Kyoto and San Diego

by Bill Stark | posted at 2010-02-24 11:43:00
tagged: WOTC, MTG, Magic, Wizards, Wizards of the Coast, Magic the Gathering, Pro Tour, PT, San Diego, Kyoto

Pro Tour-San Diego has come and gone, but I couldn't help noticing that the Top 8 seemed eerily familiar. Then it hit me: we were watching Kyoto play out all over again! Don't believe me? Read on...

 

Rust Belt American Playing White Weenie
THEN	NOW
Cedric Phillips	Craig Wescoe

An American from the Rust Belt playing the White Weenie deck of the format? We've got that. Last year it was Indiana's Cedric Phillips playing the Kithkin deck that was attached to him from the day the Lorwyn block was released. This year it was Craig Wescoe of Ohio, though he was running a standard White Weenie list as opposed to the tribal-themed creation his predecessor favored.

 

The true kicker? Phillips was playing a White Weenie deck himself in San Diego. Talk about deja vu!

 

Player Most Likely to be LSV
THEN	NOW
Luis Scott-Vargas	Luis Scott-Vargas

In Kyoto, Luis Scott-Vargas was the hottest player on the planet. In the six months leading up to the Pro Tour, he had Top 16ed nearly every tournament he had played, which consisted of a Pro Tour win, a Grand Prix win, and a Worlds near-miss. Headed into Sunday at San Diego? LSV was, without a doubt, the hottest player in the Top 8. Instead of a six-month hot streak, he was on a sixteen round hot streak, having defeated every player who sat across from him at the tables. His hot streak extended to the Semifinals, but eventual champion Simon Goertzen took the LSVggernaut down. It marks a continued trend for the American in Pro Tour Top 8s: he won his first (Berlin), finished second in his second (Kyoto), and now has finished third in his third (San Diego). Is he doomed to finish fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth next?

 

I think the better question is: how many of us would kill to have THREE Pro Tour Top 8s?

 

German Who is Ninja Quiet
THEN	NOW
Jan Ruess	Daniel Grafensteiner

Jan Ruess made his second Pro Tour Top 8 in Kyoto, but the quiet German silently entered and left the Top 8 pantheon, titleless for the second time. While it was Daniel Grafensteiner's first Pro Tour Top 8, his quiet nature and methodical play style are quite reminiscent of Ruess'. In fact, most of the German players seemed to have the same business-like perspective on battling in the Top 8, focusing on games and not really concerning themselves with being loud or boisterous.

 

Japanese Rookie Playing Hated Deck
THEN	NOW
Masayasu Tanahashi	Yoshihiko Ikawa

In Kyoto, it was Masayasu Tanahashi playing the "best" deck that was most reviled for his first Pro Tour Top 8. The deck he played? Faeries. In San Diego, fellow countryman Yoshihiko Ikawa repeated his play exactly, playing the "best" but most reviled deck in the form of Jund and finishing in his first Top 8 for having done so.

 

The Third American in the Top 8
THEN	NOW
Brian Robinson	Kyle Boggemes

There were three Americans in the Top 8 of Pro Tour-Kyoto, and there were three Americans in the Top 8 of Pro Tour-San Diego. Joining LSV and Cedric Phillips in 2009 was Brian Robinson, a well respected pro who had a solid 2009 season. Joining LSV and Craig Wescoe in San Diego? Kyle Boggemes. The well respected Rust Belt grinder has the opportunity to pick up the torch where Brian Robinson left off, setting himself up to have a big season after a strong start.

 

European Aggro Player
THEN	NOW
Matteo Orsini Jones	Jeroen Kanis

Pros have a reputation, deserved or not, for looking down upon the lowly beatdown deck. Of course, both last year and this, two European players braved the control deck gauntlet to make the Top 8 with their aggro decks. For Matteo Orsini Jones it was BW Tokens. This year? Jeroen Kanis with monored. Kanis had so many favorable matchups in the Top 8, but was paired in the Quarters against one of his few bad ones (LSV). When he lost that match in three straight games, it set up an implausible scenario: three other matches breathing a sigh of relief that they might be facing LSV later in the tournament! Such a reaction speaks volumes to just how good Jeroen's deck was in light of his potential opponents in the Top 8.

 

Unknown Playing a Comboish Deck
THEN	NOW
Akimasa Yamamoto	Niels Viaene

Goofy combo decks, you've got to love them. Akimasa Yamamoto played the powerful, and popular, Blue-White Reveillark in Kyoto. In San Diego? It was Belgian Niels Viaene playing a UW Control style Open the Vaults deck. The deck was created by his friend Mark Dictus, and netted the Belgin his first Top 8 in his first Pro Tour. After the fact he admitted he was short some lands and regretted playing Jace, the Mind Sculptor, but it was a good run for a player at his very first Pro Tour.

 

European Who Won the Whole Thing
THEN	NOW
Gabriel Nassif	Simon Goertzen

Gabriel Nassif was already a probable Hall of Fame lock when he won his first individual Pro Tour title in Kyoto. In San Diego, he kicked off the first day of competition undefeated, but the wheels fell off a bit towards the end of the second day of playing (he did Top 32 however). Who did that leave to take the honor of being the European champion? None other than Germany's Simon Goertzen, playing an innovative Jund list. It was the first time a European had taken the Pro Tour title on American soil since Antti Malin won the world championships in Memphis, and the second time a European had won the title in as many events after Andre Coimbra won Worlds in Rome this year.

 

And there you have it! Different stories, different decks, different locations, but Pro Tour-Kyoto and Pro Tour-San Diego were actually the exact same event.

 

What's that? You agree with me? Or don't? Why not share your thoughts in the forum link below?

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