Martin Jůza

Martin Jůza is a Czech Magic: The Gathering player. Over the course of his career, Jůza has won the Czech national championship, made the top eight of a Pro Tour three times, and won four Grand Prix tournaments.[5]

Martin Jůza
Born (1987-06-08) 8 June 1987
ResidencePlzeň, Czech Republic
Nationality Czech
Pro Tour debutPro Tour New Orleans 2003
Winnings$230,510[1]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)0 (3)[2]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)4 (24)[3]
Lifetime Pro Points445[4]
Planeswalker Level50 (Archmage)

Career

Jůza's Pro Tour career began in 2003 when he made his debut with a 194th-place finish at Pro Tour New Orleans. He would go on to make one more Pro Tour appearance that season, a 163rd-place finish at the World Championship. The following season, he had two Pro Tour appearances again. He also had his first high level finish that season when he won the Czech National Championship.[6] Jůza put up similar results in 2006 and 2007, playing two Pro Tours both years, making his country's national team in 2006, and qualifying for Worlds as the alternate in 2007.

The 2008 season was Jůza's breakout year. It was the first time he played every Pro Tour, and he only finished outside the top twenty once. After a 10th-place finish in Kuala Lumpur, and a 19th place in Hollywood, he made his first Pro Tour top eight at Pro Tour Berlin 2008. In the quarterfinals, Jůza was paired against one of his play test partners, former Rookie of the Year Sebastian Thaler, with Thaler winning the Elves mirror match by three games to two.[7] Jůza rounded out the season with a 50th-place finish at the World Championship to earn level 7 standing in the Pro Players Club.[8]

After his breakout season, Jůza very much adopted the Pro Tour lifestyle, playing fourteen of nineteen Grand Prix in 2009. He had a strong start to the season, earning 18 pro points by mid March. After a string of midfield finishes from March through July, Jůza made back to back Grand Prix finals, losing to Olivier Ruel in Brighton, and to Shingou Kurihara in Bangkok. At Pro Tour Austin, Jůza made his second Pro Tour top eight. Paired against Naoki Shimizu, he was once again defeated in the quarterfinal.[9] To finish the season, Jůza made the top eight of Grand Prix Tampa Bay, and finished 41st at Worlds. With 64 pro points, Jůza finished third in the Player of the Year race and gained the highest Pro Players Club Level, 8.[10]

The following season, Jůza did not do so well on the Pro Tour. His best finish being a 30th place at Pro Tour San Diego, he earned only 17 pro points from his Pro Tour results. However, he made up for it on the Grand Prix circuit. Jůza played all but one of the Grand Prix, winning Grand Prix Portland and Bochum, and making the top eight of Grand Prix Nashville. Earning 37 points off tour, Jůza's 54 point total earned him fourth place in the Player of the Year race and level 8 in the Pro Players Club again.[11]

In 2011, Jůza's Grand Prix dominance continued. Over the course of the year, he reached top eight of Grand Prix in Denver, Kobe, Santiago, and Hiroshima. His win in Hiroshima made Jůza the first European to win a Grand Prix in Japan, and he joined Raphaël Lévy, Shuhei Nakamura, and Alex Shvartsman as the fourth player to have won Grand Prix in Europe, North America, and Asia. On the Pro Tour, he had unremarkable results in Paris and Philadelphia, finishing below 100th place both times, but finished just one win short of making the top eight at Pro Tour Nagoya. For the third year in a row, Juza earned enough points to reach level 8 in the Pro Players Club, finishing fourth overall in the Player of the Year race.[12]

