Before Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, Ken Yukuhiro had already accomplished pretty much everything there was to do in Magic. He had lifted a Grand Prix trophy high. He had made the Top 8 of a Pro Tour—multiple of them, in fact. He traveled the world, saw the sights, and at every step along the way proved he was among the best Magic players in the world thanks to a long string of Top Finishes that began with a Top 8 at Pro Tour Avacyn Restored in 2012 and continued through into the 2020 Mythic Invitational.
But there was still one thing missing from Yukuhiro's impressive resume: an individual Pro Tour title. To even have a chance at taking home that trophy for his display case would take a deep Pro Tour run that culminated in a Top 8; after all, to have a chance to win the Top 8 you must first qualify for the Sunday stage. So heading into the massive MagicCon: Las Vegas that played host to the second Pro Tour of the year, Yukuhiro's stated goal for 2025 was quite straightforward: make the Top 8 of a Pro Tour.
Though he may be an all-time veteran, but 2020 was half a decade ago, and Yukuhiro's path back to the Top 8 of a Pro Tour had some ups and downs. It's not discussed as much as it probably should be, but the Pro Tour of 2025 looks very little like the Pro Tour of 2020 and almost nothing like the Pro Tour of even 2015; outside of the importance of securing a quality volunteer chef for the team testing house, almost everything else has changed to some degree. The amount of data—and when players have access to it—is nothing like it used to be, and the skill level of the average Pro Tour player is as high as it's ever been.
So, the last few years for Yukuhiro have been about the love of the grind for Yukuhiro, who said that time reignited his passion for the game.
"As I was on the circuit working to earn the right to the Pro Tour, my motivation for Magic got higher and higher," Yukuhiro recalled. "Magic is a great game, and as my motivation increased and I played more, I was able to meet a good community."
Once he secured an invitation back to Pro Tour, Yukuhiro joined Moriyama Japan, the latest iteration of a team of some of the best Japanese players in the game and a squad that has performed consistently well at Pro Tours over the last several years. Yukuhiro went to work immediately, diving deep into the MTG Arena and Magic Online queues, and the rest is history—Yukuhiro has helped deliver Moriyama Japan its latest marquee finish, snagging himself to a place in Magic history.
Yukuhiro's season goal for a Pro Tour Top 8? Check. A second Pro Tour finals appearance? Check. A Pro Tour trophy, fulfilling a lifelong dream? Check and check.
It was the perfect Pro Tour for the heartfire hero.
"I'm so excited to have achieved my lifelong goal of winning the Pro Tour. I want to thank everyone who has supported and followed me so far," Yukuhiro reflected in the days following is iconic win, when he claimed victory Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY decked out in, you guessed it, a FINAL FANTASY V shirt before posing with the Pro Tour trophy and an oversized (or accurately sized?) Buster Sword.
The moment itself was as memorable for viewers as it was a blur for Yukuhiro. Down to just 7 life against a large prowess creature from Ian Robb, Yukuhiro waited as long as possible to cast the final card in his hand, a copy of
"I really don't remember much of the moments after winning," Yukuhiro admitted, losing himself in the moment as it all came together. "I celebrated with my teammates at a steakhouse the day we won. Since then, so many friends have contacted me to congratulate me."
The win grows an already more-than-impressive Magic resume. With his eighth Top Finish bringing his first title, Yukuhiro now moves into a five-way tie for 11th all-time on the career Top Finishes list, alongside Ben Stark, Dawin Kastle, William Jensen, and Reid Duke. With three of those five actively competing on the Pro Tour (Stark, Duke, and Yukuhiro), Josh Utter-Leyton's Top 10 spot (with nine Top Finishes) could soon find itself with company.
Yukuhiro was also the only person in the Top 15 of the event without a title. To secure his place on the list, he turned to Standard's defining deck for a year, even if Izzet Prowess and Domain Overlords had put up some solid numbers in the past months. But with
And just like the United States Regional Championship two weeks prior, a Mono-Red deck won it all.
"I was going to play Izzet," Yukuhiro admitted. "I thought it was the most powerful deck, since there was not much time between the release of Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY and the tournament.
"But the day before I left Japan, I tested it against my teammate Takumi Matsuura's Mono-Red and got an 0-5 result, so I decided to choose Mono-Red instead since it's good against Izzet."
It's a very risky decision to not play the "best" deck in such an important tournament, but Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY was fascinating because of the dynamic around that deck. Everyone knew Izzet Prowess was the deck to beat, and a ton of really good Pro Tour players decided they could, in fact, beat it. Mono-Red Aggro is exceptional at doing exactly that, and in the end the choice paid off for Yukuhiro. His life may be forever changed by the choice to pick up
Even with his lifelong Magic dream now a reality, Yukuhiro isn't done dreaming. A strong finish at Pro Tour Aetherdrift in Chicago earlier made his Las Vegas trip a possibility, and now he's gotten himself a guaranteed a string of Pro Tour invitations and a chance to take to the international Magic stage at Magic World Championship 31 later this year.
"My next goal is to be a player that people will remember," he said simply. "I want to continue to compete on the Pro Tour so that I can be on par with my great predecessors. As someone who has been in the competition for 17 years, I would be happy to help further develop the sport."
無事帰国しました！家にトロフィーがあるのがいまだに現実感無いですが、生涯自慢できる大切な宝として飾りたいと思います。クラウドもかっこよすぎて最高です！ pic.twitter.com/dQ1ZsPPfc0
— 行弘 賢/YUKUHIRO KEN (@death_snow) June 24, 2025