After two days and fifteen rounds of Standard, eight players made the cut to advance to the playoffs. Congratulations!
Joonas Eloranta
- One Grand Prix Top 8
- @ElorantaJoonas on Twitter
"After shortly testing all the top decks, it became obvious that Reclamation was the best, so I locked on the deck quite early and decided to spent all my time tuning the perfect list and sideboard plans with my fellow Finns," said Joonas Eloranta, a 32-year-old software engineer from Tampere. This collaboration not only put him into the Top 8; Eetu Perttula also finished in ninth place running the same 75 cards. "This Top 8 means a lot to me, I have been focusing on Magic a lot lately and it's nice to see it pay off. I know it's not the same when playing from the comfort of your home, but the competition was fierce and I played many world-class players on the way, so this has been a great experience overall."
Louis-Samuel Deltour
- Six Grand Prix Top 8s
- Top 8 at Mythic Championship VI
- Member of the Rivals League
- @lwideltouw on Twitter
- Twitch.tv/lwi_deltouw
"I stumbled upon a very similar decklist a few days ago from the LCQs, with four
Shinsuke Hayashi
- Three Grand Prix Top 8s
- @0129Sin
- twitch.tv/hamumtg/
For the 32-year-old card shop owner from Nagoya, Japan, his finish at the Players Tour only marked another step on his way to even higher goals. "This Top 8 is a passing point for me. We just aim for a further leap on to the next stage. Until MPL."
Dominik Görtzen
- One Grand Prix Top 8
- @d0m89 on Twitter
Dominik Görtzen's first competitive card game interest had been Bridge, where he was the junior division's German national champion in 2006. Later he started doing a video series ("Görtzen & Görtzen") together with his brother Simon and learned a lot about Magic. "This was the first PT for which I was qualified with my brother, and I was looking forward to testing with him in Copenhagen." But the 31-year-old electrical engineer from Baiersdorf also saw some merit in the online event he got instead. "My girllfriend made breakfast and brunch for me in between rounds, I could take a shower in between rounds, that was all pretty nice. This Top 8 mostly means I get to play the Players Tour Finals together with Simon."
Simon Görtzen
- Champion of Pro Tour San Diego 2010
- One Grand Prix Top 8
- Member of the Rivals League
- @simongoertzen on Twitter
After a big taste of Magic glory in 2010, Simon Görtzen had moved into the business of providing expert commentary as part of Wizards' event coverage team. When he stepped back from this role, his Magic career rekindled. Now a member of the Rivals League, the 36-year-old entrepreneur from Hanover, Germany, shared what was the best aspect of the event for him: "I had wanted to play a PT with my brother Dominik for years. This wasn't the in-person PT we had hoped for, but a double Top 8 is more than we could have dreamed of. Super proud of Dominik and the work of our team!"
Cho JeongWoo
- 2014 World Magic Cup Top 8
- 2017 South Korea National Champion
Cho JeongWoo also listed playing an innovative Yorion Red deck in a Mythic Inivitational Qualifier as one of his proudest achievements: an 80-card version of Mono-Red Aggro that would trick opponents into keeping the wrong kind of opening hands by revealing
Elias Watsfeldt
- Five Grand Prix Top 8s
- 2017–18 Draft Master
- @EliasWatsfeldt on Twitter
Never one to gush, Elias Watsfeldt stated that for him this Top 8 was "one of few finishes to be proud of," although he said that the title of Draft Master still meant more to him. The 26-year-old engineer from Gothenburg, Sweden, also wanted to give a special shout out: "Appreciate my Danish fans."
Kazuhiro Noine
- @azureu09 on Twitter
"I've never had a major achievement in MTG before," said Kazuhiro Noine. The 31-year-old from Hiroshima, Japan, was glad that he was finally able to change that. "I'm really happy to have made it to the Top 8 for the first time, which is a great achievement!"