Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1997–98

The 1997–98 Pro Tour season was the third season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It began on 30 August 1997 with Grand Prix Toronto, and ended on 16 August 1998 with the conclusion of 1998 World Championship in Seattle. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix, and five Pro Tours, located in Chicago, Mainz, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. At the end of the season Jon Finkel from the United States was awarded the Pro Player of the Year title.

1997–98 Pro Tour season

Pro Player of the Year	Jon Finkel
Rookie of the Year	Randy Buehler
World Champion	Brian Selden
Pro Tours	5
Grands Prix	13
Start of season	30 August 1997
End of season	16 August 1998
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Grand Prix – Toronto, Copenhagen

GP Toronto (30–31 August)

1. Brian Kibler
2. Erik Lauer
3. Tony Tsai
3. Matt Place
5. Dan Silberman
5. Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
5. Mike Turian
5. Bruce Cowley

GP Copenhagen (6–7 September)

1. Karsten Hoppe
2. Sigurd Eskeland
3. David Linder
3. Thomas Lindohf
5. Kristian Hellman
5. Jesper Thrane
5. Martin Jordö
5. Frederik Thorstensson

Pro Tour – Chicago (10–12 October 1997)

Attending a Pro Tour for the first time, Randy Buehler defeated David Mills in the finals to win the inaugural Pro Tour of the 1997–98 season. Olle Råde's final eight appearance made him the first player to reach the Top 8 four times.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 324
Format: Extended

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Comment
1	Randy Buehler	$25,000	Pro Tour debut
2	David Mills	$15,000	2nd Final day
3	Jon Finkel	$10,000
4	Max Suver	$8,000
5	Adrian Sayers	$6,500
6	Justin Schneider	$5,500
7	Kyle Rose	$4,800
8	Olle Råde	$4,300	4th Final day

Grand Prix – Como

GP Como (8–9 November)

1. Michaël Debard
2. Lukas Ladra
3. Roger Leu
3. Michael Suwald
5. Luca Chiera
5. David Kearney
5. Pierre Vandercamere
5. Gilles Martinau

Pro Tour – Mainz (5–7 December 1997)

Eventual Pro Player of the year Paul McCabe won Pro Tour Dallas. The Canadian defeated Jason Zila from the US in the final. Olle Råde had his third Top 8 appearance while playing only his fourth Pro Tour.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 291
Format: Rochester Draft (Tempest)

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Comment
1	Matt Place	$25,000	2nd Final day
2	Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz	$15,000
3	Peer Kröger	$10,000	2nd Final day
4	Kurt Burgner	$8,000
5	John Ormerod	$6,500	1st English in a Top 8
6	Chris Bishop	$5,500
7	Mark Le Pine	$4,800
8	Gabriele Pisicchio	$4,300	1st Italian in a Top 8

Grand Prix – San Francisco, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Lyon, Melbourne

GP San Francisco (6–7 December)

1. Robert Swarowski
2. Ryan Fuller
3. Steve Shears
4. Brett Quorn
5. Daniel Clegg
6. Steve Aldrich
7. Ernest Alexander
8. Casey McCarrel

GP Lyon (7–8 February)

1. Raphaël Lévy
2. Kurt Foket
3. Manuel Bevand
4. Michaël Debard
5. Emmanuel Beltrando
6. Loïc Degrou
7. Nicolas Lacorne
8. Laurent Laclaverie

GP Madrid (24–25 January)

1. Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
2. Michaël Debard
3. Jérémie Lagarde
4. Herve Drevillon
5. Christian Celades
6. Omar Sagol
7. Gabriele Pisicchio
8. Marc Iglesias

GP Melbourne (14–15 February)

1. Philip Davey
2. Matt Goodall
3. Lenny Collins
4. Craig Sheppard
5. Daniel Turner
6. Adam Kemp
7. Kevin Cheng
8. Andrew Corney

GP Rio de Janeiro (31 January – 1 February)

1. Jon Finkel
2. Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
3. Carlos Jeucken
4. Adam Katz
5. Leandro Buck
6. Romario Tavora Britto
7. Rodrigo Cesar Barbosa
8. Julio Cesar Conceicao

Pro Tour – Los Angeles (6–8 March 1998)

David Price won Pro Tour Los Angeles. In the finals he defeated Ben Rubin, who thus made it to the second place at his first Pro Tour attendance.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 342
Format: Block Constructed (Tempest)

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Comment
1	David Price	$25,000
2	Ben Rubin	$15,000	First Pro Tour Attendance
3	David Bachmann	$10,000
4	Adam Katz	$8,000
5	Kyle Rose	$6,500	2nd Final day
6	Jakub Slemr	$5,500	2nd Final day
7	Svend Geertsen	$4,800	2nd Final day
8	Andrew Wolf	$4,300

