Brian Kibler was victorious in the final match to win the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour-Austin, which means he has the recognition of being the top player in one of the largest competitions and takes home a nice $40,000 in prize money. Also, there was a trophy I’m told.
For those of you who don’t play Magic, it’s a Collectible Card Game that has been around for decades. For those of you who have played Magic, yes, you read that headline correctly.
The second place winner, Tsuyoshi Ikedaat, who lost in the final matchup against Kibler, took home a modest $20,000 and the others in the top 8 were awarded anywhere from $15,000 to $9,500.
Why am I telling you all this? Partially because I think it’s cool that a nontraditional competition has gained enough steam over the years to do pro tournaments and offer up prize money. This is a game that lives in the local comic shops of the world and is very much a part of geek culture.
For a complete run down of the tournament, check out Wizards of the Coast’s coverage.
Brian Kibler was victorious in the final match to win the 
I didn’t think anyone played magic anymore.
Comment by korollocke — October 21, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
Magic’s bigger than ever and the new expansions have been selling faster than hotcakes. Just to clarify, Brian is NOT the top ranked player, he just placed first in this event.
Thanks for covering the game! It’s great to see GOD not ignore us tabletop geeks!
Comment by Pete — October 21, 2009 @ 8:41 pm
@Pete, you’re right I don’t know why I listed him as the top player. I’ll fix it. (Thanks for the heads up)
Comment by Tom Cheredar — October 21, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
I known about this site just a seconds ago,but i love ;D, notices,of MTG,TMNT etc, this site ahs everthing ;D.
Comment by Ash — October 22, 2009 @ 12:51 am
And it’s Tsuyoshi Ikeda without the at
Comment by argus — October 22, 2009 @ 4:24 am
It was a really exciting Pro tour overall. The other thing about Magic is that it has a growing group of amateur journalists / bloggers / podcasters covering it and so it is fostering its own media and coverage, even beyond what Wizards itself is doing.
ManaNation.com (my site) was there and we were tweeting match results as they happened and interviewing players as the tournament went on.
The Magic World Championships are happening next month in Rome Italy and that will be the really big show, a four day long tournament for both individuals and national teams to compete.
Comment by Trick — October 22, 2009 @ 9:02 am