Brad Nelson
NicknamesFFfreaK
BornFargo, North Dakota[1]
ResidenceSeattle, United States
NationalityUnited States American
Pro Tour debut2009 Pro Tour Honolulu
WinningsUS$186,480[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)0 (3)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)2 (13)[4]
Median Pro Tour Finish57
Lifetime Pro Points386[5]
Planeswalker Level50 (Archmage)

Brad Nelson is an American Magic: The Gathering player. Also known by his Magic: The Gathering Online name, FFfreaK, he has three Pro Tour top eights, and thirteen Grand Prix top eights, including two wins. In 2010, Nelson became the first non-Japanese player since Gabriel Nassif in 2004 and the first American player since Bob Maher in 2000 to earn the Player of the Year title. However, Nelson did not receive his title for Player of the Year 2010 until February 2011 after winning the first-ever Player of the Year Tie playoff match against Guillaume Matignon of France.[6]

Magic: The Gathering

Brad Nelson starting playing Magic: The Gathering in high school, when his best friend William Lies introduced the game to him.[7] Nelson first came to prominence on Magic: The Gathering Online under the screen name FFfreak,[8] a name inspired by his love for the Final Fantasy series of videogames. Whilst Brad was attempting to make it on to the Pro Tour he developed a friendship with 2005 Player of the Year Kenji Tsumura, who would send him his decks to help Brad win a Pro Tour Qualifier.[9] Brad considers Kenji to be his favorite player of all time.[9]

Brad made his Pro Tour debut at Pro Tour Honolulu in 2009, managing to come in 9th place.[7] Brad would also make his first Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Minneapolis that year. Brad would go on to further success on the Pro Tour in the 2010 season. Brad made his first Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour San Juan, though was defeated in the quarterfinals by Guillaume Matignon. At Pro Tour Amsterdam, Brad made his second Pro Tour Top 8 of the year. In the quarterfinals, he became one of only three players to have beaten Kai Budde in the elimination rounds of a Pro Tour.[10] Brad would go on to make the finals of the tournament, losing to Paul Rietzl to take second place. After his performance in Amsterdam, Brad would become the front-runner in the Player of the Year standings. Brad had a 15-point lead going into the final event of the year, the 2010 World Championship. However, Nelson would come in 135th place at Worlds only adding 3 additional points to his overall total.[11] This allowed the 2010 World Champion Guillaume Matignon to earn enough points with his victory to equal Brad's total for an unprecedented Player of the Year tie.[12] The Pro Player of the Year title was decided in a special Player of the Match between Nelson and Matignon at Pro Tour Paris 2011.[6] Nelson won the match 4-2 to claim the 2010 Player of the Year title, becoming the first American to win the title in ten years.

In the 2011 season, Brad had a disappointing year, failing to Top 8 any major events. Discussing his year in an interview with Tristan Shaun Gregson, Brad blamed a loss of confidence for his disappointing performance.[13]

Achievements

 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
2009 Nationals Kansas City, Missouri Standard and Booster Draft July 22–24, 2009 4
2009 Grand Prix Minneapolis Sealed and Booster Draft November 14, 2009 4
2010 Grand Prix Washington D.C. Standard May 22–23, 2010 1
2010 Pro Tour San Juan, Puerto Rico Block Constructed and Booster Draft May 28–30, 2010 6
2010 Grand Prix Columbus Legacy July 31–August 1, 2010 8
2010 Nationals Minneapolis Standard and Booster Draft August 19–22, 2010 8
2010 Pro Tour Amsterdam Extended and Booster Draft September 3–5, 2010 2
2010 Grand Prix Toronto Sealed and Booster Draft October 23–24, 2010 2
2012–13 Grand Prix Minneapolis Standard May 19–20, 2012 2
2012–13 Grand Prix Atlantic City Standard January 12–13, 2013 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Miami Standard June 29–30, 2013 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Louisville Standard October 19–20, 2013 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Cincinnati Standard March 22–23, 2014 2
2014–15 Grand Prix Los Angeles Standard October 18–19, 2014 6
2014–15 Grand Prix Memphis Standard February 21–22, 2015 3
2014–15 Grand Prix Toronto Standard May 2–3, 2015 4
2015–16 Pro Tour Madrid Standard and Booster Draft April 22–24, 2016 6
2016–17 Grand Prix Omaha Standard June 2–4, 2017 1

Last updated: May 8, 2015
Source: wizards.com

Other accomplishments

Media

After winning the Pro Player of the Year title, Richard Hagon wrote a biographical book entitled Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story about Nelson's road to becoming the Pro Player of the Year.[15]

Personal life

Brad Nelson is also the half-brother of Corey Baumeister,[16] a fellow Magic: The Gathering player and three-time North Dakota State Champion.[17] Currently, Brad works for Star City Games in Virginia as an article writer and participates in various video content for the site; which includes various videos of him testing and playing decks against fellow Star City Games pro players like Todd Anderson and Gerry Thompson, and their show "Above the Curve", which is a weekly half-hour show that goes over happenings and news in the competitive Magic scene.

References

  1. ↑ "Top 8 Player Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Bennett, Josh (February 12, 2011). "Player of the Year Match: The Full Nelson". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 David-Marshall, Brian (November 19, 2010). "Meet the December Twelve". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  8. ↑ Stark, Bill (June 5, 2009). "Pro Tour–Honolulu Round 1: Getting FFreaky". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  9. 1 2 David-Marshall, Brian (February 11, 2011). "Player of the Year: Q&A". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  10. ↑ Henke, Tobias (September 5, 2010). "Quarterfinals: New Blood". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 9, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  11. ↑ "2010 World Championships: Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. December 11, 2010. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Stark, Bill (December 12, 2010). "2010 Magic: The Gathering World Championships Feature: Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Magic TV: Extra - Brad Nelson Interview" (Video). ChannelFireball.com. November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Magic Online Community Cup". Wizards of the Coast. April 30, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story". StarCityGames.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  16. ↑ Willoughby, Tim (February 12, 2011). "On the Sidelines at the Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Corey Baumeister Player Profile". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
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