Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 2015–16
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The 2015–16 Pro Tour season was the twenty-first season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. It started on 8 August 2015 with Grand Prix San Diego and Hong Kong and ended on 7 August 2016 with the conclusion of Pro Tour Sydney. The season consisted of 49 Grand Prix and 4 Pro Tours, located in Milwaukee, Atlanta, Madrid, and Sydney.[1]
Pro Player of the Year
Owen Turtenwald
Owen TurtenwaldRookie of the Year Oliver Tiu
Oliver TiuWorld Champion Seth Manfield
Seth ManfieldPro Tours4
| Pro Player of the Year | Owen Turtenwald | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Oliver Tiu | ||
| World Champion | Seth Manfield | ||
| Pro Tours | 4 | ||
| Grands Prix | 49 | ||
| Hall of Fame inductions | Eric Froehlich Shouta Yasooka Willy Edel | ||
| Start of season | 8 August 2015 | ||
| End of season | 7 August 2016 | ||
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Mode
Four Pro Tours and forty-nine Grands Prix were held in the 2015–16 season. These in addition to the World Championship and the World Magic Cup are the events that awarded Pro Points, the points that were used to determine the Player of the Year Standings and Pro Club levels. Players were awarded Pro Levels for earning 18 (Silver level), 33 (Gold), and 50 points (Platinum), however only the six best Grand Prix results counted. Pro Club Levels come with certain benefits such as qualifications to subsequent Pro Tours, byes at Grand Prix, and airfare to Pro Tours. Based on the final standings of Pro Tours, Grand Prix, Worlds, and the World Magic Cup Pro Points are awarded as follows:
| Rank | Pro Points awarded at | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Tour | Grand Prix (individual) |
Grand Prix (teams) |
World Magic Cup | |
| 1 | 30 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| 2 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| 3–4 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| 5–8 | 18 | 4 | — | 5 |
| 9–16 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 17–32 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 33+ | — | — | — | 2 |
For competitors finishing outside the final elimination stage of Grand Prix and Pro Tours points are awarded depending on their score after the final Swiss round. 16 Swiss rounds are played at Pro Tours, 15 at individual Grand Prix, and 14 at Team Grand Prix. Pro Points are then awarded as follows.
| Points | Pro Points awarded at | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Tour | Grand Prix (individual) |
Grand Prix (teams) | ||
| 39+ | 15 | 4 | 4 | |
| 36–38 | 15 | 3 | 4 | |
| 35 | 12 | 2 | 4 | |
| 34 | 11 | 2 | 4 | |
| 33 | 10 | 2 | 3 | |
| 32 | 8 | 1 | 2 | |
| 31 | 7 | 1 | 2 | |
| 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | |
| 28–29 | 4 | — | — | |
| 0–27 | 3 | — | — | |
Finally players that participated in the World Championship earned one Pro Point per win in the Swiss Portion and two Pro Points per win in the single elimination stage.
Grand Prix
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Magic: The Gathering World Championship
- Seattle (27–30 August 2015)
- Prize pool: $150,000
- Format: Modern Masters Booster Draft, Standard, Magic Origins Booster Draft, Modern
Top 4 playoff
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Seth Manfield | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Sam Black | 1 | |||||||
| Seth Manfield | 3 | ||||||||
| Owen Turtenwald | 2 | ||||||||
| 2 | Owen Turtenwald | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Paul Rietzl | 1 | |||||||
Final standings
The following twenty-four players received an invitation to the 2015 World Championship due to their performance in the 2014–15 season. They are ordered according to the final standings of the event.
