Sochůrek: Top Cat in Barcelona

Top 8 Coverage

What started with 1,265 Standard players on Saturday morning had been reduced to 426 by nightfall. Then, on Sunday, six more rounds left just eight players to fight for the title and trophy, among them the world's current No. 1 Márcio Carvalho, playing in his fourteenth Grand Prix Top 8, as well as Federico Del Basso in his fourth. But it was Czech Platinum pro Petr Sochůrek who defeated both of them and faced off against Matthew Pope in the finals.

The Top 8 had been somewhat curious in that it featured the matchup of Four-Color Copy Cat versus Mardu Ballista in every single one of its seven matches. At every stage in the playoffs the two decks tied, two of each winning in the quarterfinals, one of each winning in the semifinals. The finals didn't leave that as an option, although things did kind of end on an infinite loop when Sochůrek succesfully combined Felidar Guardian and Saheeli Rai.

Congratulations to Petr Sochůrek, champion of Grand Prix Barcelona 2017!

Day 2 Coverage

1,265 players had been in the running originally, full of hopes for fame and fortune, dreams of points and prizes. After the first day's nine Standard rounds, however, all but 426 of them were eliminated.

This Sunday morning, 426 players returned, for another six rounds of Standard and for a shot at the Top 8. At the start of the day, several big names found themselves in a good position to make a run at the playoffs, including (1) Márcio Carvalho, (21) Joel Larsson, Andrea Mengucci, Petr Sochůrek, Federico Del Basso, and Shota Takao, all with a record of 8-1. Takao's deck in particular raised more than a few eyebrows. While most everyone else was copying Cats and crewing Vehicles, the Japanese player was reshaping matter and smashing realities with his Black-Red Eldrazi deck, proving that Standard still had room left to explore.

Stay tuned throughout the day for more Standard action and decklists and for all the latest straight from the battlefield of Grand Prix Barcelona 2017!

Day 1 Coverage

1,265 players from all over Europe and beyond had made their way to Barcelona, Spain, this weekend to test their mettle in Standard. At the end of the day, only 426 of them stood the test of the first nine rounds and qualified for Day 2. Among them, Michal Lipinski, Kazuma Matsumoto, Miguel Castro, Paulo Pinto, Louis Snazle, and Marcus Angelin towered above all the others with perfect records of 9-0.

But "the others" included some tough competition. Listing just the players at 8-1 with multiple previous Grand Prix and/or Pro Tour Top 8s to their name yielded: (1) Márcio Carvalho, (21) Joel Larsson, Andrea Mengucci, Petr Sochůrek, Federico Del Basso, Shota Takao, Ciro Bonaventura, and Serafin Wellinger.

A stacked field, exciting games, and high stakes. Tune back in tomorrow for all of that and for the epic conclusion of Grand Prix Barcelona 2017!