The Magic: The Gathering national champions are the players who won National Championships (Nationals) that year. (with the exception of champions between 2012 and 2016, which were awarded to players with the most Pro Points at the end of a Pro Tour season)
Nationals took place around the world usually in summer or autumn. Eligibility to play in a national championship was determined on residence instead of nationality. In addition, Nationals required eligible players to qualify. (prior to 2011, countries with smaller populations of Magic players open nationals were held, meaning that any eligible player could compete in this tournament)
After 2011 Nationals were discontinued by Wizards of the Coast when they restructured their Magic: The Gathering organized play program, abandoning national championships, and restructuring the World Championship. From 2012 to 2016 the title of National Champion was awarded to the player with the most Pro Points of any given country at the end of a Pro Tour season. At the end of 2018 Wizards of the Coast announced that in 2019 there would be no National Championships. As of April 2019 it is unclear whether Nationals are on hiatus or abandoned. The title National Champion will not be awarded in 2019.
In 2018, National Champions were determined in 74 nations and regions. In most cases these regions line up with countries, but special exemptions were made in some cases, for example Puerto Rico and the countries of the United Kingdom.
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Mode The current National Championship tournaments were held over one to three days, depending on the number of qualified players. The players are qualified in either of 4 ways: Players who have sufficient Planeswalker Points (threshold differs from nations to nations), being a leveled-player in Pro Players Club, being a member in Hall of Fame, or winning the last-chance qualifier tournament held at the eve of the Nationals (if any).
Nationals are multiformat tournaments, consisting of a Booster Draft portion and Standard portion. Usually, both portions were played over six or seven rounds each with the players being paired Swiss style. After the Swiss part of the tournament, the best eight players advanced to the single-elimination finals. The finalists of the single-elimination rounds will be representing their Nationals in World Magic Cup along with pro point leader in previous Pro Tour season (should pro point leader is also the National's finalist, the top 3 players of the event will become National representatives).
Prior to 2011 running, the best four players qualified for the World Championship with the best three constituting the National team at the World Championship. In countries with open-entry Nationals (which with smaller populations of Magic players), only the national champion qualified for the World Championship. These countries were not represented by a national team at the World Championship.
Winners Argentina 1997: Pablo Mántaras 1998: Douglas Maioli 1999: Douglas Maioli 2000: Andrés Moro 2001: Diego Ostrovich 2002: Diego Ostrovich 2003: Jose Barbero 2004: Mauro Kina 2005: Victor Villanueva 2006: Leonardo Calcagno 2007: Nicolás Kohan 2008: Adrián Saredo 2009: Alejo Zagalsky 2010: Franco Bonazza 2011: Nicolas De Nicola 2012: Nicolas De Nicola 2013: Andres Monsalve 2014: Demian Tejo 2015: Nicolas de Nicola 2016: Luis Salvato 2017: Pedro de Diego 2018: Bruno Lombardelli
Australia 1995: Nathan RussellMagic World Championships 1996: Joseph Tan 1997: Rod Ho 1998: Rod Ho 1999: Michael Doecke 2000: Stephen Campbell 2001: Rob Nadebaum 2002: Justin West 2003: Andrew Varga 2004: Tim He 2005: Chris Allen 2006: Tim He 2007: Steve Alpin 2008: Aaron Nicastri 2009: Jamie Mackintosh 2010: Adam Witton 2011: Aaron Nicoll 2012: Jeremy Neeman 2013: Justin Cheung 2014: Justin Cheung 2015: Paul Jackson 2016: David Mines