Jůza made the top eight of one additional Grand Prix events in the 2012 season, in Madrid, and finished the season with enough points to achieve Platinum status in the new Pro Players Club system. In August, Jůza played in the inaugural Magic Players Championship (later renamed The World Championship), finishing 9th, as well as the World Magic Cup, where he was the captain of the Czech team. In the 2012–13 season, Jůza repeated his performance from the previous Grand Prix Bochum by winning the event again, and made the top eight of an additional three Grand Prix (in Manila, Philadelphia and Sydney). He once again attained Platinum status, and qualified for the World Championship for the second year in a row. This event did not go well for Jůza, however; he finished last. The 2013–14 season was a quiet one for Jůza. He made the top eight of three Grand Prix (Providence, Prague and Hong Kong), but needed to finish in the top 16 of the last Pro Tour of the year, Pro Tour Magic 2015 in order to reach Platinum status once again.[13] He succeeded in doing so by finishing 11th,[14] and reached the top level in the Pro Players Club for the sixth season in a row.

In the 2014–15 season, despite finishing in the top eight of four Grand Prix events (Strasbourg, Manila, Mexico City, Seville), Jůza failed to attain Platinum status. He ended the season on 42 points, enough for Gold, but four points shy of Platinum.

Achievements
 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
2005 Nationals Czech Republic Standard and Booster Draft 2005 1
2006 Nationals Czech Republic Standard and Booster Draft 2006 1
2007 Nationals Czech Republic Standard and Booster Draft 2007 4
2008 Pro Tour Berlin Extended 31 October – 2 November 2008 6
2009 Grand Prix Brighton Sealed and Booster Draft 8–9 August 2009 2
2009 Grand Prix Bangkok Sealed and Booster Draft 22–23 August 2009 2
2009 Pro Tour Austin Extended and Booster Draft 16–18 October 2009 7
2009 Grand Prix Tampa Bay Sealed and Booster Draft 24–25 October 2009 8
2010 Grand Prix Portland Sealed and Booster Draft 11–12 September 2010 1
2010 Grand Prix Bochum Sealed and Booster Draft 30–31 October 2010 1
2010 Grand Prix Nashville Sealed and Booster Draft 20–21 November 2010 7
2011 Grand Prix Denver Sealed and Booster Draft 19–20 February 2011 2
2011 Grand Prix Kobe Extended 23–24 April 2011 7
2011 Grand Prix Santiago Sealed and Booster Draft 22–23 October 2011 5
2011 Grand Prix Hiroshima Standard 29–30 October 2011 1
2012 Grand Prix Madrid Sealed and Booster Draft 25–26 February 2012 8
2012–13 Grand Prix Manila Standard 16–17 June 2012 6
2012–13 Grand Prix Philadelphia Sealed and Booster Draft 27–28 October 2012 3
2012–13 Grand Prix Bochum Standard 17–18 November 2012 1
2012–13 Grand Prix Sydney Limited 19–20 January 2013 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Providence Team Limited 8–9 June 2013 4
2013–14 Grand Prix Prague Limited 31 August–1 September 2013 5
2013–14 Grand Prix Hong Kong Sealed and Booster Draft 19–20 October 2013 2
2014–15 Grand Prix Strasbourg Sealed and Booster Draft 29–30 November 2014 3
2014–15 Grand Prix Manila Standard 3–4 January 2015 7
2014–15 Grand Prix Mexico City Sealed and Booster Draft 31 January–1 February 2015 7
2014–15 Grand Prix Seville Standard 14–15 February 2015 5
2015–16 Grand Prix London Standard 15–16 August 2015 7
2015–16 Grand Prix Paris Standard 19-20 March 2016 4
2016–17 Pro Tour Dublin Standard and Booster Draft 3–5 February 2017 8

Last updated: 5 February 2017
Source: Event Coverage at Wizards.com

References
  1. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  2. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  3. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  4. "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  5. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/thousands-trading-card-game-fans-8794702
  6. "2005 National Champions and Teams". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  7. "LSV + ELVES Equals Champion!". Wizards of the Coast. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  8. "2008 Pro Tour Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  9. "Kibler Completes Comeback with Austin Victory". Wizards of the Coast. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  10. "2009 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  11. "2010 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  12. "2011 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  13. "Czech Mate – Locking up Platinum in Portland". ChannelFireball. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  14. "FINAL STANDINGS". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
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