick Plößer
5. Nico Wendt
6. Piotr Sienko
7. Dennis Schmitz
8. Jean Charles Salvin

GP Utsonomiya (12–13 October)

1. Rei Hashimoto
2. Shuhei Nakamura
3. Tsuyoshi Fujita
4. Masashi Oiso
5. Eiji Nomura
6. Masanori Kobayashi
7. Jin Okamoto
8. Junichi Kinoshita

GP Copenhagen (12–13 October)

1. Bob Maher, Jr.
2. Jens Krause
3. Kai Budde
4. Fredrik Boberg
5. Dirk Baberowski
6. Jens Thorén
7. David Linder
8. Fleurent Jeudon

GP Philadelphia (26–27 October)

1. Jeff Cunningham
2. Shaun Doran
3. Eli Aden
4. Morgan Douglass
5. Nick Eisel
6. Craig Krempels
7. Patrick Sullivan
8. Jacob Rabinowitz

Pro Tour – Houston (8–10 November 2002)

Justin Gary won Pro Tour Houston with a deck revolving around Oath of Druids. His teammates of "Your Move Games" (YMG), Rob Dougherty and Darwin Kastle, came in second and third. Instead of breaking the format with one kind of deck the YMG players in the top 8 even played all different decks, thereby losing games exclusively to one another. It was Bob Maher, Jr.'s and Rob Dougherty's fifth final day appearance.

Jens Thorén from Sweden won the final of the Master Series against Gary Wise.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $200,130
Players: 351
Format: Extended

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Justin Gary	3
	8	Jeroen Remie	0
						Justin Gary		3
						John Larkin		0
	4	John Larkin	3
	5	Peter Myrvig	2
											Justin Gary		3
											Rob Dougherty		2
	2	Rob Dougherty	3
	7	Bob Maher, Jr.	0
						Rob Dougherty		3
						Darwin Kastle		0
	3	Darwin Kastle	3
	6	Mattias Jorstedt	0

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Justin Gary	$30,000	32	3rd Final day
2	Rob Dougherty	$20,000	24	5nd Final day
3	Darwin Kastle	$15,000	16	7th Final day
4	John Larkin	$13,000	16	3rd Final day
5	Peter Myrvig	$9,500	12
6	Mattias Jorstedt	$8,500	12
7	Bob Maher, Jr.	$7,500	12	5th Final day
8	Jeroen Remie	$6,500	12	4th Final day

Masters – Booster Draft

	1st Round					2nd Round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
		Michael Pustilnik
	32	Tomi Walamies	2
						Tomi Walamies
						Eric Froehlich		2
	16	Eric Froehlich	2
	17	Christophe Haim
											Eric Froehlich		2
											Jelger Wiegersma
	8	Jelger Wiegersma	2
	25	Antoine Ruel
						Jelger Wiegersma		2
						Brian Davis
	9	Brian Davis	2
	24	Eugene Harvey
																Eric Froehlich
																Jens Thorén		2
	4	Jens Thorén	2
	29	Marco Blume
						Jens Thorén		2
						Brian Kibler
	13	Bram Snepvangers
	20	Brian Kibler	2
											Jens Thorén		2
											Alex Shvartsman
	5	Alex Shvartsman	2
	28	Neil Reeves
						Alex Shvartsman		2
						Ferad Meraghni
	12	Ken Ho
	21	Ferad Meraghni	2
																					Jens Thorén		2
																					Gary Wise
	2	Kai Budde
	31	Alan Shuldiner	2
						Allan Shuldiner
						Gary Wise		2
	15	Gary Wise	2
	18	Patrick Mello
											Gary Wise		2
											Eivind Nitter
	7	Eivind Nitter	2
	26	Peter Szigeti
						Eivind Nitter		2
						Pierre Malherbaud
	10	Rob Dougherty
	23	Pierre Malherbaud	2
																Gary Wise		2
																Raphaël Lévy
	3	Olivier Ruel	2
	30	Carlos Romão
						Olivier Ruel
						Raphaël Lévy		2
	14	Dirk Baberowski
	19	Raphaël Lévy	2
											Raphaël Lévy		2
											Anton Jonsson
	6	David Humpherys	2
	27	Itaru Ishida
						David Humpherys
						Anton Jonsson		2
	11	Anton Jonsson	2
	22	Jin Okamoto

