| Pro Player of the Year |  Gabriel Nassif | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year |  Julien Nuijten | ||
| World Champion | Julien Nuijten | ||
| Pro Tours | 7 | ||
| Grands Prix | 26 | ||
| Start of season | 23 August 2003 | ||
| End of season | 5 September 2004 | ||
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The 2003–04 Pro Tour season was the ninth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 23 August 2003 the season began with parallel Grand Prixs in Yokohama and London. It ended on 5 September 2004 with the conclusion of the 2004 World Championship in San Francisco. Beginning with this season Wizards of the Coast moved the Pro Tour schedule farther backwards in the year to synchronize it with the calendar year. The season consisted of 26 Grand Prixs and 7 Pro Tours, held in Boston, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Kobe, San Diego, Seattle, and San Francisco. Also the Master Series tournaments were discontinued and replaced by payout at the end of the year based on the Pro Player of the year standings. At the end of the season Gabriel Nassif was proclaimed Pro Player of the year, the first player after Kai Budde's three-year-domination period, and also the first player to win the title without winning a Pro Tour in the same season.
Grand Prixs – Yokohama, London, Atlanta
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Pro Tour – Boston (12–14 September 2003)
"Phoenix Foundation" had its third consecutive Pro Tour Top 4 appearance, but this time they were eliminated by eventual champions "The Brockafellars". The team consisting of William Jensen, Matt Linde, and Brock Parker had allegedly not done a single practice draft in the format.[1]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $200,100
Players: 399 (133 teams)
Format: Team Sealed (Onslaught, Legions, Scourge) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Onslaught-Legions-Scourge) – final two days
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]
Top 4
| Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Zabutan Nemonaut | 0 | |||||||
| 4 | Original Slackers | 2 | |||||||
| Original Slackers | 0 | ||||||||
| The Brockafellars | 2 | ||||||||
| 2 | Phoenix Foundation | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | The Brockafellars | 2 | |||||||
Final standings
| Place | Team | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Brockafellars |  Brock Parker |
$60,000 | 24 | |
| William Jensen |
24 | 4th Final day | |||
| Matt Linde |
24 | 2nd Final day | |||
| 2 | Original Slackers |  Lovre Crnobori |
$30,000 | 18 | |
 Jake Smith |
18 | ||||
 Rickard Österberg |
18 | ||||
| 3 | Zabutan Nemonaut | Mike Turian |
$18,000 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Gary Wise |
12 | 4th Final day | |||
| Eugene Harvey |
12 | 2nd Final day | |||
| 4 | Phoenix Foundation |  Marco Blume |
$15,000 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
| Kai Budde |
12 | 9th Final day | |||
| Dirk Baberowski |
12 | 5th Final day |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Linde |
29 |
| 2 | William Jensen |
24 |
| Brock Parker |
24 | |
| 4 | Marco Blume |
18 |
| Lovre Crnobori |
18 | |
| Rickard Österberg |
18 | |
| Jake Smith |
18 |
Grand Prixs – Genova, Sydney, Kansas City, Lyon
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Pro Tour – New Orleans (31 October – 2 November 2003)
After finishing second with his team in Boston, Rickard Österberg returned to win Pro Tour New Orleans. The Extended format of New Orleans is considered to be one of the most powerful of all time and Österberg's deck was built around the soon to be banned card Tinker, too.[3]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $200,130
Players: 318
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Mike Guptil[2]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Hans Joachim Höh | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Masashi Oiso | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Masashi Oiso | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Gabriel Nassif | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Gabriel Nassif | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Tomohiro Yokosuka | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Gabriel Nassif | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Rickard Österberg | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Yann Hamon | * | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Nicolas Labarre | * | ||||||||||||
| Yann Hamon | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Rickard Österberg | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Eugene Harvey | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Rickard Österberg | 3 | ||||||||||||
* Hamon and Labarre both had to catch a flight on the morning of the Top 8 and did not want to book two new flights. They thus played an unofficial match at their hotel on the preceding evening to decide who would officially concede to the other. Hamon won 3–2.[4]
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rickard Österberg |
$30,000 | 32 | 2nd Final day |
| 2 | Gabriel Nassif |
$20,000 | 24 | 3rd Final day |
| 3 | Yann Hamon |
$15,000 | 16 | |
| 4 |  Masashi Oiso |
$13,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 5 | Hans Joachim Höh |
$9,500 | 12 | |
| 6 | Eugene Harvey |
$8,500 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
| 7 | Tomohiro Yokosuka |
$7,500 | 12 | |
| 8 | Nicolas Labarre |
$6,500 | 12 | 4th Final day |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rickard Österberg |
50 |
| 2 | Matt Linde |
31 |
| 3 | Gabriel Nassif |
30 |
| 4 | Yann Hamon |
27 |
| 5 | Brock Parker |
26 |
| William Jensen |
26 |
Grand Prixs – Shizuoka, Gothenburg, Munich, Anaheim
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Pro Tour – Amsterdam (16–18 January 2004)
Norwegian Nicolai Herzog defeated Osamu Fujita in the finals to win Pro Tour Amsterdam. Other than Fujita and Herzog the final eight included only accomplished players with at least one other lifetime Pro Tour final day appearance.[5]