| # | Player | Prize | Pro points | Qualified due to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Manfield |
$50,000 | 17 | Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 2 | Owen Turtenwald |
$20,000 | 11 | 4th most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 3 | Paul Rietzl |
$10,000 | 9 | 2nd most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 4 | Sam Black |
$10,000 | 9 | 3rd most Pro Points North America |
| 5 |  Magnus Lantto |
$5,000 | 9 | 2014 Magic Online Champion |
| 6 |  Martin Müller |
$5,000 | 8 | 2014 World Magic Cup winner |
| 7 |  Shaun McLaren |
$5,000 | 8 | 3rd most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 8 | Thiago Saporito |
$5,000 | 8 | 2nd Most Pro Point Latin America |
| 9 |  Ondřej Stráský |
$3,000 | 8 | Most Pro Points Europe |
| 10 | Yuuya Watanabe |
$3,000 | 7 | 2nd Most Pro Points APAC region |
| 11 | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
$3,000 | 7 | Most Pro Points Latin America |
| 12 | Jacob Wilson |
$3,000 | 7 | 6th most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 13 | Joel Larsson |
$3,000 | 7 | Pro Tour Magic Origins winner |
| 14 | Alexander Hayne |
$3,000 | 7 | 2014–15 Grand Prix Player of the Year |
| 15 | Martin Dang |
$3,000 | 6 | Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir winner |
| 16 | Steve Rubin |
$3,000 | 6 | 5th most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| 17 | Kentaro Yamamoto |
$2,000 | 6 | 3rd Most Pro Points APAC region |
| 18 | Mike Sigrist |
$2,000 | 6 | 2014–15 Player of the Year |
| 19 | Eric Froehlich |
$2,000 | 6 | 2nd Most Pro Points North America |
| 20 |  Lee Shi Tian |
$2,000 | 6 | Most Pro Points APAC region |
| 21 | Brad Nelson |
$2,000 | 5 | 4th most Pro Points North America |
| 22 |  Antonio del Moral Leon |
$2,000 | 5 | Pro Tour Fate Reforged winner |
| 23 |  Shahar Shenhar |
$2,000 | 4 | 2014 World Champion |
| 24 | Ari Lax |
$2,000 | 2 | Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir winner |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Manfield |
21 |
| 2 | Owen Turtenwald |
16 |
| Jacob Wilson | ||
| 4 | Paul Rietzl |
13 |
| 5 | Ondřej Stráský |
12 |
Grand Prix
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Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar
- Milwaukee[12] (16–18 October 2015)
- Prize pool: $250,000
- Format: Standard, Booster Draft (Battle for Zendikar-Battle for Zendikar-Battle for Zendikar)
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Owen Turtenwald | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Paul Dean | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Paul Dean | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Kazuyuki Takimura | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Martin Müller | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Kazuyuki Takimura | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Kaziyuki Takimura | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ryoichi Tamada | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Jon Finkel | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Jon Finkel | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Ryoichi Tamada | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Ricky Chin | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Ryoichi Tamada | 2 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziyuki Takimura |
$40,000 | 30 | |
| 2 | Ryoichi Tamada |
$20,000 | 26 | |
| 3 | Jon Finkel |
$12,500 | 22 | 15th final day |
| 4 | Paul Dean |
$12,500 | 22 | |
| 5 | Owen Turtenwald |
$10,000 | 18 | 3rd final day |
| 6 | Ricky Chin |
$10,000 | 18 | Pro Tour debut |
| 7 | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
$10,000 | 18 | 10th final day |
| 8 | Martin Müller |
$10,000 | 18 |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owen Turtenwald |
39 |
| 2 | Seth Manfield |
32 |
| 3 | Kazuyuki Takimura |
30 |
| Paul Rietzl | ||
| 5 | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
29 |
| Source:[13] | ||
Grand Prix
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World Magic Cup
- Barcelona[24] (11–13 December 2015)
- Prize pool: $250,000
- Format: Team Constructed, Team Limited
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | France | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Japan | 0 | ||||||||||||
| France | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Thailand | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Denmark | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Thailand | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Thailand | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Austria | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Guatemala | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Austria | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Italy | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Scotland | 1 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
