William Jensen

William "Huey" Jensen (born July 26, 1982) is an American Magic: The Gathering player. He won Pro Tour Boston 2003, and has finished in the top 8 of four additional Pro Tours. He also has 24 Grand Prix top eights, including six wins. Jensen is one of the few players to have beaten Kai Budde in the elimination rounds of a Pro Tour. In 2013 he was voted into the Hall of Fame. He is the current record holder of most Grand Prix top eight finishes within a single season, with eight in 2013–14.[5] He is also the 2017 Magic World Champion.

For the Norwegian fashion designer, see William Duborgh Jensen.
William Jensen
Jensen (right) with young competitive Magic player Dana Fischer in 2019
NicknamesHuey
Born (1982-07-26) July 26, 1982
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada
NationalityAmerican
Pro Tour debutPro Tour Rome 1998
WinningsUS$375,395[1]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)1 (5)[2]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)6 (24)[3]
Lifetime Pro Points389[4]
Planeswalker Level48 (Archmage)

Magic: The Gathering career

William Jensen started playing Magic in 1995 at age 13,[6] and his first Pro Tour was Pro Tour Rome 1998. One year later, at Pro Tour London 1999, he got his major breakthrough by making the top 8, ultimately finishing 6th, losing to eventual champion Kyle Rose. Only one month later, at Grand Prix San Diego, Jensen experienced his first Grand Prix success by not only making the top 8, but winning the event.[7]

The 2000–01 Pro Tour season started with Jensen winning the inaugural Masters event, beating among others eventual Hall of Famers Nicolai Herzog, Olivier Ruel, and Bob Maher en route to the title.[8] Jensen continued to be a mainstay on the professional scene, putting up additional Grand Prix top 8s, including another win at Grand Prix Pittsburgh 2000,[9] as well as solid Pro Tour finishes. In 2003, Jensen returned to the top 8 of the Pro Tour, finishing 8th at Pro Tour Chicago, once again losing to the eventual champion, in this case Kai Budde.[10] However, Jensen would return to the top 8 at the very next Pro Tour, finishing 4th at Pro Tour Venice 2003.[11]

The first Pro Tour of the next season, the 2003–04 Pro Tour season, was a Team Rochester draft Pro Tour in Boston. Teaming up with Brock Parker and Matt Linde as 'The Brockafellars', Jensen won his first Pro Tour.[12] The team defeated the German team 'Phoenix Foundation', the winners of the previous two Team Limited Pro Tours, with Jensen defeating Kai Budde 2–0 in his match. In the finals, they faced the Norwegian team 'Unoriginal Slackers', where Jensen won his match 2–0 over Jake Smith. Jensen continued to play on the pro circuit for one more year, his final Pro Tour being the 2004 World Championships, before he retired from professional play. Jensen has cited being tired of traveling and friends leaving the scene as the reasons for quitting.[6]

In 2012, despite not having played a professional event in almost eight years, William Jensen was among the top candidates for getting voted into the Hall of Fame. He eventually missed by a single vote,[13] but received a special invitation to play at Pro Tour Return to Ravnica.[14] He playtested for the event with team StarCityGames Black (currently known as Team Pantheon[15]), featuring players like Jon Finkel, Gabriel Nassif, and Jelger Wiegersma. This reignited his interest in competitive Magic. One year later, he was voted into the Hall of Fame, garnering a total of 59.97% of the votes.[16]

The 2013–14 Pro Tour season was Jensen's comeback season. He won his third Grand Prix shortly after being voted into the Hall of Fame by defeating Neal Oliver in the final of Grand Prix Oakland.[17] He continued to make additional Grand Prix top 8s throughout the season, though without winning another one. At the end of the season, he had made the top 8 of eight total Grand Prix, setting the record for most Grand Prix top 8 finishes within a single season.[5] In the final event of the season, Pro Tour Magic 2015 in Portland, Jensen made his fifth Pro Tour top 8, finishing 7th.[18] His overall performance in the season earned him an invitation to the 2014 World Championship.[5]

The very first Grand Prix of the 2014–15 Pro Tour season, Grand Prix Portland, was won by Jensen's team, 'Peach Garden Oath', with teammates Reid Duke and Owen Turtenwald.[19] This was Jensen's fourth Grand Prix win. At the 2014 World Championship, Jensen came close to reaching the top 4, but lost the last round of Swiss to Yuuya Watanabe, resulting in an 8th-place finish.[20] He finished the season on 47 points, enough for Platinum status in the Pro Player Club, but not enough to qualify for the 2015 World Championships.