Austria 1995: Mu-Luen Wang 1996: Christian Peschta 1997: Christian Gregorich 1998: Christoph Derdak 1999: Philipp Cetl 2000: Helmut Summersberger 2001: Benedikt Klauser 2002: Stephan Genser 2003: Markus Jöbstl 2004: Simon Grünauer 2005: Nikolaus Eigner 2006: Benedikt Klauser 2007: Thomas Preyer 2008: Oliver Polak-Rottmann 2009: Bernhard Lehner 2010: Christian Gawrilowicz 2011: Stefan Heigerer 2012: Thomas Holzinger 2013: Thomas Holzinger 2014: Valentin Mackl 2015: Valentin Mackl 2016: Oliver Polak-Rottmann 2017: Elias Klocker 2018: Marc Mühlböck
Belarus 2005: Kirill Efimov 2006: Dzmitry Fedarovich 2007: Gleb Gobzem 2008: Dimitry Lipay 2009: Dimitry Lipay 2010: Yehor Polschak 2011: Yehor Polschak 2012: Alexander Arabyan 2013: Sergey Telipko 2014: Evgeniy Zakharenkov 2015: Aliaksei Auramionak 2016: Pavel Miadzvedski
Belgium 1995: Bart Van Uffelen 1996: David Van Dijck 1997: Nicolas Fournier 1998: Dominique Coene 1999: Dominique Coene 2000: Vincent Gieling 2001: Sinan Bolca 2002: Jan Doise 2003: Mats Clays 2004: Vincent Lemoine 2005: Gert Coeckelbergh 2006: Mark Dictus 2007: Fried Meulders 2008: Pascal Vieren 2009: Branco Neirynck 2010: Aurélien Dubuisson 2011: Vincent Lemoine 2012: Vincent Lemoine 2013: Vincent Lemoine 2014: Nicolas Vanderhallen 2015: Branco Neirynck 2016: Peter Vieren 2017: Kristof Van Holsbeeck 2018: Mark Dictus 2019: Jérôme Bastogne
Bolivia 2005: Juan Carlos Jaillita Zeballos 2006: Richard Villafranqui 2007: Antón Nava 2008: Rolando Flores 2009: Juan Carlos Vargas Carreras 2010: Alejandro Van Mourik 2011: Pietro Sanjinés Angelaccio 2012: Alejandro Van Mourik 2013: Juan Carlos Vargas Carreras 2014: Carlos Torrico 2015: David Sologuren
Brazil
1995: Fabiano de Castro 1996: Raul Assis 1997: José Ricardo 1998: Romário Brito 1999: Roberto Dantas 2000: Fabiano de Castro 2001: Marcos Tanaka 2002: Victor Galimbertti 2003: Rafael Barros 2004: Osvaldo Barbosa 2005: Pedro Henrique Uehara 2006: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2007: Lucas Berthoud 2008: Vagner Casatti 2009: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2010: Eduardo Mendes Lopes 2011: Marcus Camargo 2012: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa 2013: Willy Edel 2014: Willy Edel 2015: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
Bulgaria 2005: Martin Nosovich 2006: Hristo Tsekov 2007: Svetlin Varbanov 2008: 2009: Nikolay Bogdev 2010: Ivan Govedarov 2011: Kaloyan Kirilov 2012: Kaloyan Kirilov 2013: Dobrin Paskov 2014: Evgeni Kaymashki 2015: Hristiyan Ivanov
Canada 1995: Eric Tam 1996: Gary Krakower 1997: Gary Krakower 1998: Peter Radonjic 1999: Marc Rajotte 2000: Ryan Fuller 2001: Terry Tsang 2002: Jürgen Hahn 2003: Josh Rider 2004: Jingpeng Zhang 2005: Jason Olynyk 2006: Guillaume Cardin 2007: Andrew Ting-A-Kee 2008: Dan Lanthier 2009: Jasar S. Elarar 2010: Jasar S. Elarar 2011: Marc Anderson 2012: Alexander Hayne 2013: Jon Stern 2014: Shaun McLaren 2015: Shaun McLaren
Chile 1997: Juan Eduardo Escobar 1999: Andres Hojman 2000: Juan Reutter 2001: Sebastian Suter 2002: Juan Reutter 2003: Jose Luis Capdevila 2004: Waldemar Barrientos 2005: Jose Luis Capdevila 2006: Julio Bernabe 2007: Andres Camargo 2008: Brian Grady 2009: Christian A. Cespedes 2010: Francisco Rojas Sessarego 2011: David Kaliski 2012: 2013: 2014: 2015: Felipe Tapia Becerra 2019: Ariel Sandoval Castro
China 2000: Jia Wei 2001: 2002: 2003: Jie Li 2004: Zhang Shu-Nu 2005: Hui Zhang 2006: Wu Jia 2007: Yu Yin 2008: Yi Ding 2009: Liang Zhu 2010: Lu Chao 2011: Chen Zhuang 2012: Xin Sui 2013: Bo Li 2014: Han Bing Sham 2015: Sun Bo
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 2000: Chen Yu Weng 2001: 2002: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2003: Chih-Hsiang Chang 2004: Ming Da Tsia 2005: Homg Gi Tsai 2006: 2007: Yi-Jie Lin 2008: Ming Chee Wang 2009: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2010: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2011: Bo Ruad Chun 2012: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2013: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2014: Kuo Tzu-Ching 2015: Huang Hao-Shan
Colombia 2004: Nicolás Acosta 2005: Nicolás Acosta 2006: Jose Luis Gomez 2007: Juan Fernando Giraldo 2008: Carlos Amaya 2009: Daniel Parra 2010: Gustavo Adolfo Escobar Forero 2011: Daniel Moreno 2012: Daniel Moreno 2013: Daniel Moreno 2014: Daniel Cardozo 2015: Jairo Eduardo Giraldo Castañeda
