Olivier Ruel

Olivier Ruel
Born (1981-07-24) July 24, 1981 (age 43)
Aubervilliers, France
ResidenceLille/Paris[1]
NationalityFrance French
Winnings$298,515[2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)0 (5)[3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)5 (28)[4]
Lifetime Pro Points518
Planeswalker Level50 (Archmage)

Olivier Ruel (born 24 July 1981[5] in Aubervilliers, France) is one of the most successful professional Magic: The Gathering players. He holds the record for most Grand Prix Top 8’s, and is one of twenty players with five or more Pro Tour top 8’s. After Pro Tour San Juan 2010, Olivier surpassed Kai Budde as the leader in lifetime Pro Points. However, Budde regained that title later that season.

Career

Born in Aubervilliers, France, Olivier and his brother Antoine started playing Magic in 1994. Olivier won the first Pro Tour Qualifier he attended and thereby qualified for Pro Tour Rome 1999. After a mid-table result there he teamed up with his brother and Florent Jeudon for Pro Tour Washington D.C., going under the name of "Phenome J". They finished eleventh at the Pro Tour and quickly followed that up with a victory at Grand Prix Cannes, now going as "Black Ops". These achievements were rewarded with a ranking-based invitation to the Masters Series at Pro Tour New York 2000. Again Black Ops prevailed defeating Game Empire consisting of Alan Comer, Brian Selden, and Kurt Burgner as well as the Antarctica-team of Jon Finkel, O'Mahoney-Schwartz brothers.[6]

Their first major individual success came several months later when the Ruel brothers met in the final of Grand Prix Porto where Antoine defeated Olivier.[6] Another few months later in May 2001 Olivier secured himself a place on the French national team by finishing third at French Nationals. His first Pro Tour Top 8 followed in March 2002 where he finished second at Pro Tour Osaka.[6] Olivier has since racked up an unprecedented 28 Grand Prix Top 8 finishes, winning five. He also has five Pro Tour Top 8 finishes and won the French Nationals in 2004. In 2008, Olivier was voted in the Hall of Fame and was inducted at the World Championship in Memphis.

Accomplishments

Top 8 Appearances

 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
1999–00 Grand Prix Madrid Extended 29–30 January 2000 5
1999–00 Grand Prix Cannes Team Limited 26–27 February 2000 1
1999–00 Masters New York Team Limited 16 April 2000 1
2000–01 Grand Prix Porto Rochester Draft 23–24 September 2000 2
2000–01 Grand Prix Valencia Sealed and Booster Draft 10–11 February 2001 2
2000–01 Masters Tokyo Team Limited 16–18 March 2001 3
2000–01 Nationals Avignon Standard and Booster Draft 12–13 May 2001 3
2001–02 Grand Prix Shizuoka, Shizuoka Rochester Draft 13–14 October 2001 4
2001–02 Grand Prix Biarritz Rochester Draft 24–25 November 2001 8
2001–02 Grand Prix Lisbon Extended 19–20 January 2002 4
2001–02 Pro Tour Osaka Block Constructed 15–17 March 2002 2
2001–02 Grand Prix Barcelona Sealed and Booster Draft 23–24 March 2002 3
2001–02 Grand Prix Naples Sealed and Booster Draft 6–7 April 2002 4
2002–03 Nationals Chambéry Standard and Booster Draft 3–4 May 2003 3
2003–04 Pro Tour Amsterdam Rochester Draft 16–18 January 2004 4
2003–04 Grand Prix Hong Kong Sealed and Booster Draft 6–7 March 2004 2
2003–04 Nationals Tours Standard and Booster Draft 17–18 July 2004 1
2005 Pro Tour Columbus Extended 29–31 October 2004 4
2005 Grand Prix Helsinki Rochester Draft 6–7 November 2004 1
2005 Pro Tour Philadelphia Block Constructed 6–8 May 2005 4
2005 Grand Prix Bologna Sealed and Booster Draft 11–12 June 2005 1
2005 Grand Prix Copenhagen Extended 5–6 November 2005 5
2005 Grand Prix Bilbao Extended 19–20 November 2005 1
2005 Grand Prix Beijing Extended 26–27 November 2005 3
2006 Grand Prix Dortmund Sealed and Booster Draft 18–19 February 2006 7
2006 Pro Tour Honolulu Standard 3–5 March 2006 4
2006 Grand Prix Barcelona Sealed and Booster Draft 8–9 April 2006 5
2006 Grand Prix Toulouse Sealed and Booster Draft 24–25 June 2006 6
2007 Grand Prix Singapore Extended 3–4 March 2007 5
2007 Grand Prix Krakow Standard 3–4 November 2007 4
2007 Grand Prix Kitakyuushuu Sealed and Booster Draft 10–11 November 2007 4
2008 Grand Prix Shizuoka, Shizuoka Standard 8–9 March 2008 2
2008 Grand Prix Buenos Aires Standard 28–29 June 2008 6
2008 Nationals Tours Standard and Booster Draft 2–3 August 2008 2
2008 Grand Prix Okayama Sealed and Booster Draft 20–21 November 2008 6
2008 Grand Prix Auckland Sealed and Booster Draft 6–7 December 2008 5
2009 Nationals Aix-en-Provence Standard and Booster Draft 25–26 July 2009 6
2009 Grand Prix Brighton Sealed and Booster Draft 8–9 August 2009 1
2011 Nationals La Rochelle Standard and Booster Draft 22–24 July 2011 7
2012–13 Grand Prix Lyon Modern 3–4 November 2012 6
2014–15 Grand Prix Lille Legacy 4–5 July 2015 2

Last updated: 5 July 2015
Source: Wizards.com

Other accomplishments

References

  1. ^ "France National Championship". Wizards of the Coast. 2008-08-03. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  2. ^ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  3. ^ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  4. ^ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  5. ^ Olivier Ruel 2006 Pro Player card (from the Magic: The Gathering Time Spiral expansion)
  6. ^ a b c Wise, Gary (May 2003). "Personal Profile Olivier Ruel". The Sideboard. 8 (46). Wizards of the Coast.
Preceded by
Stéphane Damizet
 Magic French National Champion
2004 		Succeeded by
Julien Goron