Nassif: The Greater Power

Pro Tour Kyoto 2009

Gabriel Nassif cemented his place alongside Jon Finkel and Kai Budde as one of the top three Magic players of all time by winning Pro Tour-Kyoto. Nassif, playing in his ninth Top 8, defeated the scorchingly hot Luis Scott-Vargas on the back of a double Cruel Ultimatum in the final game to capture his second career Pro Tour win.

Ever the vanguard in Constructed formats, Nassif brought an updated Five-Color Control to the Standard portion of Kyoto. Thanks to the power of Cruel Ultimatum, Broodmate Dragon, and Cryptic Command, Nassif had enough ammunition to beat LSV’s Black-White Tokens in five games.

Sunday’s matches were overloaded with drama and historic moments. Nassif’s “called shot” Cruel Ultimatum to win his quarterfinal matchup against Matteo Orsini Jones now joins Craig Jones’s Lightning Helix as one of the greatest top decks in Pro Tour history, and LSV’s run of amazing success on the Tour came up a game short of his second PT win in the last six months.

The split Standard/Booster Draft format was a big hit, testing players all weekend and providing enthralling storylines. If Kyoto’s any indication, it’s going to be an amazing season on the Pro Tour. We hope you’re along for the entire ride on to Honolulu in June, Austin in October, and then the World Championships in Rome in November.

TOP 8 DOWNLOADS

• Finals (104 MB zip)
• Semifinals (128 MB zip)
• Quarterfinals (118 MB zip)
• Prelude to a Championship (15.5 MB zip)

Hall of Famer Randy Buehler and Pro Tour Historian Brian David-Marshall recap an amazing Pro Tour, including an interview with champion Gabriel Nassif.

top 8 bracket

Last Updated: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.	Last Updated: Saturday, 7:15 p.m.

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