Paul Rietzl

Paul Rietzl is an American Magic: The Gathering player. His greatest success was his win at Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010, but his resume includes three more Pro Tour top eights, and thirteen Grand Prix top eights, including two wins. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2014.[6]

Paul Rietzl
Rietzl winning Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010
NicknamesLittle Darwin[1]
ResidenceLos Angeles, California, United States
NationalityUnited States United States
Pro Tour debut2002 Pro Tour Osaka
WinningsUS$248,990[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)1 (4)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)2 (15)[4]
Lifetime Pro Points424[5]
Planeswalker Level48 (Archmage)

Magic: The Gathering

Career

Paul Rietzl grew up in Boston, near the game store YourMoveGames, owned by future Hall of Famer Rob Dougherty, and was a longtime member of Team Your Move Games.[7] Rietzl played his first Pro Tour, Pro Tour Osaka, when he was 16 years old,[8] and his first major result came at Grand Prix Anaheim in 2003, where he made the top eight. The top eight also featured future Hall of Fame members Ben Stark and Ben Rubin. Rietzl would lose in the quarterfinals to Peter Szigeti, taking 6th place in the overall standings. Rietzl went on to make the top eight of the very next North American Grand Prix, in Oakland. Again, Paul lost in the quarterfinals, taking 7th place.

From 2002 to 2006, Rietzl was a regular at the Pro Tour. He didn't make any top eights, but put up some solid performances, including a 14th-place finish at Pro Tour Kobe 2004,[9] and a 26th-place finish at Pro Tour San Diego 2004.[10] However, after Pro Tour Charleston 2006, Rietzl took a break from competitive play, his only Pro Tour until 2009 being Pro Tour San Diego 2007.

After his break, Rietzl returned to competitive play with a splash in 2009.[11] Rietzl made his third Grand Prix top eight at Grand Prix Chicago. He made it to the semifinals this time, losing out to Andrew Probasco, and took third place in the tournament. Rietzl's result at the event qualified him for Pro Tour Honolulu 2009. He prepared for the tournament with various prominent players including Ben Rubin, Gabriel Nassif and Brian Kibler.[12] Rietzl made his first Pro Tour top eight in Honolulu, losing in the semifinals to eventual winner Kazuya Mitamura.[13] He has not missed a Pro Tour since.

Rietzl would have the biggest success of his career in the 2010 season, winning Pro Tour Amsterdam 2010.[14] The Pro Tour was noted for one of the most impressive Sunday rosters in Magic: The Gathering history, which included Kai Budde, Brian Kibler, Guillaume Wafo-Tapa and future Player of the Year Brad Nelson. Rietzl's win would be all the more impressive for the fact that he did not lose a single game within the top eight, beating Thomas Ma, Michael Jacob and Brad Nelson 3–0 in their best of five game matches. Rietzl prepared for the Pro Tour with various pro players, but gave particular credit to Gabriel Nassif, who helped design his deck.[15]

Rietzl went on to make his third Pro Tour top eight in as many years at Pro Tour Paris 2011.[16] Rietzl would defeat Patrick Chapin in the quarterfinals and Vincent Lemoine in the semifinals to face Ben Stark in the finals of the tournament. Ultimately, Paul lost 3–1 to Stark, finishing in second place.[17]

Pro Tour Paris was held alongside Grand Prix Paris, which started the day after the Pro Tour. Having secured his place in the Top 8 of the Pro Tour, Rietzl took the unusual step of entering the Grand Prix, largely because he believed he would lose quickly in the quarterfinals to Patrick Chapin.[18] After three byes, Rietzl went 6–1 in the Grand Prix, earning a place in Day 2 of the event; this meant that he was playing the top eight of the Pro Tour as well as Day 2 of the Grand Prix. Ultimately, Rietzl would take 24th place at the Grand Prix despite also playing in the top eight of the Pro Tour, and forfeiting a match in the Grand Prix due to having to play his Pro Tour quarterfinal match. Rietzl's overall record for the weekend was 24-6-1.

