Pro Tour Phyrexia
| Pro Tour Phyrexia: All Will Be One | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | February 17–19, 2023 | |||
| Location |
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |||
| Attendance | 218 | |||
| Format | Pioneer and Booster draft | |||
| Prize pool | $500,000 | |||
| Winner |
Reid Duke | |||
| ||||
Pro Tour Phyrexia was the first Pro Tour of the 2022–23 season. It took place on February 17–19 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Pro Tour Phyrexia was the first event labeled a Pro Tour after the label was discontinued in 2018. This also makes it the first Pro Tour after the introduction of the Pioneer format was introduced, which was the format of Pro Tour Phyrexia. Additionally, it is the first paper Pro Tour after COVID-19 forced the migration of premier events online.
Pioneer
Going into the weekend, many expected Rakdos Midrange to dominate the Meta, with efficient powerhouses like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, in addition to the Rakdos cards at the center of Jund decks in Modern like Liliana of the Veil and Thoughtseize.
Notably, Team Channel Fireball decided to bring Izzet Creativity as their choice, and some members of Team Handshake, which throughout the 2022–23 season would demonstrate to be the dominant team with regards to reading the meta and bringing the correct deck, brought Abzan Greasefang.
Day One
Featured drafters: Luis Scott-Vargas
Standard: Rakdos-Midrange held the largest metagame share at about 15%. Other popular deck choices were Mono-Green Devotion, Gruul Vehicles, and Lotus Field Combo. Additionally, Team Channel Fireball decided to bring Izzet Creativity as their choice, and parts of Team Handshake, which throughout the 2022–23 season would demonstrate to be the dominant team with regards to reading the meta and bringing the correct deck, brought Abzan Greasefang.
The story of the day would be a fairytale story of Benton Madsen, the lone undefeated player going into Day Two. A first-time PT-er, he qualified by playing Dominaria United limited on his phone and demonstrated conscientious play with his Selesnya Auras deck. His rise was extensively covered due to his awe-struck interviews about his success and his generally warm personality.
The top eight players after day one:
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benton Madsen
|
24 |
| 2 |  David Inglis
|
21 |
| 3 |  Tristan Wylde-LaRue
|
21 |
| 4 |  Shota Yasooka
|
21 |
| 5 | Takumi Matsuura
|
21 |
| 6 | Gabriel Nassif
|
21 |
| 7 | Chris Ferber
|
21 |
| 8 |  Michael Martin Go
|
21 |
Day Two
Featured drafters: Gabriel Nassif
Shota Yasooka would dominate the beginning of Day Two, not losing a game, eventually earning the twelve wins needed to lock up the Top 8, en route defeating Benton Madsen and Takumi Matsuura. Benton Madsen would struggle in the draft and early rounds of Pioneer, until he recovered to earn his twelfth win in round 15, making the two seed. Additionally, in round 15, Reid Duke and Gabriel Nassif would play an Izzet Creativity Mirror for Top 8, which Duke would win. Nassif, however, would secure his sixteenth top finish in the next round. Additionally, Nathan Steuer, the reigning world champion would make it back-to-back Top 8's at top-level premier events.
David Inglis, Marcio Carvalho, Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, and Javier Dominguez all finished one match win away from the top 8, earning re-qualification to Pro Tour March of the Machine.
Top 8
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Shota Yasooka | 0 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Derrick Davis | 3 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Derrick Davis | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Reid Duke | 3 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Reid Duke | 3 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Nathan Steuer | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Reid Duke | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Benton Madsen | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Takumi Matsuura | 3 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Chris Ferber | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Takumi Matsuura | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Benton Madsen | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Benton Madsen | 3 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Gabriel Nassif | 1 | |||||||||||
Pro Tour Phyrexia had legends of the game, new faces, and upcoming stars. Hall-of-Famers Reid Duke, Shota Yasooka, and Gabriel Nassif showed the enduring skill of the older generations of the game, who cut their teeth on paper or Magic Online, whereas Benton Madsen, Chris Ferber are both relative newcomers. Furthermore, Nathan Steuer's top 8 appearances would be the middle of back-to-back-to-back top finishes, that harken back to Luis Scott-Vargas's streak starting at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch.
Duke would eventually prevail after reverse-sweeping Steuer - with commentator-silencing gambles on sideboard strategies - then winning a 3-1 game against Derrick Davis, and finally putting an end to the fairy tale story of Benton Madsen. To many reflecting after the Pro Tour, this was a long-time coming affirmation of Duke's skill, commitment, and contribution to the game. Duke, himself, remarked how special the moment was because of the struggle for results he experienced, despite his characteristic grueling practice and self-reflection, during the Arena era.
| Place | Player | Prize | Pro Points | Decks | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reid Duke
|
$50,000 | 42 | Izzet Creativity | Fourth Pro Tour Top 8 |
| 2 | Benton Madsen
|
$30,000 | 42 | Selesnya Auras | First Pro Tour |
| 3 | Takumi Matsuura
|
$15,000 | 42 | Mono-White Humans | |
| 4 | Derrick Davis
|
$15,000 | 39 | Enigmatic Fires | |
| 5 | Shota Yasooka
|
$10,000 | 48 | Rakdos Midrange | Fifth Pro Tour Top 8 |
| 6 | Nathan Steuer
|
$10,000 | 40 | Lotus Field Combo | Back-to-Back Top Finishes |
| 7 | Chris Ferber
|
$10,000 | 39 | Lotus Field Combo | |
| 8 | Gabriel Nassif
|
$10,000 | 39 | Izzet Creativity | Seventh Pro Tour Top 8 |