Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the Year is an award given at the end of a Pro Tour season to the Magic player with the highest number of Pro Points in that season that also made their debut in Pro Tour, World Championship or World Magic Cup that season. With the change to Mythic Points in 2019 and to Player Points in 2020, the award has been quietly retired. High-performing rookies are recognised informally through coverage, but as debuts are not recorded or officially tracked, the winner is harder to pinpoint.
The prize for this award was a Gold membership in the Pro Players Club for the year after their debut; in 2014, the winner also had a slot at Worlds. The competitiveness of the award varies each year; the winner may range from not having achieved Gold status to having Platinum status. Thus, it is possible to win this award without placing in the Top 8 of any Pro Tour or Grand Prix events, but rather amassing points over the season.
==Rookie of the Year Winners==
Past Rookie of the Year Winners	Past Rookie of the Year Winners
Year 	Winner
1997–98 	Randy Buehler
1998–99 	Dirk Baberowski
1999–00 	Brian Davis
2000–01 	Katsuhiro Mori
2001–02 	Farid Meraghni
2002–03 	Masashi Oiso
2003–04 	Julien Nuijten
2005 	Pierre Canali
2006 	Sebastian Thaler
2007 	Yuuya Watanabe
2008 	Aaron Nicastri
2009 	Lino Burgold
2010 	Andrea Giarola
2011 	Matthias Hunt
2012 	Alexander Hayne
2012–13 	Felipe Tapia Becerra
2013–14 	Raymond Perez, Jr.
2014–15 	Justin Cohen
2015–16 	Oliver Tiu
2016–17 	Ben Hull
2017–18 	Samuel Ihlenfeldt
==Trivia==
* 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.
**Only Yuuya Watanabe has won Player of the Year after becoming the Rookie of the Year.
* Although Jared Boettcher finished with more Pro Points than Raymond Perez, Jr. in 2013–14 season, subsequent investigations by DCI confirmed that Boettcher was cheating in multiple events that involved Pro Points, which resulted in a suspension and the revoking of his Rookie of the Year title.
==References==