Reid Duke
| Reid Duke | |
|---|---|
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Reid Duke.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Demographics | |
| Nickname | reiderrabbit[1] |
| Born | September 8, 1989 |
| Residence | Sugar Loaf, New York, USA[2] |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Professional Career | |
| Pro Tour debut | Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010 |
| Top Finishes | 7 (2 wins) |
| GP top 8s | 24 (6 wins) |
| Awards | |
| Hall of Fame | |
| PT Champion | |
Reid Duke is an American professional player from Sugar Loaf, New York. He won the Magic Online Championship in 2011 and Pro Tour Phyrexia in 2023.[3] He has four Pro Tour top eight finishes, at PT Journey into Nyx,[4] PT Eldritch Moon, PT Rivals of Ixalan, and Mythic Championship Cleveland 2019. Other results include a runner-up finish at the 2013 World Championships as well as wins at GP Nashville 2012, GP Miami 2013, GP Portland 2014, GP Oakland 2016, GP Louisville 2017, and GP Cleveland 2017. He also was a columnist for Magicthegathering.com, writing the article series "Level One".[5] These were also released as an e-book.[6]
Professional play
Beginnings
Reid Duke started playing in 1995, at age five, with his brother Ian Duke,[7] who is now a member of Magic R&D at Wizards of the Coast, and his cousin Logan Nettles, also a prolific and successful competitive player. For a time, he was primarily a Magic Online player, but made the transition to in-person competitive play. He qualified for Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010 via rating,[8] and won a Magic Online Championship Series (MOCS) event to qualify for the 2010 Magic Online World Championship, where he finished 5th,[9] as well as the 2010 Magic: The Gathering World Championships in Chiba, Japan. Although his finishes in his first Pro Tours were unspectacular, he has not missed a Pro Tour since Amsterdam 2010.
Rising stardom
Duke first experienced success at paper Magic in 2011, when he reached the top eight of two Grand Prix events: Grand Prix Providence, where he finished fourth, and Grand Prix Montreal, where he finished fifth. He also won another MOCS event to requalify him for the Magic Online Championship, this year held in San Francisco concurrently with the 2011 World Championships. Duke ended up winning the event, defeating Florian Pils in the final.[3] This qualified him for the inaugural Players Championship event (later renamed the Magic World Championship). At Pro Tour Dark Ascension in Honolulu, Duke finished in the money at a Pro Tour for the first time, placing 38th.[10] From here, he would go on to finish in the money in eight consecutive Pro Tours. He also won his first Grand Prix when he defeated Todd Anderson in the final of Grand Prix Nashville.[11] He has since 2012 been a part of the team now known as The Pantheon, alongside players such as Jon Finkel, Kai Budde, and Gabriel Nassif.[12]
The 2012 Magic Players Championship did not go well for Duke; he finished the event with a 2–10 record, taking last place.[13] Following this failure, Duke made it his mission to redeem himself by qualifying for next year's event and putting up a better performance,[2] even going so far as to write down the mistakes he made in the tournament.[14] Thanks to three Grand Prix top eight finishes, in Charleston, San Antonio and Quebec City, as well as stellar performance on the Pro Tour, he succeeded in requalifying for the World Championship when he finished 9th at Pro Tour Dragon's Maze in San Diego.[15] He finished the 2012–13 season on 52 Pro Points, which was also sufficient for Platinum membership in the Pro Players Club.
Breakthrough performances
Duke started the 2013–14 season well, winning his second Grand Prix, at GP Miami.[16] Duke went on to dominate the Swiss rounds of the 2013 World Championship, finishing in first place before the knockout rounds.[17] Duke faced Josh Utter-Leyton in the semifinals, defeating him 3–2. He was considered a substantial favorite against his final opponent, Shahar Shenhar, and did indeed take a 2–0 lead in the best-of-five match, but Shenhar came all the way back to beat Duke 3–2 in an upset.[18] Duke thus took second place in the event. He put up three more Grand Prix top eight finishes during the season, in Detroit, Barcelona and Philadelphia, before finally posting a top eight performance at a Pro Tour. At Pro Tour Journey into Nyx in Atlanta, Duke finished fifth, losing in the quarterfinals to Yuuki Ichikawa.[4] At this point, he was in position to win the 2013–14 Player of the Year title, but ultimately this was won by Jérémy Dezani. He was also overtaken by teammate Owen Turtenwald for captainship of the United States national team at the 2014 World Magic Cup when the latter made the top eight of the final event of the season, Pro Tour Magic 2015.
