Historic Wins for Peleg, Swiss at Worlds

2007 Magic: The Gathering World Championships

VIDEO: TOURNAMENT CENTER

Day Four Wrap-up

Sunday Video:

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

National Team Finals

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

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