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Rob Dougherty - Hall of Fame

November 05, 2006

Class of: 2006
Hometown: Framingham, Massachusetts
Debut: Pro Tour-New York 1996
Career winnings: $123,502
Lifetime Pro Points: 226

  • Cornerstone and founder of Your Move Games
  • Five Pro Tour Top 8s, with a team win at D.C. 1999 with YMG's Darwin Kastle and Dave Humpherys
  • One of the game's top deck designers
  • Instrumental in New England Magic scene as player, store owner, and tournament organizer

Rob's induction covers all three players from Your Move Games, the winners of the first team Pro Tour in Washington, D.C. Rob has not only been playing the game since before the beginning of the Pro Tour, he has been nurturing and growing it as a store owner and tournament organizer. Somehow he still found the time to make five Pro Tour Top 8s, be one of the top Constructed deck designers in the game, and be part of one of the most dominating finishes in a Constructed Pro Tour ever by a single team.

Perhaps splitting votes with teammate Dave Humpherys from committee members who did not want to vote for all three YMG members on the same ballot, Rob found himself just missing the class in Year One. He was nervous but optimistic about his chances for this season, and will certainly be playing in Paris in addition to accepting his ring.

"I did very well in the voting last year, so I was hopeful... nervous, but hopeful," Rob said. "Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is such a great honor, I can't imagine not being there."

The tour has come a long way since that first stop in New York. Dougherty thought back on that process and the luck he had in making it into the field.

"They didn't have qualifiers for the first Pro Tour," he said. "You had to call Wizards on the phone and sign up. I dialed the phone and was lucky enough not to get a busy signal. I kid you not.

"I had done quite well in Nationals that year (my Constructed deck went undefeated) so I was relatively confident going into the first PT," Rob recalled of his high hopes for that tournament after a tantalizing but frustrating experience at Nationals.

"U.S. Nationals was the start of my long struggle with Limited formats," explained the Constructed guru. "The event had been advertised as entirely Constructed. I was armed with a metagame-crushing deck that got me through a meat grinder, but during the Nationals itself they took a show of hands vote on whether they should do half the rounds with this new Sealed Deck format (no, seriously, a show of hands vote). I did great in Constructed and okay in Sealed and just missed the cut to Top 8."

Your Move Games has been at times both a specific three-man team and a larger entity made up of great players who all made each other better. Rob struggled between those two incarnations when searching for his favorite Pro Tour moment. "God, that's a hard question. Making my first Top 8 was great, as was the Team YMG win in D.C., but the best has to be YMG's absolute dominance in Pro Tour-Houston.

"I've loved playing Magic since I first tried it way back in the 'Alpha' days. Being publicly recognized as one of the greatest players in the game's history is an incredibly gratifying honor," Rob prefaced before thanking the players who helped him achieve that honor. "Darwin, Dave, Justin, Zvi, Alex and the rest of team Your Move Games. Practicing with them gave me the skills to excel on the Pro Tour and their company and camaraderie made it fun."

Career Statistics

By Format

Format W L D BYE Matches Win %
Limited 151 116 22 43 332 52.25%
Constructed 226 150 32 49 457 55.39%
Total 377 266 54 92 789 54.09%


By Event Type

Event W L D BYE Matches Win %
Worlds 51 34 5 0 90 56.67%
Pro Tour 135 88 17 1 241 56.25%
Nationals 44 43 4 2 84 53.66%
Grand Prix 142 102 28 89 361 52.21%
Masters Series 5 8 0 0 13 38.46%
Total 377 266 54 92 789 54.09%