Tournament data
Players: 347
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Rochester Draft (Mirrodin)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk[2]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Farid Meraghni | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Nicolai Herzog | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Nicolai Herzog | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Olivier Ruel | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Olivier Ruel | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Mike Turian | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Nicolai Herzog | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Osamu Fujita | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Kamiel Cornelissen | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Osamu Fujita | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Osamu Fujita | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Anton Jonsson | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Aeo Paquette | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Anton Jonsson | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolai Herzog |
$30,000 | 32 | 3rd Final day |
| 2 | Osamu Fujita |
$20,000 | 24 | |
| 3 | Anton Jonsson |
$15,000 | 16 | 3rd Final day |
| 4 | Olivier Ruel |
$13,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 5 | Kamiel Cornelissen |
$9,000 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
| 6 | Aeo Paquette |
$8,500 | 12 | Pro Tour debut |
| 7 | Farid Meraghni |
$8,000 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 8 | Mike Turian |
$7,500 | 12 | 4th Final day |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rickard Österberg |
52 |
| 2 | Nicolai Herzog |
38 |
| 3 | Yann Hamon |
36 |
| 4 | Osamu Fujita |
34 |
| Matt Linde |
34 | |
| Gabriel Nassif |
34 |
Grand Prixs – Okayama, Oakland, Madrid
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Pro Tour – Kobe (27–29 February 2004)
On home turf Masashiro Kuroda won the first Pro Tour title for Japan, defeating Gabriel Nassif in the finals.[6]
Tournament data
Players: 239
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Mirrodin Block Constructed (Mirrodin, Darksteel)
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Luigi Sbrozzi | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Jelger Wiegersma | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Jelger Wiegersma | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Gabriel Nassif | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Ben Stark | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Gabriel Nassif | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Gabriel Nassif | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Masashiro Kuroda | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Raffaele Lo Moro | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Masashiro Kuroda | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Masashiro Kuroda | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Alexandre Peset | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Alexandre Peset | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Stefano Fiori | 2 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masashiro Kuroda |
$30,000 | 32 | 1st Japanese Player to win a Pro Tour |
| 2 | Gabriel Nassif |
$20,000 | 24 | 4th Final day |
| 3 | Alexandre Peset |
$15,000 | 16 | Pro Tour debut |
| 4 | Jelger Wiegersma |
$13,000 | 16 | 2nd Final day |
| 5 |  Luigi Sbrozzi |
$9,000 | 12 | Pro Tour debut |
| 6 | Raffaele Lo Moro |
$8,500 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 7 | Ben Stark |
$8,000 | 12 | |
| 8 | Stefano Fiori |
$7,500 | 12 |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rickard Österberg |
59 |
| 2 | Gabriel Nassif |
58 |
| 3 | Kai Budde |
43 |
| 4 | Osamu Fujita |
42 |
| 5 | Nicolai Herzog |
41 |
Grand Prixs – Hong Kong, Sendai, Columbus, Birmingham, Washington DC, Bochum
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Pro Tour – San Diego (14–16 May 2004)
The second Mirrodin Draft Pro Tour saw three players amongst the final four, who had already finished in the Top 8 in the first Mirrodin Draft Pro Tour. Nicolai Herzog even followed his Amsterdam win up with another win victory, thus taking home the title in both Mirrodin Draft Pro Tours.[7]
Tournament data
Players: 312
Prize Pool: $200,130
Format: Mirrodin Booster Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel)
Head Judge: Collin Jackson[2]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Masashi Oiso | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Anton Jonsson | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Anton Jonsson | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Antoine Ruel | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Antoine Ruel | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Angel Perez del Pozo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Antoine Ruel | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Nicolai Herzog | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Mike Turian | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Mark Herberholz | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Mike Turian | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Nicolai Herzog | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Ben Stark | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Nicolai Herzog | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolai Herzog |
$30,000 | 32 | 4th Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win |
| 2 | Antoine Ruel |
$20,000 | 24 | 2nd Final day |
| 3 | Mike Turian |
$15,000 | 16 | 5th Final day |
| 4 | Anton Jonsson |
$13,000 | 16 | 4th Final day |
| 5 | Mark Herberholz |
$9,000 | 12 | |
| 6 | Ben Stark |
$8,500 | 12 | 2nd Final day |
| 7 |  Angel Perez del Pozo |
$8,000 | 12 | Pro Tour debut |
| 8 | Masashi Oiso |
