Brad Nelson (Magic: The Gathering player)

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Brad Nelson
Nicknames FFfreaK
Born Fargo, North Dakota[1]
Residence Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Nationality United States American
Pro Tour debut 2009 Pro Tour Honolulu
Winnings US$96,880[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8) 0 (3)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8) 1 (12)[4]
Median Pro Tour Finish 75
Lifetime Pro Points 303[5]
Planeswalker Level 48 (Archmage)

Brad Nelson is an American Magic: The Gathering player. Also known by his Magic: The Gathering Online name, FFfreaK, he has two Pro Tour top eights, and twelve Grand Prix top eights, including a win. In 2010, Nelson became the first non-Japanese player since Gabriel Nassif in 2004 and the first American player since Bob Maher in 2000 to earn the Player of the Year title. However, Nelson did not receive his title for Player of the Year 2010 until February 2011 after winning the first-ever Player of the Year Tie playoff match against Guillaume Matignon of France.[6]

Magic: The Gathering

Brad Nelson starting playing Magic: The Gathering in high school, when his best friend William Lies introduced the game to him.[7] Nelson first came to prominence on Magic: The Gathering Online under the screen name FFfreak,[8] a name inspired by his love for the Final Fantasy series of videogames. Whilst Brad was attempting to make it on to the Pro Tour he developed a friendship with 2005 Player of the Year Kenji Tsumura, who would send him his decks to help Brad win a Pro Tour Qualifier.[9] Brad considers Kenji to be his favorite player of all time.[9]

Brad made his Pro Tour debut at Pro Tour Honolulu in 2009, managing to come in 9th place.[7] Brad would also make his first Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Minneapolis that year. Brad would go on to further success on the Pro Tour in the 2010 season. Brad made his first Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour San Juan, though was defeated in the quarterfinals by Guillaume Matignon. At Pro Tour Amsterdam, Brad made his second Pro Tour Top 8 of the year. In the quarterfinals, he became one of only three players to have beaten Kai Budde in the elimination rounds of a Pro Tour.[10] Brad would go on to make the finals of the tournament, losing to Paul Rietzl to take second place. After his performance in Amsterdam, Brad would become the front-runner in the Player of the Year standings. Brad had a 15-point lead going into the final event of the year, the 2010 World Championship. However, Nelson would come in 135th place at Worlds only adding 3 additional points to his overall total.[11] This allowed the 2010 World Champion Guillaume Matignon to earn enough points with his victory to equal Brad's total for an unprecedented Player of the Year tie.[12] The Pro Player of the Year title was decided in a special Player of the Match between Nelson and Matignon at Pro Tour Paris 2011.[6] Nelson won the match 4-2 to claim the 2010 Player of the Year title, becoming the first American to win the title in ten years.

In the 2011 season, Brad had a disappointing year, failing to Top 8 any major events. Discussing his year in an interview with Tristan Shaun Gregson, Brad blamed a loss of confidence for his disappointing performance.[13]

Achievements

 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
2009 Nationals Kansas City, Missouri Standard and Booster Draft 22–24 July 2009 4
2009 Grand Prix Minneapolis Sealed and Booster Draft 14–14 November 2009 4
2010 Grand Prix Washington D.C. Standard 22–23 May 2010 1
2010 Pro Tour San Juan, Puerto Rico Block Constructed and Booster Draft 28–30 May 2010 6
2010 Grand Prix Colombus Legacy 31 July–1 August 2010 8
2010 Nationals Minneapolis Standard and Booster Draft 19–22 August 2010 8
2010 Pro Tour Amsterdam Extended and Booster Draft 3–5 September 2010 2
2010 Grand Prix Toronto Sealed and Booster Draft 23–24 October 2010 2
2012–13 Grand Prix Minneapolis Standard 19–20 May 2012 2
2012–13 Grand Prix Atlantic City Standard 12–13 January 2013 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Miami Standard 29–30 June 2013 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Louisville Standard 19–20 October 2013 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Cincinnati Standard 22–23 March 2014 2
2014–15 Grand Prix Los Angeles Standard 18–19 October 2014 6
2014–15 Grand Prix Memphis Standard 21–22 February 2015 3
2014–15 Grand Prix Toronto Standard 2–3 May 2015 4
2015–16 Pro Tour Madrid Standard and Booster Draft 22–24 April 2016 6

Last updated: 8 May 2015
Source: wizards.com

Other accomplishments

Media

After winning the Pro Player of the Year title, Richard Hagon wrote a biographical book entitled Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story about Nelson's road to becoming the Pro Player of the Year.[15]

Personal life

Brad Nelson is also the half-brother of Corey Baumeister,[16] a fellow Magic: The Gathering player and three-time North Dakota State Champion.[17] Currently, Brad works for Star City Games in Virginia as an article writer and participates in various video content for the site; which includes various videos of him testing and playing decks against fellow Star City Games pro players like Todd Anderson and Gerry Thompson, and their show "Above the Curve", which is a weekly half-hour show that goes over happenings and news in the competitive Magic scene.

References

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Preceded by Pro Player of the Year
2010		 Succeeded by
United States Owen Turtenwald
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  17. ↑ Corey Baumeister Player Profile
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