The 2000–01 Pro Tour season was the sixth season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. On 23 September 2000 the season began with parallel Grand Prixs in Sapporo and Porto. It ended on 12 August 2001 with the conclusion of the 2001 World Championship in Toronto. The season consisted of 27 Grand Prixs and 6 Pro Tours, held in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Barcelona, and Toronto. Also special Master Series tournaments were held at four Pro Tours. These tournaments featured huge cash prizes, but were open to only 32 players. At the end of the season Kai Budde was proclaimed Pro Player of the Year, making him the only player to win the title more than once.
Grand Prixs – Sapporo, Porto
GP Porto (23–24 September) Antoine Ruel Olivier Ruel David Williams Michael Pustilnik Ryan Fuller Paco Llopis Gromko Radoslaw Ru Mariani Rodrigues
GP Sapporo (23–24 September) Satoshi Nakamura Takamasa Fukata Tomohiro Maruyama Kazuyuki Momose Kiyoshi Sasanuma John Taro Kageyama Katsuhiro Mori Yuji Otsubo
Pro Tour – New York (29 September – 1 October 2000)
New York was the second team Pro Tour. Scott Johns made his fifth final day appearance. His team, "Potato Nation", did not lose a match throughout the tournament. At PT New York the master series had its debut. This was a tournament series featuring huge cash prizes, but open only to the very best players in the world. The 25 players with the most Pro Points and the 5 Players with the highest rating in the format of the Masters were invited. Additionally a gateway tournament was held on the day before the Pro Tour. In that tournament each Pro Player with at least six Pro Points could compete for one of two additional slots.
Tournament data Prize pool: $202,200 Players: 330 (110 teams) Format: Team Sealed (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy) – first day, Team Rochester Draft (Mercadian Masques-Nemesis-Prophecy) – final two days Head Judge: Dan Gray
Top 4
Final standings
PlaceTeamPlayerPrizePro PointsComment1Potato Nation Scott Johns$60,000245th Top 8 finish Mike Turian24 Gary Wise242nd Final day2Car Acrobatic Team Andrew Cuneo$30,00012 Aaron Forsythe12 Andrew Johnson123Rolled-Up Aces Dan Clegg$18,00010 Shawn Keller102nd Final day Thomas Keller104Draften und Spielen Christian Lührs$15,000103rd Final day Patrick Mello10 Stephan Valkyser10
Masters – Extended
Pro Player of the year standings
RankPlayerPro Points1 Scott Johns24 Mike Turian24 Gary Wise244 Antoine Ruel145 Olivier Ruel13
Grand Prixs – Manchester, Helsinki, Dallas, Kyoto, Phoenix, Sydney, Florence, Buenos Aires
GP Manchester (7–8 October) Darwin Kastle John Ormerod Mark Le Pine Noah Boeken Justin Gary Marc Hernandez Neil Rigby Zvi Mowshowitz
GP Helsinki (28–29 October) Noah Boeken Erno Ekebom Arto Hiltunen Rickard Österberg Messaoud Bouchaib Dominik Hothow Erik Leander Jens Thorén
GP Dallas (28–29 October) Matthew Vienneau Chris Benafel Dan Clegg Matt Linde Dustin Stern Ben Romig Peter Leiher Trevor Blackwell
GP Kyoto (11–12 November) Tsuyoshi Fujita Yuki Murakami Katsuhiro Mori Ryan Fuller Eisaku Itadani Tsuyoshi Doyama Tomohiro Maruyama Tobey Tamber
GP Phoenix (11–12 November) Sean Fitzgerald Sean Smith Thomas Keller Scott Johns Robert Swarowski Joel Frank Terry Welty Chris Demaci
GP Sydney (18–19 November) Gordon Lin Will Copeman Satoshi Nakamura Joe Connolly Royce Chai Chris Allen Anatoli Lightfoot Kim Brebach
GP Florence (25–26 November) Benedikt Klauser Bram Snepvangers Kai Budde Martin Zürcher Ben Ronaldson Daniele Canavesi Mario Pascoli Lionel Benezech
GP Buenos Aires (25–26 November) Hugo Ariza Walter Witt Pablo Huerta Rafael Le Saux Diego Ostrovich José Barbero Emmanuel Duering Mathias Bollati
Pro Tour – Chicago (1–3 December 2000)
Chicago was the first Pro Tour featuring the Standard format since Dallas more than four years before. In a top eight which is considered to be one of the best ever, Kai Budde won the title against Kamiel Cornelissen. He thus became the third player to win two Pro Tours. With the exception of Jay Elarar, every player in the top eight now has at least three Pro Tour top eights, including a win. In the Masters event Ben Rubin defeated Jon Finkel in the final.
