2012 Pro Tour Season

2012 Pro Tour Season
Player of the Year	Template:Flagicon JPN Yuuya Watanabe
Rookie of the Year	Template:Flagicon CAN Alexander Hayne
World Champion	n/a
Hall of Fame inductions	n/a
PTs	2
Grand Prix	16
Previous season: N/A Next season: N/A

The 2012 Pro Tour season was the seventeenth Pro Tour season. It was a transitional season, as changes were made to the Pro Tour system (including the new World Magic Cup and Players Championship tournaments), and it was retroactively made to overlap with the latter half of the 2011 season. As such, events in 2011, starting with GP Kansas City in June, counted towards the 2012 season's races and end-of-year levels and benefits. However, the 2012 season itself started on 7 January 2012 with Grand Prix Austin, and ended on 13 May 2012 with the conclusion of Pro Tour Avacyn Restored.

2012 season changes

The season introduced a number of changes that were announced during the tail end of 2011. These include the abandonment of the DCI ratings system in favor of Planeswalker points; byes at Grand Prix events would now be awarded to players earning a sufficient number of Planeswalker points, rather than to players with a high DCI rating. For Pro Tour Dark Ascension, players could get invited by earning enough Planeswalker points, but this method of qualification was removed after that event. Pro Tours were now scheduled to be held shortly after each new Expert-level set release, with the event taking the name after that expansion rather than the host city, as had been customary in past seasons. The number of Grand Prix events was greatly increased, though the number of Pro Tour invitations awarded for each of these was substantially decreased; in past seasons, the top 16 players had qualified for an upcoming Pro Tour; in 2012, only 2-4 players per event qualified.

Lastly, the World Championships and the Player of the Year race were replaced by two events: The World Magic Cup and the Magic Players Championship, with the winner of the Players Championship being considered the Player of the Year. This was somewhat altered in later seasons, however; the Player of the Year race returned, and the Players Championship was renamed into the World Championship, with the winner of the event being considered the World Champion. As such, the winner of the 2012 Magic Players Championship, Yuuya Watanabe, is considered the 2012 World Champion.

Grand Prix (January 2012)

GP Austin	GP Orlando
Date: 7–8 January 2012	Date: 14–15 January 2012
Format: Limited	Format: Standard
Attendance: 1044	Attendance: 926
1. Template:Flagicon FRA Raphaël Lévy	1. Template:Flagicon USA Conley Woods
2. Template:Flagicon USA Patrick Cox	2. Template:Flagicon USA Patrick Chapin
3. Template:Flagicon USA Craig Edwards	3. Template:Flagicon BRA Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
4. Template:Flagicon USA Eric Downing	4. Template:Flagicon USA Stephen Mann
5. Template:Flagicon CAN Jason Howden	5. Template:Flagicon USA Gabriel Nieves
6. Template:Flagicon USA David Ochoa	6. Template:Flagicon USA Ben Friedman
7. Template:Flagicon USA Austin Bursavich	7. Template:Flagicon USA Javier Adorno
8. Template:Flagicon USA David Saylor	8. Template:Flagicon USA David Ochoa

Pro Tour Dark Ascension

10–12 February 2012 in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Template:Flagicon USA Brian Kibler	$40,000	30	Fifth Pro Tour Top 8, Second Pro Tour win
2	Template:Flagicon BRA Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa	$20,000	24	Ninth Pro Tour Top 8
3	Template:Flagicon USA Jon Finkel	$12,500	22	Thirteenth Pro Tour Top 8
4	Template:Flagicon JPN Mamoru Nagai	$12,500	22
5	Template:Flagicon SWE Denniz Rachid	$10,000	20
6	Template:Flagicon USA Matt Costa	$10,000	20
7	Template:Flagicon CZE Lukas Blohon	$10,000	20
8	Template:Flagicon NLD Jelger Wiegersma	$10,000	20	Fourth Pro Tour Top 8

Grand Prix (February–April 2012)