Rietzl's fourth Pro Tour top eight came in the 2013–14 season, at Pro Tour Theros in Dublin, where Rietzl and Patrick Chapin played a black-white midrange deck that would ultimately result in 9th-place finish for Chapin and a 6th-place finish for Rietzl,[19] losing 2–3 in the semifinals to Makihito Mihara. He came close to a fifth top eight later in the season, at Pro Tour Journey into Nyx in Atlanta, but he finished 13th.[20] Rietzl's overall performance during the season qualified him for the 2014 World Championship, where he finished 12th.[21]

Rietzl became eligible for the Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2011, having played in his first Pro Tour over ten seasons prior and having amassed over 150 lifetime pro points.[22] Rietzl placed 20th, 21st and 20th in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 ballots respectively. In 2014, he was voted into the Hall, placing second with 72.59% support. He was inducted at Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir in Honolulu, alongside Guillaume Wafo-Tapa and Makihito Mihara.

In the 2014–15 season, despite not finishing in the top eight of any Pro Tours, Rietzl managed to accumulate enough pro points to qualify for the World Championship for a second year running. This was in large part due to consistently solid Pro Tour finishes; he finished 40th, 35th, 27th and 60th respectively at the season's four Pro Tour events, and also put up two Grand Prix top eights, at GP Salt Lake City and GP San Jose.

Top 8 finishes
 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
2003–04 Grand Prix Anaheim Extended December 13–14, 2003 6
2003–04 Grand Prix Oakland Limited February 7–8, 2004 7
2009 Grand Prix Chicago Legacy March 7–8, 2009 3
2009 Pro Tour Honolulu Block Constructed and Booster Draft June 5–7, 2009 3
2010 Pro Tour Amsterdam Extended and Booster Draft September 3–5, 2010 1
2011 Pro Tour Paris Standard and Booster Draft February 10–13, 2011 2
2012 Grand Prix Seattle-Tacoma Limited March 3–4, 2012 6
2012 Grand Prix Mexico City Limited March 24–25, 2012 1
2012–13 Grand Prix Anaheim Block Constructed May 26–27, 2012 2
2012–13 Grand Prix San Jose Team Limited October 13–14, 2012 1
2012–13 Grand Prix Portland Modern May 11–12, 2013 8
2013–14 Pro Tour Dublin Standard and Booster Draft October 11–13, 2013 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Albuquerque Standard November 23–24, 2013 8
2014–15 Grand Prix Salt Lake City Limited September 6–7, 2014 5
2014–15 Grand Prix San Jose Team Limited January 31–February 1, 2015 2
2015–16 Grand Prix San Diego Standard August 8–9, 2015 3
2015–16 Worlds Seattle Special August 27–30, 2015 3
2015–16 Grand Prix Oklahoma City Modern September 12–13, 2015 7
2016–17 Grand Prix Portland Standard August 13–14, 2016 7
2016–17 Grand Prix Louisville Team Limited September 10–11, 2016 4

Last updated: October 15, 2016
Source: Event Coverage at Wizards.com

References
  1. Nate, Price (June 22, 2014). "MEET (9) PAUL RIETZL". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  2. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. July 15, 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  3. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  4. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. "Planeswalker Points (requires login)". Wizards of the Coast. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  6. David-Marshall, Brian. "THE 2014 CLASS OF THE PRO TOUR HALL OF FAME". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  7. "Grand Prix Anaheim 2003 Top 8 Player Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  8. Rosenberg, Mike (August 6, 2015). "PAUL RIETZL'S ORIGIN STORY". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  9. "Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  10. "Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  11. "ChannelFireball Author Profile". ChannelFireball.com. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  12. "Pro Tour Honolulu 2009 Top 8 Profiles". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  13. "Semifinals: Pings and Swings". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  14. "Rietzl Sweeps to Victory in Amsterdam". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  15. Rietzl, Paul. "A Champion Returns". TCGPlayer.com. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  16. "Stark Flies High with Planeswalkers in Paris". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  17. Willoughby, Tim. "Finals: Paul Rietzl vs. Ben Stark". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  18. Willoughby, Tim. "Feature: Paul Rietzl's Long Weekend". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  19. "Pro Tour Theros Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  20. "Pro Tour Journey into Nyx Final Standings". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  21. "FINAL STANDINGS". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  22. "Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame 2011 Ballot". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
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