Tournament data Prize pool: $200,130 Players: 332 Format: Standard Head Judge: Mike Donais
Top 8
Final standings
PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment1 Kai Budde$30,000322nd Final day, 2nd Pro Tour win2 Kamiel Cornelissen$20,000243 Brian Kibler$15,000164 Rob Dougherty$13,000163rd Final day5 Jon Finkel$9,000128th Final day6 Michael Pustilnik$8,500122nd Final day7 Zvi Mowshowitz$8,000122nd Final day8 Jay Elarar$7,50012
Masters – Booster Draft
Pro Player of the year standings
RankPlayerPro Points1 Kai Budde402 Scott Johns353 Mike Turian294 Kamiel Cornelissen28 Gary Wise28
Grand Prixs – Singapore, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Hiroshima
GP Singapore (9–10 December) Sam Lau Jonathan Chan Kuo Tzu-Ching Masayuki Higashino Yi Jie Vice Lin Tishem Tham Boon Tat Elvin Eng Nicholas Wong
GP New Orleans (6–7 January) Bill Stead Michelle Bush Gary Rush Steven O'Mahoney Schwartz Casey McCarrel Eric Kesselman Jamie Parke Dustin Stern
GP Amsterdam (13–14 January) Chris Benafel Xavier Curto Vives Brian Davis Daniel O'Mahoney Schwartz David Price Antoine Ruel Menno Dolstra Alexander Witt
GP Hiroshima (27–28 January) Masayuki Higashino Masaya Mori Nobuaki Shikata Masahiko Morita Katsuhiro Mori Tsuyoshi Fujita Koby Okada Toshiki Tsukamoto
Pro Tour – Los Angeles (2–4 February 2001)
The 2001 Pro Tour Los Angeles was the last Pro Tour held on the Queen Mary, where all previous Pro Tours in Los Angeles had been held. In a final eight featuring three players, who had also been amongst the last eight in Chicago, Michael Pustilnik took the title and thus the lead in the Pro Player of the year standings. Kamiel Cornelissen also made his second consecutive second place Pro Tour finish, the first person to do so in Pro Tour history.
Tournament data
Players: 327 Prize Pool: $200,130 Format: Rochester Draft (Invasion) Head Judge: Collin Jackson
Top 8
Final standings
PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment1 Michael Pustilnik$30,000323rd Final day2 Kamiel Cornelissen$20,000242nd Final day3 Benedikt Klauser$15,000163rd Final day4 Jon Finkel$13,000169th Final day5 Kyle Rose$9,000124th Final day6 Michael Gurney$8,500127 Erno Ekebom$8,000122nd Final day8 Lawrence Creech$7,50012
Pro Player of the year standings
RankPlayerPro Points1 Michael Pustilnik552 Kamiel Cornelissen523 Kai Budde474 Scott Johns405 Gary Wise37
Grand Prixs – Kaohsiung, Valencia, Cologne, Boston, Prague, Rio de Janeiro
GP Kaohsiung (10–11 February) Tobey Tamber Kuo Tzu-Ching King Yim Kingston Tong Nick Wong Fumio Hoshino Granger Petersen Toshiki Tsukamoto Hon Ming Au Yeung
GP Valencia (10–11 February) Ricard Tuduri Olivier Ruel Noah Boeken Ryan Fuller Michael Pustilnik Manuel Ramos Raul Mestre Raul Peret
GP Cologne (24–25 February) Jim Herold Antoine Ruel Trey Van Cleave Joost Vollebregt Daniel Zink Frank Karsten Christoph Lippert Jan Doise
GP Boston (24–25 February) Tom Swan Scott Johns Alan Comer Matthew Vienneau Brian Hegstad Kurtis Hahn Kyle Rose Chris Benafel
GP Prague (10–11 March) Ryan Fuller Jens Thoren Jakub Slemr Trey Van Cleave Thomas Preyer Antoine Ruel Kristian Kockott Noah Boeken
GP Rio de Janeiro (10–11 March) Carlos Romão Alex Shvartsman Justin Schneider Rafael Alvarenga Rafael Le Saux Ernesto Mingorance Damian Brown-Santirso Daniel Brasil do Carmo
Pro Tour – Tokyo (16–18 March 2001) The 2001 Pro Tour Tokyo saw a number of interesting firsts for the Pro Tour. Canadian player Ryan Fuller became the first player to go undefeated in the Swiss rounds of a Pro Tour, finishing with a 14–0 record. Also, Tsuyoshi Fujita became the first Japanese player to make a Pro Tour Top 8. Ultimately it was future Hall of Fame member Zvi Mowshowitz who would take the title, winning his first individual Pro Tour.
