And so here we are, the day before Pro Tour Amonkhet, and it’s time to talk about the Pro Player clubs. This is, after all, what it’s really about. There’s nothing quite like getting to your first Pro Tour, but once you’re there you want more, and the best way to get more is to accumulate enough pro points to get membership into one of the clubs.
Getting into the bottom level, Silver, is simple enough. Just rack up 20 pro points in a season. Easy, right? Once you do you’ll automatically get an invitation to the next Pro Tour, plus you’ll get an invitation to the first Pro Tour the following season. Also, your Silver status gets you into RPTQ’s for the rest of the year and the following year so you can fast-track yourself into the pro tour.
Want more? Pick up an additional 15 points (35 total) and you get into the Gold Club. What do you get in the Gold Club? Oh, nothing much, just an invitation and airfare to every Pro Tour during the year. Not enough you say? Fine, pick up another 17 points (52 total) and you get yourself a Platinum Club membership. What’s that get you? The same benefits as Gold, but also a $3,000 appearance fee for playing on the Pro Tour and $250 for playing at a Grand Prix. Now we’re talking. Is there more?
Just one last thing: the Pro Tour Hall of Fame. Started in 2005 there are two straight-forward requirements: wait 10 years from your first Pro Tour appearance and accumulate 150 lifetime pro points. Then you just have to get voted in and you’re set for life. Invites to every Pro Tour ever plus three-round byes to Grand Prix events. Not too shabby, right? What are you waiting for, better get started.
Oh, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t leave you with one last chart? This is a Venn diagram showing the overlap of Gold and Platinum pros with the Hall of Fame, just to clue you in to the kind of elite company you’ll get to be in if you can make it to the top.
Player Focus: Gabriel Nassif
Nassif was inducted into the Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2010 which is a) amazing and b) means that you can learn all about his Magic journey from his induction profile. But 2010 was a long time ago, what’s Nassif been up to since then? Here are a few highlights to add to his phenomenal Hall of Fame profile:
- Pro Tour Paris 2011: 48th Place
- Pro Tour Seattle 2012-13: 10th Place
- Pro Tour San Diego (Dragon’s Maze) 2012-13: 13th Place
- Pro Tour Honolulu (Khans of Tarkir) 2014-15: 42nd Place
- Pro Tour Milwaukee (Battle for Zendikar) 2015-16: 30th Place
- Pro Tour Atlanta (Oath of the Gatewatch) 2015-16: 62nd Place
- Pro Tour Dublin (Aether Revolt) 2016-17: 16th Place
That’s 7 Top-64 Pro Tour finishes in the 7 years since Gabriel Nassif was inducted into the Hall of Fame. But, 16th in Dublin a few months ago was the best showing in four years and now, as a member of Team Opportunity, Nassif continues to look for the 10th Pro Tour Top-8 finish of his illustrious career. Only Kai Budde (10), Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (11), and Jon Finkel (16!) have more Pro Tour Top 8 finishes than Nassif.
Not that Gabriel Nassif has anything left to prove to anyone, but I’m sure it would be pretty sweet to reach double-digits and solidify his legendary career as a Pro Tour competitor. Could this weekend in Nashville be the time? You’ll have to watch to find out.