The 2014–15 season started well for Duke, with him and his Peach Garden Oath teammates Owen Turtenwald and William Jensen winning the very first Grand Prix of the season, Grand Prix Portland.[19] At the 2014 World Championship, however, Duke posted a modest 14th-place finish, and his Pro Tour results throughout the season were average. He managed to reach two Grand Prix top eights, in Singapore and Montreal, towards the end of the season to retain Platinum status, but he did not qualify for the 2015 World Championship. In February 2015, Duke came close to a MOCS event trophy for the third time, but lost in the final.[20]
After failing to qualify for the 2015 World Championship, Duke had a much better 2015–16 season that included Grand Prix top eight finishes in Detroit; Quebec City; Washington, D.C.; and Barcelona, plus a win at GP Oakland. He was in the running for Grand Prix Player of the Year for almost the entire season, but ultimately the title went to Brian Braun-Duin. Duke still qualified for the 2016 World Championship, however, as his Pro Tour finishes were stellar. He came close to a second top eight at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar, but lost in the last round to finish 19th. He would still get his second Pro Tour top eight, as he finished seventh at Pro Tour Eldritch Moon, the last event of the season.
2016–17 was also a strong season for Duke. He posted his fifth and sixth Grand Prix victories, at GP Louisville and at GP Cleveland (as a member of the Peach Garden Oath), and while he didn't add to his tally of Pro Tour top eights, he posted stellar finishes, including a 10th-place, a 20th-place, and a 37th-place. This resulted in third-place overall in the Player of the Year race, and as the highest ranking American, qualification to the 2017 World Magic Cup as a member of the United States national team, where they finished 13th. Duke had strong Pro Tour finishes in 2017–18 as well, cashing all events and posting his third Pro Tour top eight at PT Rivals of Ixalan.
GP Richmond 2018, aka GP Reid Duke
Towards the end of the season, Duke was in a three-person race for the Player of the Year title against Seth Manfield and Luis Salvatto. Due to an unusual structure, the last Pro Tour of the season was not the last event, which led to a unique Grand Prix coverage experience in Richmond, known to the community as "GP Reid Duke". Duke was scheduled to commentate the event, but upon realising his relative position to his rivals he attempted to withdraw; as an experiment and a compromise, Duke was featured in every round of the event as he competed, with either Marshall Sutcliffe or the second coverage pair commentating with Duke's hand and table audio. While the experiment was a success with the community as an innovative approach to coverage, Duke gained no ground on the weekend, with Manfield adding two points and Salvatto adding one. The last chance event was in Stockholm, but he couldn't add any points, and Salvatto won at PT Guilds of Ravnica after tying Manfield during Stockholm. That said, Duke's team's performance at the season's Pro Tours was good enough to qualify them for the Team Series finals in Las Vegas, where they ended up taking down the Hareruya Latin team to claim the title.
Magic Pro League Era
In December 2018, it was announced that Duke would be one of the 32 players joining the 2019 Magic Pro League. He was also voted into the Hall of Fame in 2019, the last inductee as of yet. Because he finished in the Top 20 in the 2019 Magic Pro League, he could continue in the 2020 Season, but was relegated to the Rivals League for the final 2021 season.
Premier Play Era
In the revamped Premier Play Era, Duke was the first winner of Pro Tour, defeating Benton Madsen in the Pro Tour Phyrexia in February 2023. This was his first Pro Tour Championship.[21][22] He missed a back-to-back result on the last round of Pro Tour March of the Machine against David Olsen, but converted his Worlds invite into another Top Finish. Duke trailed Simon Nielsen for Player of the Year by a match going into the Top 8 and ended the race at second when he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
League play
| Season | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2019 Magic Pro League | 11 |
| 2020 Magic Pro League | 12 |
| 2020-21 Magic Pro League | 6 |
| 2021–22 Rivals League | 4 |
Accomplishments
| Season | Event type | Location | Format | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Grand Prix | Providence | Legacy | 28–29 May 2011 | 3 |