By Event

Event Date Finish W L D BYE Matches Win %
Pro Tour-1 2/16/1996 65 2 3 0 0
Pro Tour-II (Masters) 5/3/1996 65 2 3 0 0
1995-96 Season 4 6 0 0 10 40.00%
Pro Tour-Dallas 11/23/1996 17 6 2 1 0
Pro Tour-Los Angeles 2/28/1997 103 1 2 2 0
Pro Tour-Paris 4/11/1997 190 1 3 0 0
Pro Tour-New York 5/30/1997 192 2 3 0 0
1996-97 Season 10 10 3 0 23 43.48%
Grand Prix-Toronto 8/30/1997 n/a 3 2 0 0
Grand Prix-Indianapolis 6/27/1998 83 3 2 0 2
1997-98 Season 6 4 0 2 12 60.00%
Grand Prix-Boston 9/5/1998 n/a 2 2 1 2
Grand Prix-Texas 10/11/1998 95 6 3 2 2
Grand Prix-Kansas City 3/27/1999 n/a 2 2 1 0
Pro Tour-New York 4/30/1999 5 10 2 3 0
Grand Prix-Washington D.C. 6/18/1999 9 9 2 1 1
1999 U.S. Nationals 7/3/1999 43 6 4 0 0
1999 World Championships 8/13/1999 111 9 9 0 0
1998-99 Season 44 24 8 5 81 57.89%
Pro Tour-Washington D.C. (Team) 9/3/1999 1
Pro Tour-London 10/15/1999 139 3 3 1 0
Grand Prix-San Diego 11/20/1999 21 6 4 0 3
Pro Tour-Chicago 12/3/1999 264 2 3 0 0
Grand Prix-Seattle 1/15/2000 11 7 3 0 3
Pro Tour-Los Angeles 2/4/2000 143 3 2 2 0
Grand Prix-Philadelphia 2/19/2000 11 7 3 1 3
Grand Prix-Frankfurt (Team) 4/7/2000 n/a
Pro Tour-New York 4/14/2000 163 3 4 0 0
Grand Prix-St Louis (Team) 5/13/2000 3
2000 U.S. Nationals 6/10/2000 57 5 4 2 0
Grand Prix-Pittsburgh (Team) 6/24/2000 4
2000 World Championships 8/4/2000 64 10 7 1 0
1999-2000 Season 46 33 7 9 95 53.49%
Pro Tour-New York (Team) 9/28/2000 11
Masters-New York 9/28/2000 13 1 1 0 0
Grand Prix-Manchester 10/7/2000 46 4 5 1 3
Grand Prix-Dallas 10/28/2000 99 1 2 1 3
Grand Prix-Phoenix 11/11/2000 13 6 2 2 3
Grand Prix-Sydney 11/18/2000 82 1 3 0 3
Pro Tour-Chicago 12/1/2000 4 11 3 2 0
Grand Prix-New Orleans 1/6/2001 218 0 3 0 3
Grand Prix-Amsterdam 1/13/2001 15 7 3 1 3
Pro Tour-Los Angeles 2/2/2001 15 10 4 0 0
Grand Prix-Valencia 2/10/2001 195 0 2 1 3
Pro Tour-Tokyo 3/16/2001 138 3 4 0 0
Grand Prix-Detroit 3/31/2001 56 5 6 0 3
Masters-Barcelona 5/3/2001 15 1 1 0 0
Pro Tour-Barcelona 5/4/2001 63 8 5 1 0
Grand Prix-Yokohama (Team) 5/12/2001 14
2001 U.S. Nationals 6/2/2001 64 6 5 0 0
Grand Prix-Columbus (Team) 7/28/2001 1
2001 World Championships 8/10/2001 34 11 6 1 0
2000-01 Season 75 55 10 24 164 53.57%
Grand Prix-Denver 8/18/2001 127 1 3 0 3
Pro Tour-New York (Team) 9/7/2001 125
Grand Prix-Minneapolis 9/29/2001 36 5 4 1 3
Grand Prix-Montreal 10/13/2001 19 6 3 1 3
Masters-New Orleans 11/1/2001 18 0 1 0 0
Pro Tour-New Orleans 11/2/2001 13 10 4 0 0
Grand Prix-Atlanta 11/17/2001 32 5 4 1 3
Grand Prix-Las Vegas 12/8/2001 6 7 1 3 3
Grand Prix-Houston 1/5/2002 95 1 3 0 3
Masters-San Diego 1/10/2002 6 2 1 0 0
Pro Tour-San Diego 1/11/2002 40 9 5 0 0
Grand Prix-Tampa 2/23/2002 40 5 4 1 3
Pro Tour-Osaka 3/15/2002 3 12 3 1 0
Masters-Nice 5/3/2002 32 0 1 0 0
Pro Tour-Nice 5/3/2002 244 2 3 0 0
Grand Prix-Milwaukee 5/11/2002 32 6 4 1 3
2002 U.S. Nationals 6/1/2002 105 5 6 1 0
Grand Prix-New Jersey (Team) 6/29/2002 6
2002 World Championships 8/16/2002 33 11 6 1 0
2001-02 Season 87 56 11 24 178 56.49%
Grand Prix-London 8/31/2002 58 4 1 2 3
Grand Prix-Cleveland 9/7/2002 8 8 4 0 3
Pro Tour-Boston (Team) 9/27/2002 84
Pro Tour-Houston 11/8/2002 2 12 2 3 0
Masters-Houston 11/10/2002 31 0 1 0 0
Grand Prix-New Orleans 1/4/2003 77 2 2 1 3
Masters-Chicago 1/17/2003 30 0 1 0 0
Pro Tour-Chicago 1/17/2003 319 0 4 0 1
Pro Tour-Venice 3/21/2003 113 4 3 0 0
Pro Tour-Yokohama 5/9/2003 124 3 3 1 0
Masters-Yokohama 5/11/2003 13 1 1 0 0
Grand Prix-Pittsburgh (Team) 5/31/2003 78
2003 US Nationals 6/29/2003 33 7 4 0 1
2003 World Championships 8/8/2003 67 10 6 2 0
2002-03 Season 51 32 9 11 103 55.43%
Grand Prix-Atlanta 8/30/2003 117 2 3 0 3
Pro Tour-Boston (Team) 9/12/2003 54
Grand Prix-Kansas City 10/18/2003 13 7 3 1 3
Pro Tour-New Orleans 10/31/2003 70 9 7 0 0
Grand Prix-Anaheim 12/13/2003 34 6 5 0 3
Grand Prix-Columbus 3/27/2004 115 4 4 3 3
2004 US Nationals 6/19/2004 37 8 5 1 0
Pro Tour-Seattle (Team) 7/9/2004 52
2003-04 Season 36 27 5 12 80 52.94%
Pro Tour-Columbus 10/29/2004 169 3 4 0 0
2005 US Nationals 8/11/2005 49 7 6 0 1
2005 Season 10 10 0 1 21 50.00%
Grand Prix-Charlotte 12/17/2005 246 0 3 0 3
Grand Prix-Richmond 2/5/2006 95 4 2 1 1
Pro Tour-Honolulu 3/3/2006 88 4 4 0 0
2006 Season 8 9 1 4 22 44.44%