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Justin Gary	36
2	Dirk Baberowski	34
3	Bob Maher, Jr.	33
4	Kai Budde	31
5	Rob Dougherty	29

Grand Prixs – Melbourne, Los Angeles, Reims, New Orleans

GP Melbourne (23–24 November)

1. Ben Seck
2. Tristan Gall
3. Jarron Puszet
4. Shun Jiang
5. Richard Grace
6. Milton Jian Xiong Lin
7. Chris Allen
8. Jake Hart

GP Los Angeles (23–24 November)

1. Philip Freneau
2. Bob Maher, Jr.
3. Brian Hegstad
4. Ken Krouner
5. Peter Swarowski
6. Allen Sun
7. Nick Eisel
8. Gerardo Gordinez Estrada

GP Reims (30 November–1 December)

1. Alex Mack
2. Benjamin Caumes
3. Patrick Mello
4. Emmanuel Vernay
5. Hans Joachim Hoeh
6. Régis Lavoisier
7. Christoph Lippert
8. Anton Jonsson

GP New Orleans (3–4 January)

1. Zvi Mowshowitz
2. Eugene Harvey
3. Michael Pustilnik
4. Diego Ostrovich
5. Jeff Cunningham
6. Morgan Douglass
7. Carl Lobato
8. Trey Van Cleave

Pro Tour – Chicago (17–19 January 2003)

In Chicago Kai Budde won his seventh Pro Tour. On his way to the title he defeated, William Jensen, Jon Finkel, and Nicolai Herzog, some of the most accomplished players in the game. Finkel had his tenth Top 8 showing, a feat still not matched by any other player. In the Masters final Franck Canu defeated Ken Ho.

Tournament data

Players: 349
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Rochester Draft (Onslaught)

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Eugene Harvey	2
	8	Dustin Stern	3
						Dustin Stern		1
						Nicolai Herzog		3
	4	Bram Snepvangers	2
	5	Nicolai Herzog	3
											Nicolai Herzog		0
											Kai Budde		3
	2	Kai Budde	3
	7	William Jensen	1
						Kai Budde		3
						Jon Finkel		1
	3	Fabio Reinhardt	2
	7	Jon Finkel	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Kai Budde	$30,000	32	8th Final day, 7th Pro Tour win
2	Nicolai Herzog	$20,000	24	2nd Final day
3	Jon Finkel	$15,000	16	10th Final day
4	Dustin Stern	$13,000	16
5	Eugene Harvey	$9,000	12
6	Fabio Reinhardt	$8,500	12
7	Bram Snepvangers	$8,000	12
8	William Jensen	$7,500	12	2nd Final day

Masters – Standard

	1st Round					2nd Round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Dave Humpherys	2
	32	Ferad Meraghni	0
						Dave Humpherys		2
						Pierre Malherbaud		0
	17	Pierre Malherbaud	2
	16	Jelger Wiegersma	1
											Dave Humpherys		0
											Franck Canu		2
	8	Dirk Baberowksi	1
	25	Noah Boeken	2
						Noah Boeken		0
						Franck Canu		2
	24	Franck Canu	2
	9	Alex Shvartsman	1
																Franck Canu		2
																Antoine Ruel		0
	5	Jens Thorén	0
	28	Jin Okamoto	2
						Jin Okamoto		0
						Kamiel Cornelissen		2
	21	Kamiel Cornelissen	2
	12	Bram Snepvangers	1
											Kamiel Cornelissen		0
											Antoine Ruel		2
	13	Bob Maher, Jr.	1
	20	Antoine Ruel	2
						Antoine Ruel		2
						Olivier Ruel		0
	29	Amiel Tenenbaum	1
	4	Olivier Ruel	2
																					Franck Canu		2
																					Ken Ho		0
	3	Rob Dougherty	0
	30	Neil Reeves	2
						Neil Reeves		2
						Jeff Cunningham		1
	19	John Larkin	1
	14	Jeff Cunningham	2
											Neil Reeves		2
											Gary Wise		0
	11	Gary Wise	2
	22	Brian Davis	1
						Gary Wise		2
						Marco Blume		0
	27	Marco Blume	2
	6	Justin Gary	0
																Neil Reeves		0
																Ken Ho		2
	7	Eivind Nitter	2
	26	Ben Stark	0
						Eivind Nitter		1
						Ken Ho		2
	23	Jeroen Remie	1
	10	Ken Ho	2
											Ken Ho		2
											Kai Budde		1
	15	Carlos Romão	2
	18	Frank Karsten	1
						Carlos Romão		1
						Kai Budde		2
	31	Eric Froehlich	1
	2	Kai Budde	2