Grand Prix – Stockholm

GP Stockholm (21–22 March)

1. Olle Råde
2. Tuomo Nieminen
3. Johan Franzen
4. Jan Pieter Groenhof
5. Manuel Bevand
6. Viktor Forsman
7. Ole Bergesen
8. Sigurd Eskeland

Pro Tour – New York (17–19 April 1998)

In an all-American Top 8 Jon Finkel won his first Pro Tour. Mark Justice reached his fourth and as yet last final eight.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Booster Draft (Tempest-Stronghold)

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Jon Finkel	3
	8	Casey McCarrel	2
						Jon Finkel		3
						David Bachmann		2
	5	David Bachmann	3
	4	Truc Bui	0
											Jon Finkel		3
											Dominic Crapuchettes		1
	3	Dominic Crapuchettes	3
	6	Nate Clark	0
						Dominic Crapuchettes		3
						John Chinnock		2
	7	Mark Justice	0
	2	John Chinnock	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Comment
1	Jon Finkel	$25,000	2nd Final day
2	Dominic Crapuchettes	$15,000
3	John Chinnock	$10,000	3rd Final day
4	David Bachmann	$8,000	2nd Final day
5	Truc Bui	$6,500	2nd Final day
6	Nate Clark	$5,500	2nd Final day
7	Mark Justice	$4,800	4th Final day
8	Casey McCarrel	$4,300

Grand Prix – Atlanta, Antwerp, Zurich, Indianapolis

GP Atlanta (27–28 March)

1. Randy Buehler
2. Bob Coonce
3. David Mills
4. Derek Rank
5. Patrick Callahan
6. Ray Deguzman
7. Nate Clark
8. Chris Donahue

GP Indianapolis (27–28 June)

1. Eric Jordan
2. Koby Kennison
3. Michael Chiumento
4. Worth Wollpert
5. Randy Buehler
6. Michael Katz
7. Ryan Joe
8. Darwin Kastle

GP Antwerp (25–26 April)

1. Stephan Valkyser
2. Lukas Ladra
3. Brian Hacker
4. Michael Sochon
5. Randy Buehler
6. Timo Meimberg
7. Peer Kröger
8. Michaël Debard

GP Zurich (30–31 May)

1. Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
2. Rudy Edwards
3. Michaël Debard
4. Alexander Blumke
5. Janosch Kühn
6. Jon Finkel
7. Marcel Baran
8. Michael Huth

1998 World Championships – Seattle (12–16 August 1998)

Main article: Magic: The Gathering World Championship § 1998 World Championship

Brian Selden defeated fellow American Ben Rubin to become the 1998 World Champion. He played a Control-Combo deck revolving around Survival of the Fittest. The Top 8 was one of the most star-studded final eights ever, with all players making at least one other Top 8 appearance, and four of them later becoming Hall of Famers.

The US national team, consisting of Matt Linde, Mike Long, Bryce Currence, and Jon Finkel won its third team title. Long thus won his third team title, too, as he had been precisely on those teams which had won the title.

Tournament data

Players: 203
Format: Standard, Rochester Draft (Mirage-Visions-Weatherlight), Extended Individual formats: Booster Draft (Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus), Standard, Tempest Block Constructed (Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus)
Team formats: 4-Person Team Sealed (4 5th Edition Starter + 4 5th Edition Booster) – Swiss; Constructed (2x Tempest Block Constructed + 2x Standard) – Finals

Top 8

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Jon Finkel	3
	8	Alan Comer	0
						Jon Finkel		1
						Ben Rubin		3
	5	Ben Rubin	3
	4	Scott Johns	2
											Ben Rubin		1
											Brian Selden		3
	3	Brian Selden	3
	6	Chris Pikula	1
						Brian Selden		3
						Raphaël Lévy		1
	7	Brian Hacker	2
	2	Raphaël Lévy	3

Final standings

Place	Player	Prize	Comment
1	Brian Selden	$34,000	Pro Tour debut
2	Ben Rubin	$22,000	2nd Final day
3	Jon Finkel	$16,000	3rd Final day
4	Raphaël Lévy	$13,000
5	Scott Johns	$11,000	4th Final day
6	Chris Pikula	$9,500	3rd Final day
7	Brian Hacker	$8,250	2nd Final day
8	Alan Comer	$7,250	2nd Final day

National team competition

1. United States (Matt Linde, Mike Long, Bryce Currence, Jon Finkel)
2. France (Pierre Malherbaud, Manuel Bevand, Marc Hernandez, Fabien Demazeau)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Jon Finkel was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.

Rank	Player	Pro Points
1	Jon Finkel	87
2	Randy Buehler	70
3	Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz	57
4	David Price	55
5	Matt Place	53