Costa Rica 2005: Jose De la O 2006: Ricardo Madriz 2007: Alonso Arrieta 2008: Carlos Pal 2009: Miguel Gatica 2010: Miguel Gatica 2011: Ricardo Madriz 2012: Marino Donato 2013: Miguel Gatica 2014: Miguel Gatica 2015: Miguel Gatica 2016: Marino Donato 2017: Mauricio Agüero 2018: Jun Feng
Croatia 2002: Ivan Rubelj 2003: Ognjen Cividini 2004: Filip Čeč 2005: Ivan Klarić 2006: Lovro Gašparac 2007: Grgur Petric Maretić 2008: Stjepan Sučić 2009: Niko Bačić 2010: Toni Portolan 2011: Grgur Petric Maretic 2012: Grgur Petric Maretic 2013: Grgur Petric Maretic 2014: Vjeran Horvat 2015: Stjepan Sučić 2016: Vjeran Horvat 2017: Vladimir Ivanović
Cyprus 2011: Alexendre Bakhtiarov 2012: Daniel Antonoiu 2013: Daniel Antonoiu 2014: Daniel Antonoiu 2015: Daniel Antonoiu
Czech Republic 1996: David Korejtko 1997: Lukáš Ladra 1998: Michal Srba 1999: Ondřej Baudyš 2000: Ondřej Baudyš 2001: Petr Nahodil 2002: Vladimír Komanický 2003: Petr Nahodil 2004: Ondřej Baudyš 2005: Martin Jůza 2006: Martin Jůza 2007: Tomáš Langer 2008: Petr Brožek 2009: Jan Kotrla 2010: Petr Nahodil 2011: Pavel Bednařík 2012: Martin Jůza 2013: Stanislav Cifka 2014: Stanislav Cifka 2015: Ondrej Stráský 2018: Tomáš Hanousek
Denmark 1995: Jesper Thrane 1996: Svend Geertsen 1997: Thomas Dall Jensen 1998: Timme Nyegaard 1999: Palle Poulsen 2000: Anton Lunau 2001: Niels Sanders Jensen 2002: Jonas Cleeman 2003: Stefan Petersen 2004: Søren Boll 2005: Rasmus Sibast 2006: Rasmus Sibast 2007: Tim Rasmussen 2008: Janus Bossow 2009: Thomas Enevoldsen 2010: Martin Dang 2011: Allan Christensen 2012: Allan Christensen 2013: Thomas Enevoldsen 2014: Martin Müller 2015: Martin Dang
Dominican Republic 2005: Pedro Pappaterra 2006: Carlos Joan Castillo Ruiz 2007: Pedro Pappaterra 2008: Rudy Ivan Jimenez 2009: Etienne Martinez 2010: Omar Bonilla 2011: Felix Osvaldo Rodriguez Acosta 2012: Ronald Rodriguez 2013: Ronald Rodriguez 2014: Pedro Pappaterra 2015: Pedro Pappaterra 2016: Caupolican Lopez Yapor 2017: Caupolican Lopez
Ecuador 2005: Mario Castillo 2006: Rafael Matovelle 2007: Francisco Miranda 2008: Francisco Arcos 2009: Jose Intriago Suarez 2010: Mario Castillo 2011: Francisco Cedeño 2012: Francisco Cedeño 2013: Daniel López 2014: Daniel Verdesoto 2015: Javier Castro
El Salvador 2010: Ricardo Cabrero 2011: Enrique Javier Lemus Molina 2012: Juan Navarro 2013: Ricardo Cabrero 2014: Ricardo Cabrero 2015: Salvador Diaz
England English Nationals were discontinued after the 2006 Nationals with joint nationals with Scotland and Wales held since. However, in 2012 with the introduction of the World Magic Cup, England, Scotland and Wales once again have separate national champions. See Great Britain for national champions from 2007 to 2011.
2000: Ben Ronaldson 2001: Oliver Schneider 2002: Mark Waterhouse 2003: Atturi Björk 2004: John Ormerod 2005: Richard Moore 2006: Craig Stevenson 2012: Richard Bland 2013: Eduardo Sajgalik 2014: Fabrizio Anteri 2015: Fabrizio Anteri 2016: Eduardo Sajgalik 2017: Autumn Burchett 2018: Autumn Burchett
Estonia 2000: Tanel Lumiste 2001: Margus Liiber 2002: Risto Aaver 2003: Huko Aaspõllu 2004: 2005: Risto Aaver 2006: Erkki Sisask 2007: Aare Klooster 2008: Hannes Kerem 2009: Vahur-Peeter Liin 2010: Taavi Ludvi 2011: Taavi Ludvi 2012: Oliver Oks 2013: Hannes Kerem 2014: Hannes Kerem 2015: Hannes Kerem
Finland 1996: Tommi Hovi 1997: 1998: 1999: 2000: Lasse Larvanko 2001: Tomi Walamies 2002: Tomi Walamies 2003: Tomi Walamies 2004: Jussi Timonen 2005: Tuomo Nieminen 2006: Max Sjöblom 2007: Olli Hämäläinen 2008: Tero Niemi 2009: Mikko Airaksinen 2010: Jani Lindroos 2011: Markku Rikola 2012: Max Sjoblom 2013: Max Sjoblom 2014: Anssi Alkio 2015: Sami Tuomi
France 1994: Bertrand Lestrée 1995: Marc Hernandez 1996: Silvere Bonhomme 1997: Francois Fressin 1998: Fabien Demazeau 1999: Pierre Malherbaud 2000: Yann Hamon 2001: Pierre Malherbaud 2002: Sylvain Lauriol 2003: Stéphane Damizet 2004: Olivier Ruel 2005: Julien Goron 2006: Sylvain Lauriol