Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1999–2000
The 1999–2000 Pro Tour season was the fifth season of the . It began on 3 September 1999 with Boston and ended on 6 August 2000 with the conclusion of in Brussels. The season consisted of twenty Grand Prixs, and six Pro Tours, located in Washington D.C., London, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Brussels. At the end of the season Bob Maher, Jr. was awarded the title. Mode. Six Pro Tours and 20 Grand Prix were held in the 1999–2000 season. Based on final standings Pro Points were awarded as follows: Pro Tour  – Washington D.C. (3–5 September 1999). Washington D.C. was the first team Pro Tour. In a high-profile Top 8 featuring six players who were later inducted into the , team "Your Move Games" ("YMG") came out on top. "YMG" consisted of Dave Humpherys, Rob Dougherty, and Darwin Kastle, all eventual members of the Hall of Fame. Tournament data. Players: 243 (81 teams) Prize Pool: $100,230 Format: Urza's Saga Team Sealed "(Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, Urza's Destiny)" – first day, Urza's Saga Team Rochester Draft "(Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny)" – final two days  Head Judge: Mike Guptil Pro Tour – London (15–17 October 1999). Kyle Rose won Pro Tour London, defeating Austrian Thomas Preyer in the finals. Darwin Kastle's back to back Top 8 appearances in Washington and London brought him to five final day appearance in his career. Tournament data. Players: 310 Prize pool: $151,635 Format: Urza's Saga Booster Draft "(Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy-Urza's Destiny)" Head Judge: Carl Crook Pro Tour – Chicago (3–5 December 1999). Bob Maher, Jr. won Pro Tour Chicago playing a blue-green-white control deck. He defeated Brian Davis in the finals  3–2. First time Pro Tour attendant Davis reportedly played so horribly, that around spectators the joke went, that Davis was the first to have played 5–0 in the finals and lost, referring to their perception that he could and should have won every single game. Tournament data. Prize pool: $151,635 Players: 344 Format: Extended Head Judge: Nat Fairbanks Pro Tour – Los Angeles (4–6 February 2000). Trevor Blackwell defeated Chris Benafel in the finals to become Pro Tour Los Angeles champion. Tournament data. Prize pool: $151,635 Players: 337 Format: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft "(Mercadian Masques)" Head Judge: Dan Gray  1. Black Ops Grand Prix – Taipei, Philadelphia, Cannes, Kuala Lumpur, Frankfurt. 2. New Wave 3. Legion of Rabbits 4. The Tightans 1. III Heroes 2. Hammer of Brno 3. Trash A 4. Absolute Samuels Pro Tour – New York (14–16 April 2000). Sigurd Eskeland won Pro Tour New York, defeating Warren Marsh in the finals. Eskeland played a blue -deck with the centerpiece of the deck being . His opponent played the deck most present at this tournament, Rebels. PT New York is considered to be the first time where there was a dominant deck at a Pro Tour, the deck did  not win the tournament. 43% of the players entering the tournament had chosen rebel decks. On the second day of the tournament rebels were even more present, comprising and unprecedented 57% of the field. These numbers were again topped by the final eight where six of eight decks were rebel decks. In contrast the winning Rising Waters deck comprised only 8.4% of the field on day one and 14.5% on day two. In the top eight the two non-rebel decks were both Rising Waters decks. Rising Waters on both days had the highest winning percentage of all decks played  with 60% on day one and 53.8% on day two. Tournament data. Players: 310 Prize pool: $151,635 Format: Mercadian Masques Block Constructed "(Mercadian Masques, )" Location: New York State Armory Head Judge: Cyril Grillon Winner's deck. Sigurd Eskeland played a blue -deck with the centerpiece of the deck being . Team Challenge. The Team Challenge was a predecessor to the events that were held from 2000 to 2003. These events were open only to the most accomplished players and awarded cash prizes even for entering the tournament. The Team Challenge at Pro Tour New York 2000 awarded $3,000 for  entering the tournament, $9,000 to the runners-up team, and $15,000 to the winners. Four teams were invited to enter the tournament. In a field composed of otherwise American teams the French team Black Ops defeated Game Empire and Antarctica to win the tournament. 1. New Wave Grand Prixs – Nagoya, St. Louis, Copenhagen, Pittsburgh. 2. Masato Club 3. Godzilla 4. Unluckys 1. Antarctica 2. Dogma 3. Your Move Games 4. Hubbo 1. Huey, Ben, and Casey 2. Dark Side of the Moon 3. Antarctica 4. Your Move Games 2000 World Championships – Brussels (2–6 August 2000). Jon Finkel won  the 2000 World Championship, defeating teammate Bob Maher, Jr. in the finals. The second place allowed Maher to take the title, surpassing Darwin Kastle in the final standings. Finkel became the second player to win two Pro Tours and the first with seven Top 8 appearances. The US team won the national team competition, also with Finkel as reigning national champion at its head. Tournament data. Prize pool: $201,620 (individual) + $50,000 (national teams) Players: 273 Individual formats: Formats: Mercadian Masques Booster Draft "(Mercadian Masques-Nemesis-)", Mercadian Masques Block Constructed "(Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy)", Standard Team Format: Standard  Head Judge: Cyril Grillon Pro Player of the year final standings. After the World Championship Bob Maher, Jr. was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.