Historic Wins for Peleg, Swiss at Worlds

2007 Magic: The Gathering World Championships

VIDEO: TOURNAMENT CENTER

Day Four Wrap-up

Sunday Video:

Finals (179 MB zip)
Semifinals (150 MB zip)
Team Finals (86.7 MB zip)
Awards Ceremony (9 MB zip)
Quarterfinal Recaps

Celebrating history and making history … that's Worlds 2007 for you. Israel's Uri Peleg wrote the first major chapter in his nation's Magic book by defeating Patrick Chapin of the United States to become the 2007 World Champion. Peleg blazed a trail for his country when he became the first player from Israel to make a Pro Tour Top 8, and cemented his place in Pro Tour lore by taking home the trophy.

Peleg advanced to the finals with a win over Kotaro Otsuka, ending Japan's hopes for its third consecutive World Champion. Chapin defeated eight-time Top 8er Gabriel Nassif in the other semifinals in one of the most exciting matches in the game's history. A Dragonstorm-Dragonstorm mirror match, the final two games were decided by Ignite Memories—to the roar of the audience watching the action here at the Javits Center.

Joining Peleg in the winners circle was Team Switzerland, made up of Raphael Gennari, Christoph Huber, Nico Bohny and Manuel Bucher. The foursome demolished Team Austria in the Two-Headed Giant finals after dominating Saturday's team play.

INSTANT CLASSIC

Congratulations also go out to 2007 Player of the Year Tomoharu Saito and Rookie of the Year Yuuya Watanabe. Both clinched their spots Friday at the end of the individual Swiss rounds, continuing Japan's commanding presence in the Magic world. In the premier Pubic Event of the weekend, Sam Black captured first place in the "Win a Car" tournament.

Before we say goodbye to the 2007 season, this year's Hall of Fame class deserves another moment in the spotlight. Kai Budde, Zvi Mowshowitz, Tsuyoshi Fujita, Nicolai Herzog, and Randy Buehler entered the Hall with combined accomplishments unmatched in the history of the game.

With New York City as the backdrop, Worlds 2007 served as a memorable kick-off as Magic enters its year-long 15th anniversary celebration. Congratulations to all the winners and honorees!

Top 8 Bracket

Quaterfinals

(1) Christoph Huber

(8) Koutarou Otsuka

(4) Katsuhiro Mori

(5) Uri Peleg

(2) Gabriel Nassif

(7) Roel van Heeswijk

(3) Yoshitaka Nakano

(6) Patrick Chapin

Semi-finals

Koutarou Otsuka, 3-1

Uri Peleg, 3-0

Gabriel Nassif, 3-1

Patrick Chapin, 3-2

Finals

Uri Peleg, 3-1

Patrick Chapin, 3-2

Champion

Uri Peleg, 3-1

National Team Finals

Finals

Team Switzerland

Team Austria

Champion

Team Switzerland wins 2-0

Click on the images to go to the Coverage Blog, Craig Jones' Player Blog, and the Worlds Podcasts.

