Kenji Tsumura
Japan's Kenji Tsumura continued to live up to the Olivier Ruel-fueled hype from Philly when the Frenchman called Kenji the best player in the world. This is the third Pro Tour Top 8 this season for Kenji. He stood alone atop the standings at 13-1-1 at the helm of an Itaru Ishida-designed Dredge-a-Tog list. The Tog deck featured the tournament's breakout card, Life from the Loam, and took advantage of dredge, cycling, and a Cunning Wish toolbox sideboard.
Age: 19
Hometown: Hiroshima, Japan
Occupation: Pro Player
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 15
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? Pro Points
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 3 Pro Tour, 3 Grand Prix
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
Japan National 2004 Finalist
What was your Day One record: 7-1
Day Two record: 6-1-1
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it?
Psychatog, it is the best deck when he practiced.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Went to Tokyo for three weeks and practiced with Itaru Ishida
Billy Moreno
Billy Moreno led a contingent of rising stars on their first trip to the Sunday stage. Moreno was the highest-finishing American player in the tournament after the Swiss and got there with some good old fashioned ingenuity. He also tried to exploit Life from the Loam but took a different route. Combining elements of both Tog decks and Madness, MadTog2020 relies on Loam to constantly restock his hand to feed to the Togs and Mongrels. He can also recycle utility lands like Cephalid Coliseum and Centaur Garden. He even has one cycling land - his unorthodox 61st card.
Age: 24
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Retired Student
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 3
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? PTQ in Waco, TX playing Gifts Ungiven
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 0
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: Played in 3 Pro Tours this year, 4 straight PTQ qualifications in Texas
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 7-1
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? Mad Tog 2020, I realized Life from the Loam was broken, couldn't get control Tog right and wanted to be aggressive. Jitte gave the deck good game against other aggressive decks.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Mostly testing on Apprentice and with friends in Austin. Former Austin Knight Burt Jones, Jeremy Jackson and Mason Peatross, Jason Krysak, and Nick West.
Chris McDaniel
Chris McDaniel (a.k.a. Star Wars Kid) made the Top 8 of Champs one week earlier in Virginia and did not even think he was going to attend this event before the middle of the week. McDaniel has been playing Desire combo decks for as long as it has been possible, so this weekend was no different. His experience with the archetype really shined through as he impressed onlookers all weekend with his excellent play.
Age: 19
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Occupation: Student
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 4
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? PTQ
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 0
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: 9th at Grand Prix New Jersey, 7th at Grand Prix Chicago
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 6-2
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? Blue-green Gifts Desire. It was the only deck I have ever actually played in the new Extended. It allows you to be able to get lucky to win sometimes.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Played a version of the deck a lot on Magic Online before school started, then I could not play at all.
Did you make any side trips or visit any tourist spots while in LA? No, I didn't even have a plane ticket until Thursday night.
Antoine Ruel
Antoine and Olivier Ruel made a deal to meet in the Top 8. The potential for the two brothers to keep that promise existed right up through to the final rounds. Olivier fell by the wayside, but Antoine kept up his end of the deal sporting a throwback Tog list that eschewed the dredge mechanic. His deck goes the old-fashioned route and wins with less-broken cards like Fact or Fiction and Cunning Wish. This is the third Pro Tour Top 8 of Antoine's illustrious career.
Age: 26 on Monday!
Hometown: Montpellier
Occupation: Jose Barbero's babysitter
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 30?
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? Pro Standings
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 12 Grand Prix, 3 Pro Tour
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 6-1-1
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it?
Psychatog, it beat all the soft control decks and because it was the best overall.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Peset, my brother, the Dutchies
Tsuyoshi Fujita
Tsuyoshi Fujita reached the Top 8 this weekend for the second straight event, and he also finished ninth in Columbus to start the season. With little time to prepare for the event, Tsuyoshi attempted to translate his Red Deck Wins from Columbus into the new format. Mogg Fanatics became Goblin Legionnaires, Pups became Lions, and Wastelands became Molten Rain. Red Deck Wins was now Boros Deck Wins and that's exactly what it did. Tsuyoshi had a stranglehold on the Top 8 by midday on Saturday.
Age: 25
Hometown: Osaka, Japan
Occupation: Pro Magic Player
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: ??
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? Pro Standings
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 12 Grand Prix, 2 Pro Tour
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: 2004 Japan National Champion
What was your Day One record: 7-1
Day Two record: 5-2-1
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? Boros Deck Wins
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Masahiko Morita, Osamu Fujita, Hiroki Hayashi, and Asami Kataoka
Did you make any side trips or visit any tourist spots while in LA? No. Between Japan and America is so far and [I was] very tired.
Chih-Hsiang Chang
Former Taiwanese National Champion Chih-Hsiang Chang stuck closer to the original vision of Red Deck Wins. It's hard to resist the call of the Boros Guild though, especially in a format with fetch lands. He touched white for Lightning Helix in the main deck and was sporting Kataki, War's Wage in the board as well as Disenchants and Exalted Angel. Chang has been a Pro Tour fixture for some time now but this is his first Top 8. It is also the first time a Taiwanese player has ever graced the Sunday stage.
Age: 26
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
Occupation: Writer
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 4
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? PTQ
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 0
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: 6 National Top 8, 2003 Taiwan National Champion
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 6-2
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? Red Deck Wins, because I am a rookie.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Prepared for one week with my friend Rex Cheng.
Did you make any side trips or visit any tourist spots while in LA? Prepared to go to Universal Studios.
Ervin Tormos
Not only was Ervin Tormos the third American player to make the Top 8 in L.A., he did so bearing the CMU flag. Part of a new young crop of Pittsburgh collegians, Tormos tore up the field with another Red Deck Wins that was flitting with white. Goblin Legionnaire and Lightning Helix were his white cards. His full set of Dwarven Blastminers in the sideboard could loom large in five-game matches with plenty of guild lands everywhere you look.
Age: 18
Hometown: Cincinnati, recently moved to Pittsburgh
Occupation: Student at CMU
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 1st time
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? 38-person PTQ :)
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: First one, gotta start somewhere
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: Nothing exciting
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 6-2
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? Boros Deck Wins. I didn't have a deck and my friend Ben Peebles-Mundy said it was good when we were on the plane so hey why not.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? CMU people who were qualified (Aaron Vanderbeek and Ben Peebles-Mundy) played some games and I watched. Ben told me about same deck on the plane so that was most of it.
Ryuichi Arita
Ryuchi Arita is the only member of the Class of Columbus to make a return trip to the Top 8 of this Extended event. The third Japanese player in the Top 8, and the creator of the Life deck, Arita chose to play ScepterChant this time out -- the deck he could not even take a game from in Columbus.
Age: 29
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Occupation: Creator
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 11
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Los Angeles? Pro Standings
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 3 Pro Tour
Other Previous Magic accomplishments : FNM Champion
What was your Day One record: 6-2
Day Two record: 6-2
What deck did you play, and why did you pick it? No Stick, Master Kaji and Master Sato told me to play it.
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with? Before the tournament, yesterday, I sleeved my deck.