
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Sunday Webcast
- Finals: 101 MB zip | BT
- Semfinals, Part I: 75 MB zip | BT
- Semifinals, Part II: 84 MB zip | BT
- Quarterfinals, Part I: 80 MB zip | BT
- Quarterfinals, Part II: 60 MB zip | BT
- Top 8 Preview: 24 MB WMP zip | BT
- Day Three Wrap-Up (9.9 MB zip)
- Day Two Wrap-Up (14 MB zip)
- Deck Clinic: Heartbeat Combo (18 MB zip)
- Play the Game, See…Bob Barker? (6.3 MB zip)
- Inside the LA Lounge Life (6.1 MB zip)
- Authenticating Your Cards (6.9 MB zip)
- Magic Art on Your Cellphone (4.8 MB zip)
- Olivier on Day Two (7 MB zip)
- Day One Wrap-Up (9.8 MB zip)
- Mike Flores, Pro Tour Player (15 MB zip)
- Deck Clinic: Elemental Bidding (22 MB zip)
- Mr. Undefeated: Craig Jones (9.3 MB zip)
- Dave Williams vs. Bad Luck (11 MB zip)
Talking Ravnica and Extended with:
- Antonino De Rosa (8.9 MB zip)
- Frank Karsten (11 MB zip)
- Joe Kambourakis (8.0 MB zip)
- Neil Reeves (12 MB zip)
- Pierre Canali (8.6 MB zip)
- Quentin Martin (12 MB zip)
- Terry Soh (8.6 MB zip)
Packing an old-school Psychatog deck, Pro Tour veteran Antoine Ruel fought his way through the 340-player field to become champion of Pro Tour-Los Angeles 2005.
Ruel eschewed the new Extended format's popular Dredge / Life from the Loam addition to the classic 'Tog build and it proved to be a smart decision. He started his run through the Top 8 by defeating Tsuyoshi Fujita and his Boros Deck Wins 3-1 and never looked back.
Facing current Player of the Year leader Kenji Tsumura in the semifinals, Ruel's classic 'Tog waded through Tsumura's Dredgatog build in rapid fashion. The player whom Antoine's brother Olivier claimed was the best in the world could do little to stop Antoine's march to the finals, falling 3-0.
After waiting nearly an hour as Billy Moreno came back to defeat Chris McDaniel in the other semifinal, Ruel got his crack at the Texan's Blue-green 'Tog Madness deck under the finals spotlights. Ruel never let up, cracking early with Psychatog throwdown thanks to a well-timed Wonder . After a touch-and-go Game 2 win, Ruel used his other game-breaking creature -- Meloku the Clouded Mirror -- to secure the victory and take home the title.
With the win, Antoine not only got an early birthday present (he turns 26 on Monday), but he also thrusts himself into the Player of the Year race as we look toward the World Championships at the end of November.
The dust has far from settled as the Magic world starts down the rotated Extended path. Many strategies were on display in Los Angeles over the weekend, with almost 50 different deck archetypes being used by the world's top players. Find one that fits your style, hit your local Pro Tour Qualifier and maybe you'll be hoisting the winner's trophy at Pro Tour-Honolulu!