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Grand Prix
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Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch
- Atlanta (5–7 February 2016)
- Prize pool: $250,000
- Format: Modern, Booster Draft (Oath of the Gatewatch-Oath of the Gatewatch-Battle for Zendikar)
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Shuhei Nakamura | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Jiachen Tao | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Jiachen Tao | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Luis Scott-Vargas | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Luis Scott-Vargas | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Pascal Maynard | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Jiachen Tao | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ivan Floch | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Andrew Brown | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Patrick Dickmann | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Patrick Dickmann | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Ivan Floch | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Ivan Floch | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Frank Lepore | 2 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiachen Tao |
$40,000 | 30 | |
| 2 |  Ivan Floch |
$20,000 | 26 | 3rd final day |
| 3 | Luis Scott-Vargas |
$12,500 | 22 | 6th final day |
| 4 |  Patrick Dickmann |
$12,500 | 22 | 2nd final day |
| 5 | Shuhei Nakamura |
$10,000 | 18 | 6th final day |
| 6 | Andrew Brown |
$10,000 | 18 | |
| 7 | Pascal Maynard |
$10,000 | 18 | |
| 8 | Frank Lepore |
$10,000 | 18 | Pro Tour debut |
Pro Player of the year standings
At the end of this event, the top ranking player in Pro Points, Owen Turtenwald, was awarded the "Mid-season master" title, which will yield him an invitation to the 2016 World Championship.
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owen Turtenwald |
57 |
| 2 | Martin Müller |
46 |
| Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa | ||
| 4 | Seth Manfield |
45 |
| 5 | Reid Duke |
43 |
 Fabrizio Anteri |
Grand Prix
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Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad
Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad was the 100th Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. For the Top 8 single elimination stage the mode was modified from previous Pro Tours. Previously only the first game was played unsideboarded with players having access to their sideboard for all subsequent games in a match. From PT Shadows over Innistrad on, players only have access to their sideboard beginning with the third game of a Top 8 match. The Pro Tour's Top 8 included some of the most successful Magic players of all time, including Hall of Famers Jon Finkel, Luis Scott-Vargas, and Shouta Yasooka.
Tournament data
- Location: Madrid (22–24 April 2016)
- Prize pool: $250,000
- Format: Standard, Booster Draft (Shadows over Innistrad)
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Jon Finkel | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Andrea Mengucci | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Andrea Mengucci | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Shouta Yasooka | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Luis Scott-Vargas | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Shouta Yasooka | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Andrea Mengucci | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Rubin | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Brad Nelson | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Steve Rubin | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Steve Rubin | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Seth Manfield | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Seth Manfield | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Luis Salvatto | 0 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Rubin |
$40,000 | 30 | |
| 2 |  Andrea Mengucci |
$20,000 | 26 | 2nd final day |
| 3 | Seth Manfield |
$12,500 | 22 | 2nd final day |
| 4 | Shouta Yasooka |
$12,500 | 22 | 3rd final day |
| 5 | Jon Finkel |
$10,000 | 18 | 16th final day |
| 6 | Brad Nelson |
$10,000 | 18 | 3rd final day |
| 7 | Luis Scott-Vargas |
$10,000 | 18 | 7th final day |
| 8 |  Luis Salvatto |
$10,000 | 18 |
Pro Player of the year standings