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Kai Budde	64
2	Dirk Baberowski	42
3	Bob Maher, Jr.	40
4	Justin Gary	38
5	Nicolai Herzog	34

Grand Prixs – Hiroshima, Sevilla, Boston

GP Hiroshima (25–26 January)

1. Motokiyo Azuma
2. Osamu Fujita
3. Takao Higaki
4. Kang Jisang
5. Junichi Kinoshita
6. Yoshitaka Nakano
7. Tsuyoshi Fujita
8. Atsushi Tabuchi

GP Sevilla (22–23 February)

1. Anton Jonsson
2. Carlos Romão
3. Eivind Nitter
4. Antoine Ruel
5. Stan van der Velden
6. Adriano Rohner
7. David Brucker
8. Javier Perez Fresnedo

GP Boston (22–23 February)

1. Brian Kibler
2. Matthew Cory
3. Aaron Breider
4. Mark Zajdner
5. Ben Rubin
6. Joshua Wagener
7. Zvi Mowshowitz
8. Eric James

Pro Tour – Venice (21–23 March 2003)

Osyp Lebedowicz won Pro Tour Venice with a deck revolving around the Cycling mechanic.. The Masters was won by the Japenese team "PS2".

Tournament data

Players: 310
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Onslaught Block Constructed (Onslaught, Legions)

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Gabriel Nassif	1
	8	William Jensen	3
						William Jensen		2
						Osyp Lebedowicz		3
	4	Osyp Lebedowicz	3
	5	Akihiro Kashima	0
											Osyp Lebedowicz		3
											Tomi Walamies		0
	2	Tomi Walamies	3
	7	Mattias Jorstedt	1
						Tomi Walamies		3
						Jordan Berkowitz		0
	3	Darwin Kastle	1
	6	Jordan Berkowitz	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Osyp Lebedowicz	$30,000	32	2nd Final day
2	Tomi Walamies	$20,000	24	2nd Final day
3	Jordan Berkowitz	$15,000	16
4	William Jensen	$13,000	16	3rd Final day
5	Gabriel Nassif	$9,000	12	2nd Final day
6	Darwin Kastle	$8,500	12	8th Final day
7	Akihira Kashima	$8,000	12
8	Mattias Jorstedt	$7,500	12	2nd Final day

Masters – Team Rochester Draft

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Jokas
	8	PS2	2
						PS2		2
						Panzer Hunters
	4	Panzer Hunters	2
	5	Phoenix Foundation
											PS2		2
											2020		1
	2	Outland
	7	2020	2
						2020		2
						Courtney's Boys
	3	Courtney's Boys	2
	6	Illuminati

Team	Player		Team	Player
2020	David Rood		Outland	Nicolai Herzog
	Steve Wolfman			Eivind Nitter
	Elijah Pollock			Bjørn Jocumsen
Courtney's Boys	Gary Wise		Panzer Hunters	Reiji Andou
	Neil Reeves			Kazuyuki Momose
	Bob Maher, Jr.			Itaru Ishida
Illuminati	Alex Shvartsman		Phoenix Foundation	Kai Budde
	Zvi Mowshowitz			Dirk Baberowski
	Patrick Sullivan			Marco Blume
Jokas			PS2	Masahiro Kuroda
				Katsushiro Mori
				Masahiko Morita

