Masters Series (Magic: The Gathering)

The Masters Series or simply Masters were single-elimination Magic: The Gathering tournaments open to the most accomplished players only. These tournaments awarded cash prizes upon entrance and were held at several Pro Tours each season. The first predecessor to the Masters Series, named Team Challenge, was held at the 2000 Pro Tour New York. In the following seasons Masters were held at four different Pro Tours each season. The last Masters was held at Pro Tour Yokohama. Ben Rubin was the most successful player at the Masters Series, being the only player to win two individual events. Ryan Fuller is the only other player to win two events - one individually and one as part of team AlphaBetaUnlimited.com.

After the 2002–03 season the cash that would have gone into the Masters Series prizes was instead used for a final payout at the end of the season based on Pro Points. This payout was in turn replaced by the Pro Player's Club two years later.

Masters champions

*Elected to the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame

Season Location Winner Runner-up Result FormatRef. 1999–00 New York City Black OpsAntoine Ruel*Olivier Ruel*Florent Jeudon AntarcticaJon Finkel*Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz*Daniel O'Mahoney-Schwartz 2–1 Team Rochester Draft 2000–01 New York City William Jensen* Jason Zilla 2–1 Extended 2000–01 Chicago Ben Rubin* Jon Finkel* 2–0 Booster Draft 2000–01 Tokyo AlphaBetaUnlimited.comChris BenafelNoah BoekenRyan Fuller Panzer HunterReiji AndoItaru IshidaMomose Kazuyuki 2–1 Team Rochester Draft 2000–01 Barcelona Ben Rubin* Jay Elarar 2–0 Block Constructed 2001–02 New Orleans Michael Pustilnik Chris Benafel 2–0 Booster Draft 2001–02 San Diego Ryan Fuller Dave Humpherys* 2–0 Standard 2001–02 Osaka Phoenix FoundationDirk Baberowski*Marco BlumeKai Budde* Panzer HunterReiji AndoItaru IshidaMomose Kazuyuki 2–1 Team Rochester Draft 2001–02 Nice Alexander Witt Justin Gary 2–1 Extended 2002–03 Houston Jens Thorén Gary Wise* 2–0 Booster Draft 2002–03 Chicago Franck Canu Ken Ho 2–0 Standard 2002–03 Venice PS2Masahiro KurodaKatsuhiro MoriMasahiko Morita 2020Elijah PollockDavid RoodSteven Wolfman 2–1 Team Rochester Selective service 2002–03 Yokohama Bob Maher* Gabriel Nassif* 2–0 Extended

References