GP Kobe	GP Lincoln	GP Madrid	GP Baltimore
Date: 18–19 February 2012	Date: 18–19 February 2012	Date: 25–26 February 2012	Date: 25–26 February 2012
Format: Limited	Format: Modern	Format: Limited	Format: Standard
Attendance: 1117	Attendance: 716	Attendance: 1314	Attendance: 1545
1. Template:Flagicon JPN Masahiro Hiraga	1. Template:Flagicon USA Bronson Magnan	1. Template:Flagicon CHE Ivo Grossholz	1. Template:Flagicon USA Matt Costa
2. Template:Flagicon JPN Ken Yukuhiro	2. Template:Flagicon USA Andrew Cuneo	2. Template:Flagicon ESP David Garcia Copete	2. Template:Flagicon USA Dave Shiels
3. Template:Flagicon JPN Kouji Takeishi	3. Template:Flagicon USA Luis Scott-Vargas	3. Template:Flagicon NLD Guido Sondag	3. Template:Flagicon USA Jackie Lee
4. Template:Flagicon JPN Hiroaki Kitahara	4. Template:Flagicon USA Samuel Friedman	4. Template:Flagicon PRT Fabio Rodrigues	4. Template:Flagicon USA Matt Scott
5. Template:Flagicon JPN Katsuhiro Mori	5. Template:Flagicon USA Mary Jacobson	5. Template:Flagicon DEU Christian von Kalkstein	5. Template:Flagicon BRA Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
6. Template:Flagicon JPN Hiroshi Ishida	6. Template:Flagicon USA Samuel Karls	6. Template:Flagicon DEU Florian Koch	6. Template:Flagicon USA Max Tietze
7. Template:Flagicon JPN Yuuya Watanabe	7. Template:Flagicon CAN Matt Mercier	7. Template:Flagicon ITA Marco Frantuma	7. Template:Flagicon USA Eric Meng
8. Template:Flagicon JPN Takayuki Nagaoka	8. Template:Flagicon USA Derrick Rutledge	8. Template:Flagicon CZE Martin Jůza	8. Template:Flagicon USA Adam Snook

GP Lille	GP Seattle-Tacoma	GP Indianapolis	GP Nashville
Date: 3–4 March 2012	Date: 3–4 March 2012	Date: 10–11 March 2012	Date: 17–18 March 2012
Format: Standard	Format: Limited	Format: Legacy	Format: Limited
Attendance: 1505	Attendance: 1160	Attendance: 1214	Attendance: 1037
1. Template:Flagicon ENG Richard Parker	1. Template:Flagicon CAN Robert Smith	1. Template:Flagicon USA Tom Martell	1. Template:Flagicon USA Reid Duke
2. Template:Flagicon FRA Simon Diaz	2. Template:Flagicon USA Iain Bartolomei	2. Template:Flagicon USA Kenny Castor	2. Template:Flagicon USA Todd Anderson
3. Template:Flagicon BEL Kristof Benaets	3. Template:Flagicon USA Jason Huang	3. Template:Flagicon USA Dan Jordan	3. Template:Flagicon USA Kyle Babin
4. Template:Flagicon BEL Tom Valkeneers	4. Template:Flagicon USA James Nguyen	4. Template:Flagicon USA Colin Chilbert	4. Template:Flagicon USA Josh Utter-Leyton
5. Template:Flagicon DEU Manuel Mayer	5. Template:Flagicon USA Andrejs Prost	5. Template:Flagicon USA Ando Ferguson	5. Template:Flagicon USA Caleb Durward
6. Template:Flagicon DEU Jonas Köstler	6. Template:Flagicon USA Paul Rietzl	6. Template:Flagicon USA Caleb Durward	6. Template:Flagicon USA Robbie Cordell
7. Template:Flagicon POL Grzegorz Kowalski	7. Template:Flagicon USA Henry Romero	7. Template:Flagicon CAN Pascal Maynard	7. Template:Flagicon USA Lissa Jensen
8. Template:Flagicon DEU Martin Zimmermann	8. Template:Flagicon USA Owen Turtenwald	8. Template:Flagicon USA Adam Yurchick	8. Template:Flagicon JPN Shuhei Nakamura

