Player of the Year
Player of the Year is an award given at the end of a Pro Tour season to the Magic player with the highest number of Player of the Year Points (previously Pro Points) in that season. As of 2024, the award is called the Kai Budde Player of the Year.
History
The award was first given out in 1996, based on the highest number of Pro Points in that season. It used to be reasonably attainable to win this award without winning any Pro Tour or Grand Prix events if the player finishes high enough in sufficient events, but it would be incredibly unlikely without any Pro Tour Top 8s.
With the change to Mythic Points in 2019 and shift to Player Points in 2020, the award had been quietly retired - due to the restructuring of events, Challengers were functionally unable to attend enough events that rewarded points, rendering the award inappropriate to celebrate.
With the introduction of Premier Play, the award was reinstated for 2023.[1] However, unlike previous, it has its own point system independent of the qualification system. The point spreads are similar to the Pro Points system of the 2010s.[2] Additionally, whereas Player of the Year was previously crowned after the final Pro Tour of the season, the new system includes the World Championship and hence would determine both the Champion and the Player simultaneously.[3] Player of the Year points are only awarded at Pro Tours and the Magic World Championships.[2]
During the broadcast of Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3, it was announced that the award would henceforth memorialize Kai Budde, a four-time winner, as he had received a terminal diagnosis in recent months.[4][5]
Player of the Year Winners
Note:^† Watanabe won the Magic Players Championship
Trivia
- Kai Budde is the player who has won the most Player of the Year titles, with four.
- Two other players have won the title more than once: Yuuya Watanabe and Owen Turtenwald.
- Kai Budde and Yuuya Watanabe are also the only players to have won World Championships/Players Championship and Player of the Year in the same year.
- Watanabe's record is a bit different from that of Budde's. The 2012 season was the only year during which the Player of the Year was not decided by Pro Points; instead, the winner of the 2012 Players Championship was considered the Player of the Year. However, Yuuya was also the one with the most Pro Points for the 2011–12 season,[6] so he would have been the 2012 Player of the Year even with the old system.
- No player has won Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same year.
- Randy Buehler was the closest to achieving this feat when he finished second in the 1997–98 Player of the Year race.[7]
- Both the 2010 season and 2017–18 season ended with two players finishing joint first in the Player of the Year race, forcing a playoff in the following season to determine the title.
- In the 2010 season, Brad Nelson beat Guillaume Matignon in the playoff held at the Pro Tour Paris 2011.[8]
- In 2017–18, Seth Manfield and Luis Salvatto both finished the season on 81 Pro Points, and the title was decided in a playoff at Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica, which Salvatto won.
References
- ↑ PlayMTG (August 12, 2023). "The Player of the Year returns!". Twitter.
- ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (August 29, 2023). "2022–2023 Season Player of the Year Details". Magic.gg.
- ↑ Rich Hagon (September 12, 2023). "Magic World Championship XXIX Preview". Magic.gg. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023.
- ↑ William Jensen (June 29, 2024). "Kai Budde Player of the Year Trophy Announcement"
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (June 29, 2024). "Annnouncing the Kai Budde Player of the Year Trophy". Magic.gg.
- ↑ 2011-2012 PLAYER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-09-24.
- ↑ 1997-1998 PLAYER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-09-24.
- ↑ Josh Bennett (2011-02-12). "Player of the Year Match: The Full Nelson". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-09-24.