Antoine Ruel

Antoine Ruel (born 31 October 1979[1] in Aubervilliers, France) is a professional Magic: The Gathering player. He has reached the top eight at the Pro Tour four times, including a win in Los Angeles in 2005. With eighteen Grand Prix top eights, he is among the most successful Grand Prix players of all time. In 2009, Ruel joined his brother Olivier in the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.

Antoine Ruel
Born (1979-10-31) October 31, 1979
Aubervilliers, France[1]
NationalityFrance French
Pro Tour debutPro Tour Washington D.C. 1999
Winnings$239,640[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)1 (4)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)2 (18)[4]
Median Pro Tour Finish113
Lifetime Pro Points403[5]
Planeswalker Level50 (Archmage)

Career

Born in Aubervilliers, France, Antoine and his brother Olivier started playing Magic in 1994. In the 1999-2000 Pro Tour season, he first began to attract attention in the new teams format alongside his brother and Florent Jeudon. As Phenomène J, they finished eleventh at the first teams Pro Tour in Washington, D.C., and followed with a win and Grand Prix Cannes under the name Black Ops. These two finishes qualified the three Frenchmen for a special event called the Magic: The Gathering Team Challenge. The event featured some very prominent players, with seven of the twelve players involved being future members of the Hall of Fame. Black Ops won the event, with Antoine defeating Jon Finkel in the final.

Antoine's first major individual success followed soon after. In September 2000, he won Grand Prix Porto defeating his brother in final. At the 2001 World Championships, Antoine had his first breakthrough at the Pro Tour level with a third-place finish. Although, his next high finish at the Pro Tour would not come until 2004, Antoine would continue to make top eight appearances at the Grand Prix Level. In 2004, he made the finals of Pro Tour San Diego, losing to Nicolai Herzog for whom it was the second Pro Tour win that season. The following year, Antoine won Pro Tour Los Angeles taking out Japanese giants Tsuyoshi Fujita and Kenji Tsumura in the quarter- and semifinals respectively. The semifinal match is known for a well played bluff on the part Antoine. He would then go on to sweep American Billy Moreno in the finals in three games. In 2005, he reached the top eight of Pro Tour Honolulu with his brother, making it the first time that brothers had reached the top eight of an individual Pro Tour together. Antoine would lose the quarterfinals to Craig Jones in what has been described as "the most lopsided match in the history of Pro Tour top eights."

In 2009, Antoine was inducted into the Hall of Fame, alongside Dutch players Frank Karsten and Kamiel Cornelissen.

Accomplishments

Top 8 Appearances
 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
1999–00 Grand Prix Cannes Team Limited 26–27 February 2000 1
1999–00 Masters New York Team Limited 16 April 2000 1
2000–01 Grand Prix Porto Rochester Draft 23–24 September 2000 1
2000–01 Grand Prix Amsterdam Limited 13–14 January 2001 6
2000–01 Grand Prix Cologne Limited 24–25 February 2001 2
2000–01 Grand Prix Prague Limited 10–11 March 2001 6
2000–01 Grand Prix Moscow Standard 21–22 April 2001 4
2000–01 Worlds Toronto Special 8–12 August 2001 3
2001–02 Grand Prix London Block Constructed 1–2 September 2001 7
2001–02 Grand Prix Curitiba Extended 8–9 December 2001 3
2001–02 Grand Prix Sao Paulo Standard 13–14 July 2002 3
2002–03 Grand Prix Sevilla Sealed and Booster Draft 22–23 February 2003 4
2003–04 Grand Prix Sendai Booster Draft 20–21 March 2004 3
2003–04 Pro Tour San Diego Booster Draft 14–16 May 2004 2
2005 Grand Prix Vienna Rochester Draft 9–10 October 2004 2
2005 Invitational Los Angeles Special 17–20 May 2005 6
2005 Pro Tour Los Angeles Extended 28–30 October 2005 1
2006 Invitational Los Angeles Special 10–12 May 2006 1
2006 Pro Tour Honolulu Standard 3–5 March 2006 8
2006 Grand Prix Cardiff Sealed and Booster Draft 25–26 March 2006 8
2006 Grand Prix Turin Sealed and Booster Draft 3–4 June 2006 2
2006 Grand Prix Athens Sealed and Booster Draft 14–15 October 2006 6
2006 Grand Prix Yamagata Sealed and Booster Draft 18–19 November 2006 6
2007 Grand Prix Singapore Extended 3–4 March 2007 3
2007 Invitational Essen Special 18–21 October 2007 3
2008 Grand Prix Brussels Sealed and Booster Draft 3–4 May 2008 4
2010 Nationals Reims Standard and Booster Draft 24–25 July 2010 3

Last updated: 10 August 2009
Source: wizards.com

Other accomplishments

References
  1. Antoine Ruel 2007 Pro Player card (from the Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn expansion)
  2. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  3. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  4. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  5. "Planeswalker Points (requires login)". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
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