| 2011 | Grand Prix | Montreal | Limited | 17–18 September 2011 | 5 |
| 2011 | Magic Online Championship | San Francisco | Special | 17–20 November 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | Grand Prix | Nashville | Limited | 17–18 March 2012 | 1 |
| 2012–13 | Grand Prix | Charleston | Standard | 17–18 November 2012 | 5 |
| 2012–13 | Grand Prix | San Antonio | Standard | 24–25 November 2012 | 4 |
| 2012–13 | Grand Prix | Quebec City | Standard | 22–23 February 2013 | 4 |
| 2013–14 | Grand Prix | Miami | Standard | 29–30 June 2013 | 1 |
| 2013–14 | Worlds | Amsterdam | Special | 31 July–4 August 2013 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Grand Prix | Detroit | Modern | 14–15 September 2013 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Grand Prix | Barcelona | Team Limited | 1–2 March 2014 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Grand Prix | Philadelphia | Limited | 12–13 April 2014 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Pro Tour | Atlanta | Block Constructed and Booster Draft | 16–18 May 2014 | 5 |
| 2014–15 | Grand Prix | Portland | Team Limited | 9–10 August 2014 | 1 |
| 2014–15 | Grand Prix | Singapore | Modern | 27–28 June 2015 | 4 |
| 2014–15 | Grand Prix | Montreal | Limited | 4–5 July 2015 | 6 |
| 2015–16 | Grand Prix | Detroit | Team Limited | 15–16 August 2015 | 3 |
| 2015–16 | Grand Prix | Quebec City | Standard | 24–25 October 2015 | 5 |
| 2015–16 | Grand Prix | Oakland | Standard | 9–10 January 2016 | 1 |
| 2015–16 | Grand Prix | Washington, D.C. | Team Limited | 12–13 March 2016 | 3 |
| 2015–16 | Grand Prix | Barcelona | Limited | 16–17 April 2016 | 7 |
| 2015–16 | Pro Tour | Sydney | Standard and Booster Draft | 5–7 August 2016 | 7 |
| 2016–17 | Grand Prix | Louisville | Legacy | 7–8 January 2017 | 1 |
| 2016–17 | Grand Prix | San Antonio | Team Modern | 1–2 April 2017 | 2 |
| 2016–17 | Grand Prix | Cleveland | Team Limited | 24–25 June 2017 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | Grand Prix | Providence | Team Limited | 30 September–1 October 2017 | 2 |
| 2017–18 | Grand Prix | Phoenix | Limited | 28–29 October 2017 | 2 |
| 2017–18 | Pro Tour | Bilbao | Modern and Booster Draft | 2–4 February 2018 | 6 |
| 2017–18 | Pro Tour Team Series | Las Vegas | Team Limited | 23 September 2018 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | Mythic Championship | Cleveland | Standard and Booster Draft | 22–24 February 2019 | 3 |
| 2018–19 | Grand Prix | Richmond | Standard | 8-10 November 2019 | 2 |
| 2022–23 | Pro Tour | Philadelphia | Pioneer and Booster Draft | 17–19 February 2023 | 1 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Pro Tour Results
| Season | Pro Tour | Format | Finish | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Amsterdam | Extended and Booster Draft | 405 | |
| 2010 | Worlds (Chiba) | Special | 203 | |
| 2011 | Paris | Standard and Booster Draft | 237 | |
| 2011 | Nagoya | Block Constructed and Booster Draft | 238 | |
| 2011 | Philadelphia | Modern and Booster Draft | 212 | |
| 2011 | Worlds (San Francisco) | Special | 119 | |
| 2012 | Dark Ascension in Honolulu | Standard and Booster Draft | 38 | $1,500 |
| 2012 | Avacyn Restored in Barcelona | Block Constructed and Booster Draft | 53 | $1,000 |
| 2012–13 | Return to Ravnica in Seattle | Modern and Booster Draft | 48 | $1,500 |
| 2012–13 | Gatecrash in Montreal | Standard and Booster Draft | 65 | $1,000 |
| 2012–13 | Dragon's Maze in San Diego | Block Constructed and Booster Draft | 9 | $5,000 |
| 2013–14 | Theros in Dublin | Standard and Booster Draft | 34 | $1,500 |
| 2013–14 | Born of the Gods in Valencia | Modern and Booster Draft | 42 | $1,500 |
| 2013–14 | Journey into Nyx in Atlanta | Block Constructed and Booster Draft | 5 | $10,000 |
| 2013–14 | Magic 2015 in Portland | Standard and Booster Draft | 251 | |
| 2014–15 | Khans of Tarkir in Honolulu | Standard and Booster Draft | 56 | $1,000 |
| 2014–15 | Fate Reforged in Washington, D.C. | Modern and Booster Draft | 60 | $1,000 |
| 2014–15 | Dragons of Tarkir in Brussels | Standard and Booster Draft | 181 | |
| 2014–15 | Magic Origins in Vancouver | Standard and Booster Draft | 125 | |
| 2015–16 | Battle for Zendikar in Milwaukee | Standard and Booster Draft | 19 | $2,500 |
| 2015–16 | Oath of the Gatewatch in Atlanta | Modern and Booster Draft | 36 | $1,500 |
| 2015–16 | Shadows over Innistrad in Madrid | Standard and Booster Draft | 127 | |