Achievements
 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
1999–2000 Pro Tour London Block Constructed October 15–17, 1999 6
1999–2000 Grand Prix San Diego Limited November 20–21, 1999 1
1999–2000 Grand Prix Philadelphia Extended February 19–20, 2000 5
1999–2000 Grand Prix Cannes Team Limited February 26–27, 2000 4
1999–2000 Grand Prix Pittsburgh Team Limited June 24–25, 2000 1
2000–01 Masters New York City Extended September 29–October 1, 2000 1
2000–01 Grand Prix Detroit Limited March 31–April 1, 2001 5
2000–01 Nationals Orlando Standard and Booster Draft June 1–3, 2001 6
2001–02 Grand Prix Houston Extended January 5–6, 2002 3
2001–02 Grand Prix Milwaukee Standard May 11–12, 2002 7
2002–03 Pro Tour Chicago Rochester Draft January 17–19, 2003 8
2002–03 Pro Tour Venice Block Constructed March 21–23, 2003 4
2003–04 Pro Tour Boston Team Limited September 12–14, 2003 1
2003–04 Grand Prix Orlando Block Constructed July 24–25, 2004 5
2013–14 Grand Prix Oakland Limited August 24–25, 2013 1
2013–14 Grand Prix Louisville Standard October 19–20, 2013 8
2013–14 Grand Prix Toronto Limited November 30–December 1, 2013 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Dallas/Fort Worth Standard December 7–8, 2013 2
2013–14 Grand Prix Barcelona Team Limited March 1–2, 2014 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Philadelphia Limited April 12–13, 2014 6
2013–14 Grand Prix Atlanta Limited May 24–25, 2014 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Washington DC Limited June 28–29, 2014 5
2013–14 Pro Tour Portland Standard and Booster Draft August 1–3, 2014 7
2014–15 Grand Prix Portland Team Limited August 9–10, 2014 1
2014–15 Grand Prix Denver Standard January 3–4, 2015 6
2015–16 Grand Prix Detroit Team Limited August 15–16, 2015 3
2015–16 Grand Prix Washington, D.C. Team Limited March 12–13, 2016 3
2015–16 Grand Prix Barcelona Limited April 16–17, 2016 3
2016–17 Grand Prix San Antonio Team Unified Modern April 1–2, 2017 2
2016–17 Grand Prix Cleveland Team Limited June 23–25, 2017 1
2016–17 Grand Prix Kyoto Limited July 21–23, 2017 1
2016–18 Grand Prix Providence Team Limited September 30–October 1, 2017 2
2017-18 Worlds Boston Standard and Booster Draft October 6–8, 2017 1

Last updated: October 12, 2017
Source: Wizards.com

Personal life

On November 10, 2016, Jensen came out as gay on Twitter.[21]

References
  1. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  2. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. August 7, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. July 28, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  4. "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  5. "2014 World Championship Competitors: William Jensen". Wizards of the Coast. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  6. "My Magic Life". StarCityGames. August 7, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  7. "Grand Prix-San Diego November 19-21, 1999". Wizards of the Coast. November 21, 1999. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  8. "Masters Series Coverage: New York 2000". Wizards of the Coast. October 1, 2000. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  9. "Grand Prix Pittsburgh 2000 Coverage". Wizards of the Coast. June 25, 2000. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  10. "Live Coverage of 2003 Pro Tour Chicago". Wizards of the Coast. January 17, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  11. "Live Coverage of 2003 Pro Tour Venice". Wizards of the Coast. March 23, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  12. "Live Coverage of 2003 Pro Tour Boston". Wizards of the Coast. September 12, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  13. "2012 Ballot". Wizards of the Coast. July 27, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  14. "Invitation List for Pro Tour Return to Ravnica 2012". Wizards of the Coast. October 17, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  15. "Team Pantheon". ChannelFireball. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  16. "2013 Ballot". Wizards of the Coast. August 2, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  17. "He's back! Jensen shows mastery in Oakland". Wizards of the Coast. August 25, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  18. "FLOCH IMMORTALIZED AT PRO TOUR". Wizards of the Coast. August 4, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  19. "THE PANTHEON CONQUERS PORTLAND". Wizards of the Coast. August 11, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  20. "2014 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 14 STANDINGS". Wizards of the Coast. December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  21. @HueyJensen (November 10, 2016). "Open and Honest" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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