Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2006

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

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...

in Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

and Charlotte

CHARLOTTE

- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

. 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

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, Kobe

Kobe

, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...

, and Paris. At the end of the season Shouta Yasooka

Shouta Yasooka

is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player. He is best known for his success in the 2006 Pro Tour season, when he won Pro Tour Charleston with Tomohiro Kaji and Tomoharu Saitou, as well as the Player of the Year title....

from Japan was proclaimed Pro Player of the year. At the Worlds in Paris the second class of the Hall of Fame

Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame

The Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame was started in 2005 to honor the most successful Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour players. The first inductions came on the tenth anniversary of the first Pro Tour event, and new Hall of Famers will be determined annually...

was inducted. The inductees were Bob Maher, Jr., 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 :...

, 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...

, 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....

, and 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...

Grand Prixs – Lille, Charlotte, Hasselt, Richmond, Dortmund

GP Lille (18–19 December)

Helmut Summersberger
Daniel Krutil
Nicholas Labarre
Luca Verdiani
Martin Brenner
Loïc Le Briand
Max Bracht
Nicolas Francois

GP Charlotte (18–19 December)

Michael Krumb
Alex Majlaton
Kyle Goodman
David Shiels
Antonino De Rosa
Antonino De Rosa
Antonino De Rosa is an Italian-American Magic: The Gathering player. His successes include three Grand Prix wins, a US Nationals title in 2005, and a top eight at Pro Tour Prague 2006.- Achievements:Other accomplishments...
Alan Hubbard
Chris Boozer
Thomas LaPille

GP Hasselt (28–29 January)

Sam Gomersall
Julien Goron
Maurice Palijama
Ziga Fritz
Helge Nelson
Dimitri Reinderman
Quentin Martin
Francois Moreau

GP Richmond (4–5 February)

Richard Hoaen
Richard Hoaen
Richard Hoaen is a Canadian Magic: The Gathering player. Known for his skill in limited formats, Hoaen has reached the top eight of a Pro Tour just once...
Jonathan Sonne
Jonathan Sonne
Jonathan Sonne is an American Magic: The Gathering player. He has reached the top eight of a Pro Tour once, and has won two Grand Prix. He was also part of the US national team that placed second at the World Championship in 2005.-Achievements:...
Adam Chambers
John Fiorillo
Eugene Harvey
Eugene Harvey (Magic: The Gathering player)
Eugene Harvey is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His major successes include four Pro Tour top eights, and five Grand Prix top eights. Harvey was part of the US national team that won the World Championship in 2001, which was Harvey's first Pro Tour. He also won the 2002 US National...
Taylor Webb
Gerry Thompson
Michael Pinnegar

GP Dortmund (18–19 February)

David Brucker
Julien Goron
Mathias Wigge
Marco Rothaupt
Dennis Grudowski
Julien Nuijten
Olivier Ruel
Olivier Ruel
Olivier Ruel is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He holds the record for most Grand Prix Top 8’s, and is one of twenty players with five or more Pro Tour top 8’s. After 2010 Pro Tour San Juan Olivier surpassed Kai Budde as the leader in lifetime Pro Points...
Stefan Rentzsch

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

Olivier

Olivier is the French form of Oliver. It may refer to:As a surname:* Guillaume-Antoine Olivier , a French entomologist* George Olivier, count of Wallis , Austrian field marshal...

. Notably absent from the Top 8 were the Japanese players after thirteen consecutive final day appearances.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $240,245

Players: 410

Format: Standard

Head Judge: John Shannon

Top 8

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 Olivier Ruel Olivier Ruel is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He holds the record for most Grand Prix Top 8’s, and is one of twenty players with five or more Pro Tour top 8’s. After 2010 Pro Tour San Juan Olivier surpassed Kai Budde as the leader in lifetime Pro Points...	$14,000	16	5th Final day
5	Osyp Lebedowicz Osyp Lebedowicz Osyp Lebedowicz is an American Magic: The Gathering player. He won Pro Tour Venice 2003, and is also known for his involvement in developing the Aether Vial affinity archetype.-Achievements:-References:...	$11,500	12	3rd Final day
6	Max Bracht	$11,000	12
7	Ruud Warmenhoven	$10,500	12
8	Antoine Ruel Antoine Ruel Antoine Ruel is a professional Magic: The Gathering player. He has reached the top eight at the Pro Tour four times, including a win in Los Angeles in 2005...	$10,000	12	4th Final day