$7,500 | 12 | 3rd Final day |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolai Herzog |
77 |
| 2 | Rickard Österberg |
65 |
| 3 | Gabriel Nassif |
63 |
| 4 | Antoine Ruel |
53 |
| 5 | Kai Budde |
47 |
Grand Prixs – Brussels, Zurich
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Pro Tour – Seattle (9–11 July 2004)
Team "Von Dutch" from the Netherlands defeated Japanese "www.shop-fireBall.com2" in the finals to become the 2004 Pro Tour Seattle champions. The team consisted of Jeroen Remie, Jelger Wiegersma, and Kamiel Cornelissen.[8]
Tournament data
Players: 321 (107 teams)
Prize Pool: $200,100
Format: Team Sealed (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel-Fifth Dawn)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk[2]
Top 4
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Von Dutch | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Pocket Rockets | 1 | |||||||
| Von Dutch | 2 | ||||||||
| www.shop-fireball.com2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | www.shop-fireball.com2 | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | S.A.I. | 1 | |||||||
Final standings
| Place | Team | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Von Dutch | Jeroen Remie |
$60,000 | 24 | 3rd Final day |
| Jelger Wiegersma |
24 | 3rd Final day | |||
| Kamiel Cornelissen |
24 | 4th Final day | |||
| 2 | www.shop-fireball.com2 | Itaru Ishida |
$30,000 | 18 | |
| Tsuyoshi Ikeda |
18 | 2nd Final day | |||
| Jin Okamoto |
18 | 2nd Final day | |||
| 3 | S.A.I. | Ichirou Shimura |
$18,000 | 12 | |
| Masami Ibamoto |
12 | ||||
| Ryuuichi Arita |
12 | ||||
| 4 | Pocket Rockets | Paul Russell |
$16,200 | 12 | Pro Tour debut |
| Joseph Derro |
12 | Pro Tour debut | |||
| Matthew Wood |
12 | Pro Tour debut |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolai Herzog |
80 |
| 2 | Gabriel Nassif |
71 |
| Rickard Österberg |
71 | |
| 4 | Jelger Wiegersma |
64 |
| 5 | Antoine Ruel |
61 |
Grand Prixs – Kuala Lumpur, Orlando, New Jersey, Nagoya
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2004 World Championships – San Francisco (1–5 September 2004)
Fifteen-year-old Julien Nuijten from the Netherlands won the 2004 World Championship, defeating Aeo Paquette in the finals. Gabriel Nassif had his third final eight appearance within the season and thus claimed Pro Player of the year title. It was also his and Kamiel Cornelissen's fifth overall Top 8. Germany won the national team competition, defeating Belgium in the finals.[9]
Tournament data
Prize pool: $208,130 (individual) + $208,000 (national teams)
Players: 304
Formats: Standard, Booster Draft (Mirrodin-Darksteel-Fifth Dawn), Mirrodin Block Constructed (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn)
Head Judge: Gijsbert Hoogendijk, Collin Jackson[2]
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Kamiel Cornelissen | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Manuel Bevand | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Manuel Bevand | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Aeo Paquette | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Aeo Paquette | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Gabriel Nassif | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Aeo Paquette | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Julien Nuijten | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Julien Nuijten | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Murray Evans | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Julien Nuijten | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ryou Ogura | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Terry Soh | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Ryou Ogura | 3 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Nuijten |
$35,000 | 32 | Pro Tour debut |
| 2 | Aeo Paquette |
$23,000 | 24 | 2nd Final day |
| 3 | Ryou Ogura |
$15,000 | 16 | |
| 4 | Manuel Bevand |
$13,000 | 16 | |
| 5 | Kamiel Cornelissen |
$9,500 | 12 | 5th Final day |
| 6 |  Terry Soh |
$8,500 | 12 | |
| 7 | Gabriel Nassif |
$7,500 | 12 | 5th Final day |
| 8 | Murray Evans |
$6,500 | 12 |
National team competition
- Germany (Sebastian Zink, Torben Twiefel, Roland Bode)
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Belgium (Dilson Ramos Da Fonseca, Vincent Lemoine, Geoffrey Siron)
Pro Player of the year final standings
After the World Championship Gabriel Nassif was awarded the Pro Player of the year title. He was the first player to win the title without winning a Pro Tour in the same season.
| Rank | Player | Pro Points | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Nassif |
86 | $20,000 |
| 2 | Nicolai Herzog |
82 | $19,800 |
| 3 | Rickard Österberg |
76 | $19,600 |
| 4 | Antoine Ruel |
68 | $19,400 |
| 5 | Jelger Wiegersma |
66 | $19,200 |
References
- ↑ "Live Coverage of 2003 Pro Tour Boston". Wizards of the Coast. 14 September 2003. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Head Judges of Pro Tours and World Championships". XS4ALL. 30 October 2009.
- ↑ Rosewater, Mark (9 August 2004). "On Tour, Part 2". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009.
- ↑ David-Marshall, Brian (2 November 2003). "Labarre forfeits". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009.
- ↑ "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Amsterdam". Wizards of the Coast. 18 January 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
- ↑ "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Kobe". Wizards of the Coast. 29 February 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
- ↑ "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour San Diego". Wizards of the Coast. 16 May 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008.
- ↑ "Live Coverage of 2004 Pro Tour Seattle". Wizards of the Coast. 11 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008.
- ↑ "Nuijten, Nassif dominate Worlds". Wizards of the Coast. 5 September 2004. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008.