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Kai Budde	69
2	Dirk Baberowski	48
3	Osyp Lebedowicz	47
4	Justin Gary	46
5	Bob Maher, Jr.	42

Grand Prixs – Kyoto, Singapore, Prague

GP Kyoto (29–30 March)

1. Akira Asahara
2. Hisaya Tanaka
3. Masashi Oiso
4. Akihiro Takakuwa
5. Itaru Ishida
6. Shuhei Nakamura
7. Ryouma Shiozu
8. Yoshiaki Tashiro

GP Singapore (29–30 March)

1. Mikael Polgary
2. Terry Soh
3. Kelvin Yew Teck Hoon
4. Sam Lei Kang Lau
5. Chang Chua
6. Kai Cheong Tang
7. Gary Talim
8. Antonino De Rosa

GP Prague (12–13 April)

1. Stefan Jedlicka
2. Raphaël Lévy
3. Thomas Gundersen
4. David Jensen
5. Jelger Wiegersma
6. Gabriel Nassif
7. Anton Jonsson
8. Armin Birner

Pro Tour – Yokohama (9–11 May 2003)

Making the final eight for the third time this season Mattias Jorstedt won Pro Tour Yokohama. Jon Finkel also made another Top 8 appearance thus extending his lead in this category to eleven. In the final of the last Masters tournament Bob Maher, Jr. defeated Gabriel Nassif.

Tournament data

Players: 243
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Booster Draft (Onslaught-Legions)

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Mattias Jorstedt	3
	8	Richard Hoaen	1
						Mattias Jorstedt		3
						Jon Finkel		0
	4	Jon Finkel	3
	5	Benjamin Caumes	1
											Mattias Jorstedt		3
											Masashi Oiso		0
	2	Tsuyoshi Ikeda	3
	7	Ben Seck	2
						Tsuyoshi Ikeda		0
						Masashi Oiso		3
	3	Masashi Oiso	3
	6	Jose Barbero	1

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Mattias Jorstedt	$30,000	32	3rd Final day
2	Masashi Oiso	$20,000	24
3	Tsuyoshi Ikeda	$15,000	16
4	Jon Finkel	$13,000	16	11th Final day
5	Benjamin Caumes	$9,000	12
6	Jose Barbero	$8,500	12
7	Ben Seck	$8,000	12
8	Richard Hoaen	$7,500	12

Masters – Extended

	1st Round					2nd Round					Quarter-final					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Alexander Witt
	32	Zvi Mowshowitz	2
						Zvi Mowshowitz		2
						Jeroen Remie
	17	Jeroen Remie	2
	16	Mark Ziegner
											Zvi Mowshowitz		0
											Gabriel Nassif		2
	12	John Larkin
	21	Gabriel Nassif	2
						Gabriel Nassif		2
						Dirk Baberowski
	28	Antoine Ruel
	5	Dirk Baberowski	2
																Gabriel Nassif		2
																Tomi Walamies		1
	6	Osyp Lebedowicz
	27	Eugene Harvey	2
						Eugene Harvey
						Tomi Walamies		2
	22	Tomi Walamies	2
	11	Anton Jonsson
											Tomi Walamies		2
											Diego Ostrovich		0
	15	Diego Ostrovich	2
	18	Mathias Veron
						Diego Ostrovich		2
						Marco Blume
	31	Marco Blume	2
	2	Kai Budde
																					Gabriel Nassif		0
																					Bob Maher, Jr.		2
	3	Eivind Nitter	2
	30	Brian Kibler
						Brian Kibler		2
						Rob Dougherty
	19	Jeff Cunningham
	14	Rob Dougherty	2
											Brian Kibler		0
											Darwin Kastle		2
	10	Carlos Romão
	23	Darwin Kastle	2
						Darwin Kastle		2
						Kamiel Cornelissen
	26	Kamiel Cornelissen	2
	7	Bram Snepvangers
																Darwin Kastle		0
																Bob Maher, Jr.		2
	8	Nicolai Herzog	2
	25	Mattias Jorstedt
						Nicolai Herzog
						Pierre Malherbaud		2
	24	Pierre Malherbaud	2
	9	William Jensen
											Pierre Malherbaud		0
											Bob Maher, Jr.		2
	13	Bob Maher, Jr.	2
	20	Jelger Wiegersma
						Bob Maher, Jr.		2
						Justin Gary
	29	Gary Wise
	4	Justin Gary	2