EVENT COVERAGE

By Brian David-Marshall
Column: Opening Up a New World
By Mike Flores
Column: The Best Decks in the Worlds – 2007
By Chris Milla
Decklists: Top Standard Decklists
By Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: Top Legacy Decklists
By Tim Willoughby
Finals: Peleg Weathers the Storm
Uri Peleg vs. Patrick Chapin
by Josh Bennett
Semifinal: Head in the Clouds
Uri Peleg vs. Kotaro Otsuka
by Bill Stark
Semifinal: Shots from the Gassy Knoll
Gabriel Nassif vs. Patrick Chapin
by Andre Coimbra
Team Finals: Evasion for the Title
Thomas Preyer and Stefan Stradner (Austria) vs. Nico Bohny and Manuel Bucher (Switzerland)
by Bill Stark
Team Finals: Sure as the Sunrise
Raphael Gennari and Christoph Huber (Switzerland) vs. David Reitbauer and Helmut Summersberger (Austria)
Draft Viewer: World Team Final, Austria vs. Switzerland
by Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: World Team Finals Decks
by Bill Stark / Tim Willoughby
Feature: Worlds Team Final Profiles
by Event Coverage Staff
Video Feature: Quarterfinal Recaps
by Brian David-Marshall
Quarterfinal: Rock and Knoll
Yoshitaka Nakano vs. Patrick Chapin
by Josh Bennett
Quarterfinal: Getting a Leg Up
Katsuhiro Mori vs. Uri Peleg
by Bill Stark
Quarterfinal: Into the Maw
Christoph Huber vs. Kotaro Otsuka
by Tim Willoughby
Quarterfinal: Coming Home to Roost
Gabriel Nassif vs. Roel van Heeswijk
by Event Coverage Staff
Feature: Top 8 Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
Feature: Top 8 Profiles
By Chris Millar
Win a Car Tournament: Sam Black Crosses the Finish Line
by Tim Willoughby
Feature: The Greatest Story Ever Told
by Bill Stark
Player of the Year: Tomoharu Saito
by Bill Stark
Rookie of the Year: Yuuya Watanabe
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Individual Standings by Format
by Tim Willoughby, and Bill Stark
Saturday Blog: Two-Headed Giants and PTQ Hollywood Top 8
by Craig Gibson
Feature: National Teams Photo Page
by Bill Stark / Tim Willoughby
Feature: Worlds Team Final Profiles
by Bill Stark
Teams Round 6: "You Keep Giggling..."
Roel van Heeswijk and Robert van Medevoort (Netherlands) vs. Manuel Bucher and Christoph Huber (Switzerland)
by Tim Willoughby
Teams Round 5: Copycats
Roel van Heeswijk and Robert van Medevoort (the Netherlands) vs. Masaya Kitayama and Naoki Nakada (Japan)
by Josh Bennett
Teams Round 4: The Clash
Masaya Kitayama and Shuu Komuro (Japan) vs. Thomas Langer and Vit Vavra (Czech Republic)
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Team Draft 3: Player Combinations
by Bill Stark
Teams Round 3: "Start the Beatdown!"
Rich Hoaen and Daniel Kramer (Canada) vs. Stuart Wright and Daniel Godfrey (Great Britain)
by Tim Willoughby
Feature: The Teams Competition Explained
by Tim Willoughby
Teams Round 2: Crossing the Alps
Christoph Huber and Raphael Gennari (Switzerland) vs. Stefan Stradner and David Reitbauer (Austria)
by Raphael Levy
Ask the Pro: The Hunt for Level 6
by Event Coverage Staff
Draft Viewer: Team Draft 2, Table 1
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Team Draft 2: Player Combinations
by Josh Bennett
Teams Round 1: Flying Blind
Helmut Summersberger and Thomas Preyer (Austria) vs. Uri Peleg and Eviatar Opiner (Israel)
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Team Draft 1: Player Combinations
by Event Coverage Staff
Feature: Top 8 Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
Feature: Top 8 Profiles
by Tim Willoughby, Bill Stark, and Josh Bennett
Friday Blog: Drafting, Waking, Stacking and more!
by Bill Stark
Feature: Legacy Format Analysis and Breakdown
By Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: Top Legacy Decklists
By Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: Undefeated Legacy Decklists
by Josh Bennett
Round 16: Free Passes to the Gun Show
Jim Herold vs. Katsuhiro Mori
by Bill Stark
Round 15: "I Trusted You!"
Raphael Levy versus Zvi Mowshowitz
by Tim Willoughby
Feature: Deck Tech – Welder Survival
by Tim Willoughby
Round 14: On the Threshold
Roel van Heeswijk vs. Raphael Levy
by Josh Bennett
Round 13: Let the Spirit Guide You
Kazuya Mitamura vs. Guillaume Wafo-Tapa
by Bill Stark
Round 12: "Maybe if You Mulligan to Four or Something..."
Christoph Huber vs. Rubens Campana
by Bill Stark
Feature: 6-0 Draft with Adam Chambers
by Tim Willoughby
Round 11: Rare Drafting with the Gab
Makihito Mihara vs. Gabriel Nassif
by Josh Bennett
Round 10: Loop-de-Loop Luau
Craig Jones vs. Mark Herberholz
by Bill Stark
Round 9: Champion a Champion
Makihito Mihara vs. Mike Hron
by Event Coverage Staff
Draft Viewer: Draft 2, Pod 1
by Tim Willoughby, Bill Stark, and Josh Bennett
Thursday Blog: Meet the Artists, Drafting with Mori, Dave's Pocket Pair, and much more!
by Brian David-Marshall
Column: Postcards from New York
by Tim Willoughby
Round 8: What Do You Do When You Tap a Fallowsage?
Katsuhiro Mori vs. Christoph Huber
by Josh Bennett
Round 7: The Right Read
Chris Lachmann vs. Katsuhiro Mori
by Bill Stark
Round 6: Notional Value
Zvi Mowshowitz vs. Ryo Ogura
by Event Coverage Staff
Draft Viewer: Lorwyn Draft 1, Pod 1
by Event Coverage Staff
Round 6: Draft Pods
by Tim Willoughby
Feature: Deck Tech – Dragonstorm Redux
by Tim Willoughby
Feature: Standard Metagame Breakdown
by Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: Undefeated Standard Decks
By Event Coverage Staff
Decklists: Top Standard Decklists
by Tim Willoughby
Round 5: Bouncing Back
Eugene Harvey vs. Amiel Tenenbaum
by Josh Bennett
Round 4: Smiles and Frowns
Luis Scott-Vargas vs. Dave Williams
by Bill Stark
Round 3: Slaughter-Packed
Andre Müller vs. Kenji Tsumura
by Tim Willoughby
Round 2: Firestorm
Mike Hron vs. Gabriel Nassif
by Josh Bennett
Round 1: A Rocky Start
Kai Budde vs. Helmut Summersberger
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: National Teams
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Day 1 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Day 1 Country Breakdown
by Bill Stark
Feature: World Championships Introduction
by Randy Buehle
Hall of Fame Profile: Kai Budde
by Brian David-Marshall
Hall of Fame Profile: Zvi Mowshowitz
by Brian David-Marshall
Hall of Fame Profile: Tsuyoshi Fujita
by Brian David-Marshall
Hall of Fame Profile: Nicolai Herzog
by Brian David-Marshall
Hall of Fame Profile: Randy Buehler
by Brian David-Marshall
Preview: Seven World Class Days in New York
by Event Coverage Staff
Info: Fact Sheet

INFORMATION

1. Uri Peleg*	$40,000
2. Patrick Chapin	$22,000
3. Gabriel Nassif	$15,000
4. Kotaro Otsuka	$14,000
5. Christoph Huber*	$11,000
6. Yoshitaka Nakano	$10,000
7. Katsuhiro Mori	$9,000
8. Roel van Heeswijk*	$8,000
*Does not include Team Prize Money