Pro Player of the Year | Olle Råde | ||
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Rookie of the Year | none awarded | ||
World Champion | Tom Chanpheng | ||
Pro Tours | 4 | ||
Start of season | 17 February 1996 | ||
End of season | 18 August 1996 | ||
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The 1996 Pro Tour season was the first season of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. At the end of 1995 Wizards of the Coast had announced the introduction of a tournament series featuring big cash prizes. Originally coined the "Black Lotus Pro Tour" the tournaments were simply called "Pro Tours" and the name was thus changed quickly. The first Pro Tour, held in New York in February 1996, was won by the American Michael Loconto. Los Angeles and Ohio were the other Pro Tours in the inaugural season along with the 1996 World Championships in Seattle. At the end of the season Olle Råde was proclaimed the first Pro Tour Player of the Year.