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Kai Budde	72
2	Mattias Jorstedt	60
3	Dirk Baberowski	52
4	Osyp Lebedowicz	51
5	Justin Gary	49

Grand Prixs – Pittsburgh, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Detroit

GP Pittsburgh (31 May–1 June)

1. Illuminati

Justin Gary

Zvi Mowshowitz

Alex Shvartsman

2. Prodigy

James Duguid

Charles Gindy

Manny Orellana

3. Phoque Foundation

Jean Charles Salvin

Pasquale Ruggiero

Jairo Liquidano

4. Northern Lights #5

Justin Schneider

Michael Krzywicki

Mike Long

GP Amsterdam (7–8 June)

1. Rankko Bongo Wheshiwheshi

Wilfried Ranque

Carlos Romão

Jose Barbero

2. Ace Ten Off

Kamiel Cornelissen

Jon Finkel

Eric Froehlich

3. Object of Affection

Tomi Walamies

Jens Thorén

Anton Jonsson

4. Boston Tea Party

André Delere

Rolf Ottovordemgentschenfelde

René Kraft

GP Bangkok (12–13 July)

1. Tsuyoshi Fujita
2. Itaru Ishida
3. Vincent Gan
4. Osamu Fujita
5. Masahiko Morita
6. Tsutomu Yamada
7. Peerapat Ekpoorthorn
8. Noppadol Srirattana

GP Detroit (12–13 July)

1. Bob Maher, Jr.
2. Eugene Harvey
3. Joshua Ravitz
4. Alex Shvartmsan
5. Mark Herberholz
6. Matt Severa
7. Morgan Douglass
8. Derek Starleaf

2003 World Championships – Berlin (6–10 August 2003)

Main article: Magic: The Gathering World Championship § 2003 World Championship

German Daniel Zink won the 2003 World Championship, defeating Jin Okamoto from Japan in the finals. Both players played manaheavy control decks built around Mirari's Wake. Kai Budde was declared Pro Player of the year for the third time in a row as none of his pursuers made significant points at this tournament. The United States won the national team competition, defeating Finland in the finals.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $210,200 (individual) + $32,000 (national teams)
Players: 245
Formats: Standard, Odyssey Booster Draft (Odyssey-Torment-Judgment), Odyssey Block Constructed (Odyssey, Torment, Judgment)

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Tuomo Nieminen	3
	8	Gabe Walls	2
						Tuomo Nieminen		1
						Jin Okamoto		3
	4	Jin Okamoto	3
	5	Peer Kröger	0
											Jin Okamoto		0
											Daniel Zink		3
	2	Dave Humpherys	3
	7	Wolfgang Eder	2
						Dave Humpherys		0
						Daniel Zink		3
	3	Jeroen Remie	1
	6	Daniel Zink	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Daniel Zink	$35,000	32
2	Jin Okamoto	$23,000	24
3	Tuomo Nieminen	$15,000	16
4	Dave Humpherys	$13,000	16	5th Final day
5	Jeroen Remie	$9,000	12	2nd Final day
6	Peer Kröger	$8,500	12	3rd Final day
7	Wolfgang Eder	$8,000	12
8	Gabe Walls	$7,500	12

National team competition

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

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Kai Budde was awarded his fourth Pro Player of the year title.

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Kai Budde	80
2	Justin Gary	64
	Mattias Jorstedt	64
4	Dirk Baberowski	58
5	Bob Maher, Jr.	56