734 players came to Hall 5 of the Expo Heyzel and once the dust settled it looked like the format might have been turned over on its head. The expected field was Affinity and Goblins and although those decks turned out in force it looked like the hate might be starting to make an impact. Affinity decks were in for a rocky ride on day one with cards like March of the Machines and the vicious bouncing Viridian Shaman/Wirewood Symbiote combo of Elf and Nail causing real headaches.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the success of Johannes Mitsios' unusual blue-white control deck running four Pristine Angels. The German amateur was one of four decks to run out day one with perfect records. Doubts it might have been a fluke were swiftly answered on day two as he continued with the perfect record, only finally picking up a loss in round 13 when it was largely irrelevant.
With most of the fancied names falling by the wayside it seemed Brussels might not go to script although the end was almost predictability in itself. Amongst the host of relative unknowns a very familiar name snuck into the top 8 in eighth place.
Kai Budde wrecked Mitsios's dreams in the quarters and then went on to dispatch up-and-coming young Dutch hopeful Julien Nuijten. In the other bracket Tobias Henke, of Germany, overcame Xuan-phi Nguyen's Goblin deck in the quarters and then beat the Goblin deck of Vasilis Fatouros in the semi's to set up an all-German clash.
Top 8 Final Standing
| 1. Tobias Henke |
$2,400 |
| 2. Kai Budde |
$1,700 |
| 3. Julien Nuijten |
$1,200 |
| 4. Vasilis Fatouros |
$1,000 |
| 5. Johannes Mitsios |
$800 |
| 6. Xuan-Phi Nguyen |
$800 |
| 7. Maxime Fays |
$800 |
| 8. Stefano Fiore |
$800 |
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(Click here for complete final standings)
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Day one was unexpected but now reality had returned. For all the talk of other decks it was two Affinity decks beating two Goblin decks to set up a mirror-match final. One of them was in the hands of the best player in the world but GP Brussels wasn't about to end without a final twist in the tail.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it final (and I mean literally, you needed slow-motion replays for this one) Henke's draw in the third game was simply savage. It's not often you see the German Juggernaut on the receiving end of a real kicking but even he couldn't pull back from Henke's second turn Ravager, third turn Skullclamp and triple Frogmite draw.
Congratulations to Tobias Henke, winner of Grand Prix Brussels.
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Finals |
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Champion |
| 1 |
Johannes Mitsios
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Kai Budde, 2-0
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| 8 |
Kai Budde
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Kai Budde, 2-1
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| 4 |
Julien Nuijten
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Julien Nuijten, 2-1
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Tobias Henke, 2-1
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| 5 |
Stefano Fiore
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| 2 |
Maxime Fays
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Vasilis Fatouros, 2-0
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| 7 |
Vasilis Fatouros
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Tobias Henke, 2-0
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| 3 |
Tobias Henke
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Tobias Henke, 2-1
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| 6 |
Xuan-phi Nguyen
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EVENT COVERAGE
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INFORMATION
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Finals: Kai Budde vs. Tobias Henke
by Craig Jones
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Semifinals: Kai Budde vs. Julien Nuijten
by Ruud Warmenhoeven
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Semifinals: Vasilis Fatouros vs. Tobias Henke
by Gabriel Nassif
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Quarterfinals: Tobias Henke vs. Xuan-Phi Nguyen
by Frank Karsten
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Quarterfinals: Stefano Fiore vs. Julien Nuijten
by Ruud Warmenhoeven
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Quarterfinals: Maxime Fays vs. Vassilis Fatouros
by Wessel Oomens
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Quarterfinals: Kai Budde vs. Johannes Mitsios
by Gabriel Nassif
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Decklists: The Top 8 Decklists
by Event Coverage Staff
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Decklists: The Top 64 Decklists
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 14: Geoffrey Siron vs. Johan Dewez
by Frank Karsten
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Round 14: Roelof Sasbrug vs. Tobias Henke
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 14: Kai Budde vs. Bernardo Da Costa Cabral
by Gabriel Nassif
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Round 13: Marc Le Campion vs. Julien Nuijten
by Gabriel Nassif
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Round 12: Olivier Ruel vs. Kai Budde
by Gabriel Nassif
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Round 11: Mario Pascoli vs. Benedikt Klauser
by Gabriel Nassif
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Round 10: Rene Kraft vs. Bernardo da Costa Cabral
by Craig Jones
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Round 9: Johannes Mitsios vs. Tristan Gally
by Gabriel Nassif
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Round 9: Vasilis Fatouros vs. Wenzel Krautmann
by Craig Jones
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Info: Day 2 Introduction
by Event Coverage Staff
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Info: Day 1 Wrap-Up
by Event Coverage Staff
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Deck Tech: Day 1 Deck Breakdown
by Craig Jones
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Decklists: The 8-0 Decklists
by Event Coverage Staff
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Round 8: Vasilis Fatouros vs. Stefano Fiore
by Ruud Warmenhoeven
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Round 8: Julien Nuijten vs Olivier Ruel
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 7: Mario Pascoli vs. Bas Postema
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 7: Jos Schreurs vs. Christoph Lippert
by Craig Jones
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Round 6: Farid Meraghni vs. Olivier Ruel
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 6: Stefan Fries vs. Bernardo da Costa Cabral
by Craig Jones
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Round 5: Antonino de la Rosa vs. Pierre Malherbaud
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 4: Pierre Malherbaud vs. David Brucker
by Wessel Oomens
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Round 4: Mario Pascoli vs. Kai Budde
by Craig Jones
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Round 3: Stan van der Velden vs Julien Bertrand
by Frank Karsten
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Info: Fact Sheet
by Event Coverage Staff
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Info: Day 1 Introduction
by Event Coverage Staff
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