top 8 bracket
EVENT COVERAGE
- Final: Psychatog , Meloku Carry Ruel to Victory Antoine Ruel vs. Billy Moreno
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Semifinal: Controversy in Game 5 Billy Moreno vs. Chris McDaniel
by Mike Turian
- Semifinal: Tog-on-Tog Violence Antoine Ruel vs. Kenji Tsumura
by Brian David-Marshall
- Feature: Decks by the Numbers
by Ted Knutson
- Quarterfinal: Long Odds Go the Distance William Moreno vs. Ervin Tormos
by Ted Knutson
- Quarterfinal: Darting to Dash Desired Dreams Chris McDaniel vs. Chih-Hsiang Chang
by Mike Turian
- Quarterfinal: Something to Prove Antoine Ruel vs. Tsuyoshi Fujita
by Brian David-Marshall
- Quarterfinal: Dredging Toward Victory Ryuichi Arita vs. Kenji Tsumura
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Decklists: The Top 8 Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: The Top 8 Player Profiles
by Event Coverage Staff
- Day 2 Blog Archive: Ghetto Fabulous, Photo Essay, A Tale of Two Unknowns, and much more
by Ted Knutson
- Decklists: The Complete Decklists A-F
by Event Coverage Staff
- Decklists: The Complete Decklists G-L
by Event Coverage Staff
- Decklists: The Complete Decklists M-S
by Event Coverage Staff
- Decklists: The Complete Decklists T-Z
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: One Player's Perspective
by Mike Flores
- Feature: A Lighter Look at Lesser Lists
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Feature: The Rogues of Day 2
by Noah Weil
- Feature: A Final Look Around the Metagame
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Round 16: History in the Making Chih-Hsang Chang vs. Raphael Levy
by Mike Turian
- Round 15: Fresh Faces Eyeing Sunday Slots Chih-Hsiang Chang vs. William Moreno
by Brian David-Marshall
- Round 15: Wily 'Tog vs. Fresh New Burns Antoine Ruel vs. Benjamin Peebles-Mundy
by Noah Weil
- Round 14: The Madness of 'Tog Kenji Tsumura vs. Billy Moreno
by Mike Turian
- Deck Analysis: Maindeck Card Breakdown
by Rune Horvik
- Deck Analysis: Sideboard Card Breakdown
by Rune Horvik
- Feature: Japanese Deck Updates
by Brian David-Marshall
- Round 13: Two Times 'Tings Gabriel Nassif vs. Masashi Oiso
by Noah Weil
- Round 13: Osyp Steals the Show Osyp Lebedowicz vs. Geoffrey Siron
by Brian David-Marshall
- Feature: How Did They Fair?
by Mike Turian
- Feature: The Return of Mind's Desire
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Round 12: Racing to Victory Mark Herberholz vs. Arnost Zidek
by Mike Turian
- Feature: Day Two Archetype Breakdown
by Noah Weil
- Feature: Draw Engines in the City of Guilds
by Mike Flores
- Round 11: Let the Pummeling Begin Tsuyoshi Fujita vs. Olivier Ruel
by Brian David-Marshall
- Round 10: Life Rough at the Top Jeff Novekoff vs. Tsuyoshi Fujita
by Mike Turian
- Round 9: Attacking for Two Tsuyoshi Fujita vs. Raphael Levy
by Brian David-Marshall
- Feature: Affinity and Goblins Still Popular Favorites
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Information: Day 2 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
- Information: Day 2 Country Breakdown
by Event Coverage Staff
- Day 1 Blog Archive: Last Chance Decklists, Greeting Cards, Battle of Wits, On the Bubble, and much more!
by Brian David Marshall
- Round 8: And Then There Was One Raphael Levy vs. Craig Jones
by Mike Turian
- Round 7: A Quick Exit Akira Asahara vs. Gadiel Szleifer
by Ted Knutson
- Round 6: 'Two Masters Going At It' David Williams vs. Andrew Pacifico
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Round 5: Too Many Togs Itaru Ishida vs. Gabriel Nassif
by Mike Turian
- Feature: Extended Archetype Breakdown
by Ted Knutson
- Feature: Dredging to the Top
by Mike Turian
- Round 3: Silence Marks The Match Jeff Cunningham vs. Itaru Ishida
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Round 2: Nagoya Rematch on Constructed Soil Anton Jonsson vs. Shu Komuro
by Mike Turian
- Feature: How's Your Mana?
by Zvi Mowshowitz
- Round 1: Extended Picks Up With Affinity Olivier Ruel vs. Terry Soh
by Ted Knutson
- Feature: Pro Tour-Los Angeles Preview
by Brian David-Marshall
- Information: Day 1 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
- Information: Day 1 Country Breakdown
by Event Coverage Staff
- Information: Pro Tour-Los Angeles Fact Sheet
by Event Coverage Staff
FINAL TOP 8 STANDINGS
1. Antoine Ruel [FRA] | $30,000 | |
2. Billy Moreno [USA] | $20,000 | |
3. Kenji Tsumura [JPN] | $15,000 | |
4. Chris McDaniel [USA] | $13,000 | |
5. Tsuyoshi Fujita [JPN] | $9,500 | |
6. Chih-Hsiang Chang [TWN] | $8,500 | |
7. Ervin Tormos [USA] | $7,500 | |
8. Ryuichi Arita [JPN] | $6,500 |