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 .
Grand Prixs – Lille, Charlotte, Hasselt, Richmond, Dortmund
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
4
Max Bracht
2
5
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
Grand Prixs – Manila, Cardiff, Madison, Hamamatsu, Barcelona
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
4
Shuhei Nakamura
3
5
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
Grand Prixs – Torino, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur
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
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
2006 World Championships – Paris (29 November – 3 December 2006)
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
4
Nicholas Lovett
3
5
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
The Netherlands (Julien Nuijten, Kamiel Cornelissen, Robert van Medevoort)
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]
References