Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1999–2000

Mode

Six Pro Tours and 20 Grand Prix were held in the 1999–2000 season. Based on final standings Pro Points were awarded as follows:

Pro Tour – Washington D.C. (3–5 September 1999)

Washington D.C. was the first team Pro Tour. In a high-profile Top 8 featuring six players who were later inducted into the Hall of Fame, team Your Move Games (YMG) came out on top. YMG consisted of Dave Humpherys, Rob Dougherty, and Darwin Kastle, all eventual members of the Hall of Fame.

Tournament data

Players: 243 (81 teams)
Prize Pool: $100,230
Format: Urza's Saga Team Sealed (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, Urza's Destiny) – first day, Urza's Saga Team Rochester Draft (Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny) – final two days
Head Judge: Mike Guptil

Pro Tour – London (15–17 October 1999)

Kyle Rose won Pro Tour London, defeating Austrian Thomas Preyer in the finals. Darwin Kastle's back to back Top 8 appearances in Washington and London brought him to five final day appearance in his career.

Tournament data

Players: 310
Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Urza's Saga Booster Draft (Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny)
Head Judge: Carl Crook

Pro Tour – Chicago (3–5 December 1999)

Bob Maher, Jr. won Pro Tour Chicago playing a blue-green-white control deck. He defeated Brian Davis in the finals 3–2. First time Pro Tour attendant Davis reportedly played so horribly, that around spectators the joke went, that Davis was the first to have played 5–0 in the finals and lost, referring to their perception that he could and should have won every single game.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 344
Format: Extended
Head Judge: Nat Fairbanks

Pro Tour – Los Angeles (4–6 February 2000)

Trevor Blackwell defeated Chris Benafel in the finals to become Pro Tour Los Angeles champion.

Tournament data

Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 337
Format: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft (Mercadian Masques)
Head Judge: Dan Gray

Pro Tour – New York (14–16 April 2000)

Sigurd Eskeland won Pro Tour New York, defeating Warren Marsh in the finals. Eskeland played a blue control-deck with the centerpiece of the deck being Rising Waters. His opponent played the deck most present at this tournament, Rebels. PT New York is considered to be the first time where there was a dominant deck at a Pro Tour, the deck did not win the tournament.

43% of the players entering the tournament had chosen rebel decks. On the second day of the tournament rebels were even more present, comprising and unprecedented 57% of the field. These numbers were again topped by the final eight where six of eight decks were rebel decks. In contrast the winning Rising Waters deck comprised only 8.4% of the field on day one and 14.5% on day two. In the top eight the two non-rebel decks were both Rising Waters decks. Rising Waters on both days had the highest winning percantage of all decks played with 60% on day one and 53.8% on day two.

Tournament data

Players: 310
Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Mercadian Masques Block Constructed (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis)
Location: New York State Armory
Head Judge: Cyril Grillon

Winner's deck

Sigurd Eskeland played a blue control-deck with the centerpiece of the deck being Rising Waters.

Team Challenge

The Team Challenge was a predecessor to the Masters Series events that were held from 2000 to 2003. These events were open only to the most accomplished players and awarded cash prizes even for entering the tournament. The Team Challenge at Pro Tour New York 2000 awarded $3,000 for entering the tournament, $9,000 to the runners-up team, and $15,000 to the winners. Four teams were invited to enter the tournament. In a field composed of otherwise American teams the French team Black Ops defeated Game Empire and Antarctica to win the tournament.

2000 World Championships – Brussels (2–6 August 2000)

Jon Finkel won the 2000 World Championship, defeating teammate Bob Maher, Jr. in the finals. The second place allowed Maher to take the Pro Player of the year title, surpassing Darwin Kastle in the final standings. Finkel became the second player to win two Pro Tours and the first with seven Top 8 appearances. The US team won the national team competition, also with Finkel as reigning national champion at its head.

Tournament data

Players: 273
Individual formats: Formats: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft (Mercadian Masques-Nemesis-Prophecy), Mercadian Masques Block Constructed (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy), Standard
Team Format: Standard
Head Judge: Cyril Grillon

National team competition

1. United States (Jon Finkel, Chris Benafel, Frank Hernandez, Aaron Forsythe)
2. Canada (Ryan Fuller, Murray Evans, Gabriel Tsang, Sam Lau)

Pro Player of the year final standings

After the World Championship Bob Maher, Jr. was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.