GP Kuala Lumpur	GP Mexico City	GP Melbourne
Date: 24–25 March 2012	Date: 24–25 March 2012	Date: 31 March–1 April 2012
Format: Standard	Format: Limited	Format: Limited
Attendance: 612	Attendance: 685	Attendance: 558
1. Template:Flagicon JPN Yuuya Watanabe	1. Template:Flagicon USA Paul Rietzl	1. Template:Flagicon AUS David Crewe
2. Template:Flagicon CHN Xin Sui	2. Template:Flagicon VEN Humberto Patarca	2. Template:Flagicon AUS Geoff Zhao
3. Template:Flagicon THA Sutti Lee	3. Template:Flagicon USA Craig Wescoe	3. Template:Flagicon AUS Oliver Oks
4. Template:Flagicon CHN Chao Lu	4. Template:Flagicon MEX Daniel Hernandez	4. Template:Flagicon AUS Simon Harnden
5. Template:Flagicon THA Sukhum Kiwanont	5. Template:Flagicon CAN Pascal Maynard	5. Template:Flagicon AUS Thomas Rafferty
6. Template:Flagicon TWN Tzu Ching Kuo	6. Template:Flagicon MEX Mario Flores	6. Template:Flagicon AUS Daniel Unwin
7. Template:Flagicon HKG Kingston Tong King Yim	7. Template:Flagicon DEU Gottlieb Yeh	7. Template:Flagicon AUS Jeremy Neeman
8. Template:Flagicon MYS Jason Yap	8. Template:Flagicon MEX Gustavo Nuñez Moreno	8. Template:Flagicon AUS Hao Wu

GP Turin	GP Salt Lake City	GP Manchester
Date: March–1 April 2012	Date: March–1 April 2012	Date: 21–22 April 2012
Format: Modern	Format: Standard	Format: Limited
Attendance: 1063	Attendance: 1137	Attendance: 1028
1. Template:Flagicon USA Antonino De Rosa	1. Template:Flagicon USA Shahar Shenhar	1. Template:Flagicon BEL Alexandre Darras
2. Template:Flagicon DEU Michael Thiel	2. Template:Flagicon USA Michael Peterson	2. Template:Flagicon ITA Mario Pascoli
3. Template:Flagicon ESP Jose Velazquez	3. Template:Flagicon USA Tom Martell	3. Template:Flagicon SWE Joel Larsson
4. Template:Flagicon ITA Alessandro Lippi	4. Template:Flagicon USA James Cooper	4. Template:Flagicon DNK Lasse Nørgaard
5. Template:Flagicon ITA Marco Cammilluzzi	5. Template:Flagicon USA Michael Hetrick	5. Template:Flagicon DEU André Müller
6. Template:Flagicon CHE Yann Blumer	6. Template:Flagicon USA Bryan Olvera	6. Template:Flagicon BEL Marijn Lybaert
7. Template:Flagicon ITA Alessandro Portaro	7. Template:Flagicon USA David Gleicher	7. Template:Flagicon ITA Ciro Bonaventura
8. Template:Flagicon CHE David Progin	8. Template:Flagicon CAN Marcel Angelo Zafra	8. Template:Flagicon ZAF Adam Katz

Pro Tour Avacyn Restored

11–13 May 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.

Place	Player	Prize	Pro Points	Comment
1	Template:Flagicon CAN Alexander Hayne	$40,000	30
2	Template:Flagicon LTU Gaudenis Vidugiris	$20,000	24	Second Pro Tour Top 8
3	Template:Flagicon USA Josh Cho	$12,500	22	Pro Tour debut
4	Template:Flagicon JPN Ken Yukuhiro	$12,500	22
5	Template:Flagicon USA Jon Finkel	$10,000	20	Fourteenth Pro Tour Top 8
6	Template:Flagicon SWE Denniz Rachid	$10,000	20	Second Pro Tour Top 8
7	Template:Flagicon AUT Thomas Holzinger	$10,000	20
8	Template:Flagicon JPN Naoki Shimizu	$10,000	20	Second Pro Tour Top 8

Notes

^I Yuuya Watanabe is considered the 2012 Player of the Year, as he won the inaugural Players Championship event, later renamed the World Championship. However, Yuuya would have been the 2012 Player of the Year even under the traditional Player of the Year system.