Tabletop Magic: The Gathering competition has returned for the 2022-2023 season through the Phyrexia Pro Tour, showcasing matches in Phyrexia: All Will Be One Draft and Pioneer Constructed.
Over 250 of the top MTG players from around the globe converged on Philidelphia for the first Pro Tour tournament of the 2022-2023 season. Many of the players earned invites through Regional Championships, along with MTG Arena Weekend Qualifiers. The event took place over the course of three days, with players competing in six total rounds of ONE Draft and up to 10 Swiss rounds of Pioneer Constructed to determine who advanced to the top-eight playoffs on day three.
All players with a record of 12-4 during the Swiss rounds earned a direct invite to the 2022-2023 Magic World Championship, in addition to the top-eight playoffs. Players also competed for match points as the top 32 players at the end of the season also earn a seat at MTG Worlds.
Feb. 17 MTG Pro Tour Phyrexia standings
The first day of competition at the Phyrexia Pro Tour in Philidelphia began with three rounds of ONE Draft. The Limited Draft format lived up to its reputation as an aggressive meta while also featuring mechanics like Toxic and Oil counters. The true dominant factor during day one of Limited Draft was the bombs with planeswalkers like The Eternal Wanderer and Kaya, Intangible Slayer.
After three Swiss rounds of ONE Draft, a total of 26 players went into the Traditional Pioneer Constructed Swiss rounds with 3-0 records. Four wins during day one guaranteed players that they advanced to the second day of competition.
A total of five Swiss rounds in the Traditional Pioneer Constructed format wrapped up the first day of competition, with Benton Madsen going undefeated with WU Artifacts in the ONE Draft and Selesnya Auras in Pioneer. Players with 7-1 records after day one that also went undefeated during the Draft rounds were Gabriel Nasif, Tristan Wylde-Larue, Shota Yasooka, Takumi Matsuura, David Inglis, Chris Ferber, and Benton Madsen.
Feb. 18 MTG Pro Tour Phyrexia standings
Day two at Pro Tour Phyrexia began with another three Swiss rounds of ONE Draft. Rather than players getting slotted in random pods, Draft pods were based on standings from day one. The meta from day one reinforced the power of aggressive archetypes like RW and RG. But other archetypes like UW and GB also performed well with the players who went undefeated in Draft during the first day of competition.
Benton Madsen, the only player to go undefeated during day one, suffered two losses during the ONE Draft rounds. But despite the two losses, he remained in second place overall heading into the Traditional Pioneer Constructed Swiss rounds. Rising up the standings was Nathan Steuer, the reigning Magic World Champion, going undefeated during day two of the Draft rounds with a Blue and Green deck.
Two games into the Pioneer Swiss rounds and Shota Yasooka had already reached a total of 12 match wins. The accomplishment earned him the rest of the day off and a seat in the top eight on day three.
Heading into round 15, five players were one match away from making it into the top eight of Pro Tour Phyrexia: Benton Madsen, Reid Duke, Takumi Matsuura, Gabriel Nassif, and Márcio Carvalho.
After 16 total rounds between days one and two, the top eight of a field of over 200 was determined. Yasooka was the first to advance, followed by Duke, Matsuura, and Madsen during round 15. Joining them after round 16 were Steuer, Ferber, Nassif, and Davis.
- Shota Yasooka: 15-1
- Benton Madsen: 13-3
- Takumi Matsuura: 13-3
- Reid Duke: 13-3
- Nathan Steuer: 12-3-1
- Chris Ferber: 12-4
- Gabriel Nassif: 12-4
- Derrick Davis: 12-4
Feb. 19 MTG Pro Tour Phyrexia standings
Day three of the Phyrexia Pro Tour featured the top eight players from the tournament playing only Pioneer Constructed. Matches were best-of-five games with no sideboards allowed until after game two in a single elimination bracket.
Reid Duke kicked off the Pro Tour playoffs with an amazing comeback against Nathan Steuer, advancing to the semifinals while Derrick Davis swept Shota Yasooka with his Enigmatic Fires deck. Matsuura and his Mono-White Humans decks won against Ferber and Madsen advanced to the semifinals by beating Nassif with his Selesnya Auras deck.
Duke was the first to advance to the finals at Pro Tour Phyrexia, defeating Davis. And Madsen, who qualified for the PT by playing on his phone, advanced to the finals after defeating Matsurra.
Selesnya Auras couldn’t stand up to the Hall of Famer Duke and Izzet Creativity, with Reid Duke winning the Phyrexia: Pro Tour.