| 2015–16 | Eldritch Moon in Sydney | Standard and Booster Draft | 7 | $10,000 |
| 2016–17 | Kaladesh in Honolulu | Standard and Booster Draft | 10 | $5,000 |
| 2016–17 | Aether Revolt in Dublin | Standard and Booster Draft | 194 | |
| 2016–17 | Amonkhet in Nashville | Standard and Booster Draft | 20 | $3,000 |
| 2016–17 | Hour of Devastation in Kyoto | Standard and Booster Draft | 37 | $1,500 |
| 2017–18 | Ixalan in Albuquerque | Standard and Booster Draft | 28 | $2,000 |
| 2017–18 | Rivals of Ixalan in Bilbao | Modern and Booster Draft | 6 | $9,000 |
| 2017–18 | Dominaria in Richmond | Standard and Booster Draft | 15 | $5,000 |
| 2017–18 | 25th Anniversary in Minneapolis | Team Constructed | 56 | $1,000 |
| 2018–19 | Guilds of Ravnica in Atlanta | Standard and Booster Draft | 29 | $2,000 |
| 2018–19 | Mythic Championship Cleveland 2019 | Standard and Booster Draft | 3 | $15,000 |
| 2022–23 | Phyrexia in Philadelphia | Pioneer and Booster Draft | 1 | $50,000 |
| 2022–23 | March of the Machine in Minneapolis | Standard and Booster Draft | 20 | $3,000 |
| 2022–23 | The Lord of the Rings in Barcelona | Modern and Booster Draft | 227 | $1,000 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Reid Duke was a Star City Games columnist from December 2010 to January 2014, at which point he started producing content for ChannelFireball in the form of articles and Magic Online videos. He was also a columnist at Magicthegathering.com, writing the article series "Level One" in 2015. In recent years, he has been a frequent color commentator at Grand Prix coverage, including Grand Prix Richmond 2018, where he famously both played the event and provided play-by-play commentary, and all of his matches were covered.[23]
External links
- Lifetime Top Finishes
- Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s
- Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders
- Reid Duke's column archive at ChannelFireball.com
- Reid Duke's column archive at Star City Games
- Reid Duke's column archive at Magicthegathering.com
- Reid Duke's Twitch channel
References
- ↑ Player Profile: Reid Duke. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ a b Player Profile: Reid Duke. Wizards of the Coast (2013-08-04). Retrieved on 2014-05-26.
- ↑ a b 2011 Magic Online Championship Final. Wizards of the Coast (2011-11-19). Retrieved on 2014-05-26.
- ↑ a b Pro Tour Journey Into Nyx Coverage. Wizards of the Coast (2014-05-18). Retrieved on 2014-09-03.
- ↑ Reid Duke (October 5, 2015). "Level One: The Full Course". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (December 10, 2015). "Best of 2015 and Holiday Treats". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Player Profile: Reid Duke. Wizards of the Coast (2012-12-17). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Pro Tour–Amsterdam 2010 Invitation List. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Magic Online World Championship Standings. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ 2012 Pro Tour Dark Ascension Final Standings. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Duke is King of Nashville. Wizards of the Coast (2012-03-18). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Team Pantheon. ChannelFireball. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Magic Players Championship 2012 Round 12 Standings. Wizards of the Coast (2012-08-29). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Kar Yung Tom (2013-03-13). "Captain’s Log #3 – It’s a Process". Manadeprived. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Pro Tour Dragon's Maze Final Standings. Wizards of the Coast (2013-05-19). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Duke Draws Blood in Miami. Wizards of the Coast (2013-06-30). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Magic World Championship Round 12 Standings. Wizards of the Coast (2013-08-01). Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Josh Bennett (2013-08-04). "Finals: Comeback of the Ages". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ THE PANTHEON CONQUERS PORTLAND. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Reid Duke (2015-02-23). "DRAFT WALKTHROUGH". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Corbin Hosler (February 20, 2023). "Pro Tour Phyrexia Finals". Magic.gg.
- ↑ Corbin Hosler (March 1, 2023). "A Legendary Win for a Legendary Player". Magic.gg.
- ↑ Cameron Kunzelman (2018-09-01). "Magic: The Gathering's Pro-Focused Broadcast Experiment Is Paying Off". Kotaku. Retrieved on 2018-09-03.