| Rank | Player | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Manfield |
71 |
| 2 | Owen Turtenwald |
70 |
| 3 | Fabrizio Anteri |
57 |
| 4 | Steve Rubin |
56 |
| Martin Müller |
Grand Prix
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Pro Tour Eldritch Moon
- Sydney (5–7 August 2016)
- Prize pool: $250,000
- Format: Standard, Booster Draft
Top 8
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Samuel Pardee | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Andrew Brown | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Samuel Pardee | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Lukas Blohon | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Lukas Blohon | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Ken Yukuhiro | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Lukas Blohon | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Owen Turtenwald | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Yuuta Takahashi | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Owen Turtenwald | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Owen Turtenwald | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Luis Scott-Vargas | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Luis Scott-Vargas | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Reid Duke | 0 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lukas Blohon |
$40,000 | 30 | 2nd final day |
| 2 | Owen Turtenwald |
$20,000 | 26 | 4th final day |
| 3 | Samuel Pardee |
$12,500 | 22 | |
| 4 | Luis Scott-Vargas |
$12,500 | 22 | 8th final day |
| 5 | Yuuta Takahashi |
$10,000 | 18 | 2nd final day |
| 6 | Ken Yukuhiro |
$10,000 | 18 | 2nd final day |
| 7 | Reid Duke |
$10,000 | 18 | 2nd final day |
| 8 | Andrew Brown |
$10,000 | 18 | 2nd final day |
Pro Player of the Year final standings
The 2015–16 Pro Tour season ended after Pro Tour Eldritch Moon. These are the final standings of the Player of the Year race, including every player who at the end of the season reached Platinum, the highest Pro Club Level.[54]
| Place | Player | Pro Points | Place | Player | Pro Points | Place | Player | Pro Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owen Turtenwald |
98 | 12 | Brad Nelson |
58 | 23 | Michael Majors |
53 | ||
| 2 | Seth Manfield |
88 | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
Andrew Brown | ||||||
| 3 | Lukas Blohon |
81 | Alexander Hayne |
27 | Yuuta Takahashi |
52 | ||||
| 4 | Luis Scott-Vargas |
79 | Andrea Mengucci |
Jiachen Tao | ||||||
| 5 | Reid Duke |
69 | Oliver Tiu |
29 | William Jensen |
51 | ||||
| 6 | Martin Müller |
68 | 18 | Sam Black |
57 | Pascal Maynard | ||||
| 7 | Steve Rubin |
67 | Yuuya Watanabe |
31 | Kazuyuki Takimura |
50 | ||||
| 8 | Joel Larsson |
63 | 20 | Jon Finkel |
56 | Thiago Saporito | ||||
| Samuel Pardee |
Ryoichi Tamada |
Lee Shi Tian | ||||||||
| 10 | Ondřej Stráský |
62 | 22 | Paul Rietzl |
55 | Jacob Wilson | ||||
| 11 | Shouta Yasooka |
60 | 23 |  Oliver Polak-Rottmann |
53 | Petr Sochůrek | ||||
| 12 | Mike Sigrist |
58 | Ivan Floch |
Paul Dean |
Invitees to the 2016 World Championship
The following twenty-four players received an invitation to the 2016 World Championship due to their performance in the 2015–16 season.[55]
| Player | Qualified due to |
|---|---|
| Owen Turtenwald |
2015–16 Player of the Year |
| Brian Braun-Duin |
2015–16 Grand Prix Player of the Year |
| Seth Manfield |
2015 World Champion |
 Niels Noorlander |
2015 Magic Online Champion |
| Kazuyuki Takimura |
Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar winner |
| Jiachen Tao |
Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch winner |
| Steve Rubin |
Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad winner |
| Lukas Blohon |
Pro Tour Eldritch Moon winner |
| Oliver Tiu |
Constructed Master |
 Marcio Carvalho |
Draft Master |
| Luis Scott-Vargas |
Outstanding Hall of Famer |
| Reid Duke |
4th Most Pro Points North America |
| Martin Müller |
2nd Most Pro Points Europe |
| Joel Larsson |
3rd Most Pro Points Europe |
| Shouta Yasooka |
Most Pro Points Asia-Pacific |
| Yuuya Watanabe |
2nd Most Pro Points Asia-Pacific |
| Ryoichi Tamada |
3rd Most Pro Points Asia-Pacific |
| Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
Most Pro Points Latin America |
| Thiago Saporito |
2nd Most Pro Points Latin America |
| Samuel Pardee |
Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| Ondřej Stráský |
2nd Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| Andrea Mengucci |
3rd Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| Brad Nelson |
4th Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |
| Mike Sigrist |
5th Most Pro Points of otherwise unqualified |