Pro Player of the year standings

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Mark Herberholz	28
2	Olivier Ruel Olivier Ruel Olivier Ruel is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He holds the record for most Grand Prix Top 8’s, and is one of twenty players with five or more Pro Tour top 8’s. After 2010 Pro Tour San Juan Olivier surpassed Kai Budde as the leader in lifetime Pro Points...	22
3	Craig Jones	20
4	Tiago Chan	18
5	Max Bracht	15

Grand Prixs – Manila, Cardiff, Madison, Hamamatsu, Barcelona

GP Manila (18–19 March)

James Porter
Jiro Francisco
Cynic Kim
Bo Sun
Jake Hart
Felix Gonzales
Takuya Osawa
Dominic Ortega

GP Cardiff (25–26 March)

Martin Dingler
Wesimo Al-Bacha
Roel van Heeswijk
Julian Jardine
Quentin Martin
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...
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...
Antoine Ruel
Antoine Ruel
Antoine Ruel is a professional Magic: The Gathering player. He has reached the top eight at the Pro Tour four times, including a win in Los Angeles in 2005...

GP Madison (25–26 March)

1. Faddy Josh

Brian Ziegler

Tim Bulger

Takanobu Sato

2. Free James Beeton

Kyle Goodman

Mark Ioli

Benjamin Lundquist

3. 4815162342

Richard Hoaen

Richard Hoaen is a Canadian Magic: The Gathering player. Known for his skill in limited formats, Hoaen has reached the top eight of a Pro Tour just once...

Eric Froehlich

Eric Froehlich is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of 2009, Froehlich's total live tournament winnings exceed $1,300,000. His 16 cashes at the WSOP account for $867,783 of those winnings....

Bob Maher, Jr.

4. Cedric Philips Stole My Bike

John Pelcak

Chris McDaniel

Jonathan Sonne

Jonathan Sonne is an American Magic: The Gathering player. He has reached the top eight of a Pro Tour once, and has won two Grand Prix. He was also part of the US national team that placed second at the World Championship in 2005.-Achievements:...

GP Hamamatsu (8–9 April)

1. Tanii Monogatari

Kotatsu Saitou

Takahiro Katayama

Yuusuke Tanii

2. Stardust Crusader

Akira Asahara

Akira Asahara is a Japanese Magic: The Gathering player. His successes include two Pro Tour top eights, two Grand Prix wins, and eight other Grand Prix top eights. He has been referred to as a rogue deck designer.-Achievements:...

Masaya Kitayama

Shouta Yasooka

3. Limit Break

Takuya Oosawa

Ryou Ogura

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...

4. Kiosk

Takashi Ishihara

Shuhei Itou

Daisuke Saitou

GP Barcelona (8–9 April)

Helmut Summersberger
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...
Jelger Wiegersma
Jelger Wiegersma
Jelger Wiegersma is a Dutch Magic: The Gathering player. Formerly a pro he is now considered to be retired, but shows up for a Pro Tour every once in a while. He has won one Pro Tours as a member of team Von Dutch with teammates being Jeroen Remie and Kamiel Cornelissen. He also won a Grand Prix...
Johan Sadeghpour
Olivier Ruel
Olivier Ruel
Olivier Ruel is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He holds the record for most Grand Prix Top 8’s, and is one of twenty players with five or more Pro Tour top 8’s. After 2010 Pro Tour San Juan Olivier surpassed Kai Budde as the leader in lifetime Pro Points...
Aniol Alcaraz
Jean Charles Salvin
Sebastian Aljiaj

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.