Career Highlights

  • In addition to being a top player, Rob is a store owner and tournament organizer or Your Move Games.
  • Rob made his Pro Tour debut at the first Pro Tour–New York.
  • His first notable finish was in Dallas 1997 when he placed 17th.
  • After a couple more Pro Tours, Rob disappeared from the Pro Tour scene as a player for several seasons.
  • He returned with a vengeance for Pro Tour–New York 1999 when he finished 5th with the deck known as Utility Belt.
  • Dave Humpherys also finished in the Top 8 of that event with Rob's deck. It was the first inkling that Rob might be in elite deck design territory.
  • Rob won Pro Tour–Washington D.C. with a team bearing the name of his store. All three members of that team are now enshrined in the Pro Tour Hall of Fame.
  • Rob Dougherty's third Sunday appearance was in Chicago 2000 and included Kai Budde, Jon Finkel, Mike Pustilnik, Brian Kibler, Zvi Mowshowitz, and Kamiel Cornelissen – a Top 8 that could put half its members through to the Hall by the third class.
  • Osaka was up next for Dougherty. Rob's Mono-Black Control deck with Stalking Bloodsuckers was the number one deck after the Swiss and landed Rob in third place overall.
  • Rob's fifth and final Top 8 was the crowning achievement of the Your Move Games empire with three different players at Pro Tour–Houston playing three different decks finishing first, second, and third. Rob was second overall.
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