Tournament data
Players: 270 Prize Pool: $200,130 Format: Invasion Block Constructed (Invasion, Planeshift) Head Judge: Chris Zantides
Top 8
Final standings
PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment1 Zvi Mowshowitz$30,000323rd Final day2 Tsuyoshi Fujita$20,000241st Asian Player in a Top 8, 1st Japanese Player in a Top 83 Lucas Hager$15,000164 Chris Benafel$13,000162nd Final day5 Ryan Fuller$9,000122nd Final day6 Philip Freneau$8,500127 David Williams$8,000128 Frederico Bastos$7,500121st Portuguese Player in a Top 8
Masters – Team Rochester Draft
TeamPlayerTeamPlayerAlphaBetaUnlimited.com Ryan FullerPanzer Hunter Momose Kazuyuki Noah Boeken Itaru Ishida Chris Benafel Reiji AndoBlack-Ops Florent JeudonPotato Nation Scott Johns Antoine Ruel Gary Wise Olivier Ruel Mike TurianCar Acrobatic Team Andrew JohnsonTeam Outland Nicolai Herzog Andrew Cuneo Eivind Nitter Aaron Forsythe Bjorn JocumsenGame Empire Kurt BurgnerYour Move Games Rob Dougherty Alan Comer Dave Humpherys Brian Selden Darwin Kastle
Pro Player of the year standings
RankPlayerPro Points1 Michael Pustilnik602 Kamiel Cornelissen583 Kai Budde504 Scott Johns49 Zvi Mowshowitz49
Grand Prixs – Gothenburg, Detroit, Moscow
GP Gothenburg (24–25 March) Jan Schreurs Josper Manne Thranne Raphaël Lévy Scott Willis Eivind Nitter Marcus Angelin Sondre Ellingvåg Jimmy Öman
GP Detroit (31 March – 1 April) Matthew Vienneau Brock Parker Bob Maher, Jr. Dan Clegg William Jensen Adam Prokopin Aaron Breider Louis Boileau
GP Moscow (21–22 April) Ryan Fuller Iwan Tan Yuri Markin Antoine Ruel Eugene Okin David Williams Sergey Norin Rustam Bakirov
Pro Tour – Barcelona (4–6 May 2001)
In Barcelona Kai Budde became the first player to win three Pro Tours overall and also the first to win two Pro Tours in a single season. Ben Rubin won the Masters and thus became the only player to win two Masters tournaments.
Tournament data
Players: 335 Prize Pool: $200,130 Format: Booster Draft (Invasion-Planeshift) Head Judge: Thomas Bisballe
Top 8
Final standings
PlacePlayerPrizePro PointsComment1 Kai Budde$30,000323rd Final day, 3rd Pro Tour win2 Alan Comer$20,000245th Final day3 Dan Clegg$15,000162nd Final day4 Patrick Mello$13,000162nd Final day5 Brad Swan$9,000126 Albertus Law$8,500121st Singaporean in a Top 87 Yuri Kolomeyko$8,000121st Ukrainian in a Top 88 Chad Ellis$7,50012
Masters – Invasion Block Constructed
Pro Player of the year standings
RankPlayerPro Points1 Kai Budde832 Michael Pustilnik663 Kamiel Cornelissen644 Ryan Fuller55 Scott Johns55
Grand Prixs – Yokohama, Turin, Taipei, Columbus
GP Yokohama (12–13 May) 1. AlphaBetaUnlimited.com Chris Benafel Ryan Fuller David Williams 2. Poor Shark Masashiro Kuroda Tomomi Otsuka Masahiko Morita 3. Voice of Soul Tsuyoshi Douyama Tadayoshi Komiya Takao Higaki 4. Fire Beat Tsuyoshi Ikeda Toshiki Tsukamoto Jun Nobushita
GP Turin (26–27 May) 1. Team Clegg Peter Szigeti Brock Parker Daniel Clegg 2. AlphaBetaUnlimited.com Ryan Fuller Chris Benafel Noah Boeken 3. Angstschreeuw Menno Dolstra Jan Schreurs Bram Snepvangers 4. One Day Fly Tom Van de Logt Kamiel Cornelissen Jelger Wiegersma
GP Taipei (21–22 July) 1. www.alphabetaunlimited.com/ David Williams Chris Benafel Daniel Clegg 2. Anchans Osamu Fujita Itaru Ishida Katsuhiro Mori 3. Team T.T.T. Kuo Tzu-Ching Chen Yu Wang Dell Sun 4. Dr. no-right Jack Ho Yen Chang Lee Yang Bo Wang
GP Columbus (28–29 July) 1. Your Move Games Darwin Kastle Dave Humpherys Rob Dougherty 2. The Ken Ho All-Stars Daniel Clegg Ken Ho Lan D. Ho 3. Dynasty Gabriel Tsang Brian Hacker Ben Rubin 4. The Ancient Kavus Gary Krakower Matthew Vienneau Michael Pustilnik
2001 World Championships – Toronto (8–12 August 2001)