| Season: | 1997–98 Pro Tour season |
| Ppoty: |  Jon Finkel |
| Roty: | Randy Buehler |
| Wc: | Brian Selden |
| Pts: | 5 |
| Gps: | 13 |
| Start: | 30 August 1997 |
| End: | 16 August 1998 |
| Prevseason: | 1996–97 |
| Nextseason: | 1998–99 |
The 1997–98 Pro Tour season was the third season of the . It began on 30 August 1997 with Grand Prix Toronto, and ended on 16 August 1998 with the conclusion of 1998 World Championship in Seattle. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix, and five Pro Tours, located in Chicago, Mainz, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. At the end of the season Jon Finkel from the United States was awarded the Pro Player of the Year title.
GP Toronto (30–31 August)GP Copenhagen (6–7 September)
Attending a Pro Tour for the first time, Randy Buehler defeated David Mills in the finals to win the inaugural Pro Tour of the 1997–98 season. Olle Råde's final eight appearance made him the first player to reach the Top 8 four times.[1]
Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 324
Format: Extended
| Place | Player | Prize | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Buehler | $25,000 | Pro Tour debut | |
| 2 | David Mills | $15,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 3 | Jon Finkel | $10,000 | ||
| 4 | Max Suver | $8,000 | ||
| 5 | Adrian Sayers | $6,500 | ||
| 6 | Justin Schneider | $5,500 | ||
| 7 | Kyle Rose | $4,800 | ||
| 8 |  Olle Råde | $4,300 | 4th Final day |
GP Como (8–9 November)
Eventual Pro Player of the year Paul McCabe won Pro Tour Dallas. The Canadian defeated Jason Zila from the US in the final. Olle Råde had his third Top 8 appearance while playing only his fourth Pro Tour.[1]
Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 291
Format: Rochester Draft (Tempest)
| Place | Player | Prize | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Place | $25,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 2 | Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz | $15,000 | ||
| 3 | Peer Kröger | $10,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 4 | Kurt Burgner | $8,000 | ||
| 5 | John Ormerod | $6,500 | 1st English in a Top 8 | |
| 6 | Chris Bishop | $5,500 | ||
| 7 | Mark Le Pine | $4,800 | ||
| 8 |  Gabriele Pisicchio | $4,300 | 1st Italian in a Top 8 |
Robert Swarowski
Ryan Fuller Steve Shears Brett Quorn Daniel Clegg Steve Aldrich Ernest Alexander Casey McCarrel
Raphaël Lévy
Kurt Foket Manuel Bevand Michaël Debard Emmanuel Beltrando Loïc Degrou Nicolas Lacorne Laurent Laclaverie Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz Michaël Debard Jérémie Lagarde Herve Drevillon
Christian Celades Omar Sagol Gabriele Pisicchio Marc Iglesias
Philip Davey Matt Goodall Lenny Collins Craig Sheppard Daniel Turner Adam Kemp Kevin Cheng Andrew Corney Jon Finkel Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz
Carlos Jeucken Adam Katz Leandro Buck Romario Tavora Britto Rodrigo Cesar Barbosa Julio Cesar ConceicaoDavid Price won Pro Tour Los Angeles. In the finals he defeated Ben Rubin, who thus made it to the second place at his first Pro Tour attendance.[1]
Prize pool: $151,635
Players: 342
Format: Block Constructed (Tempest)
| Place | Player | Prize | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Price | $25,000 | ||
| 2 | Ben Rubin | $15,000 | First Pro Tour Attendance | |
| 3 | David Bachmann | $10,000 | ||
| 4 | Adam Katz | $8,000 | ||
| 5 | Kyle Rose | $6,500 | 2nd Final day | |
| 6 |  Jakub Slemr | $5,500 | 2nd Final day | |
| 7 | Svend Geertsen | $4,800 | 2nd Final day | |
| 8 | Andrew Wolf | $4,300 |
Olle Råde
Tuomo Nieminen Johan Franzen
Jan Pieter Groenhof Manuel Bevand Viktor Forsman Ole Bergesen Sigurd EskelandIn an all-American Top 8 Jon Finkel won his first Pro Tour. Mark Justice reached his fourth and as yet last final eight.[1]
Prize pool: $151,635
Format: Booster Draft (Tempest-Stronghold)
| Place | Player | Prize | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Finkel | $25,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 2 | Dominic Crapuchettes | $15,000 | ||
| 3 | John Chinnock | $10,000 | 3rd Final day | |
| 4 | David Bachmann | $8,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 5 | Truc Bui | $6,500 | 2nd Final day | |
| 6 | Nate Clark | $5,500 | 2nd Final day | |
| 7 | Mark Justice | $4,800 | 4th Final day | |
| 8 | Casey McCarrel | $4,300 |
Randy Buehler Bob Coonce David Mills Derek Rank Patrick Callahan Ray Deguzman Nate Clark Chris Donahue Eric Jordan Koby Kennison Michael Chiumento Worth Wollpert Randy Buehler Michael Katz Darwin Kastle Lukas Ladra Brian Hacker Michael Sochon Randy Buehler Michaël Debard Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz Rudy Edwards Michaël Debard Jon FinkelBrian Selden defeated fellow American Ben Rubin to become the 1998 World Champion. He played a Control-Combo deck revolving around .[1] The Top 8 was one of the most star-studded final eights ever, with all players making at least one other Top 8 appearance, and four of them later becoming Hall of Famers.
The US national team, consisting of Matt Linde, Mike Long, Bryce Currence, and Jon Finkel won its third team title. Long thus won his third team title, too, as he had been precisely on those teams which had won the title.[1]
Players: 203
Format: Standard, Rochester Draft (Mirage-Visions-Weatherlight), ExtendedIndividual formats: Booster Draft (Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus), Standard, Tempest Block Constructed (Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus)
Team formats: 4-Person Team Sealed (4 5th Edition Starter + 4 5th Edition Booster) – Swiss; Constructed (2x Tempest Block Constructed + 2x Standard) – Finals
| Place | Player | Prize | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Selden | $34,000 | Pro Tour debut | |
| 2 | Ben Rubin | $22,000 | 2nd Final day | |
| 3 | Jon Finkel | $16,000 | 3rd Final day | |
| 4 | Raphaël Lévy | $13,000 | ||
| 5 | Scott Johns | $11,000 | 4th Final day | |
| 6 | Chris Pikula | $9,500 | 3rd Final day | |
| 7 | Brian Hacker | $8,250 | 2nd Final day | |
| 8 | Alan Comer | $7,250 | 2nd Final day |
United States (Matt Linde, Mike Long, Bryce Currence, Jon Finkel) France (Pierre Malherbaud, Manuel Bevand, Marc Hernandez, Fabien Demazeau)After the World Championship Jon Finkel was awarded the Pro Player of the year title.[2]
| Rank | Player | Pro Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Finkel | 87 | |
| 2 | Randy Buehler | 70 | |
| 3 | Steven O'Mahoney-Schwartz | 57 | |
| 4 | David Price | 55 | |
| 5 | Matt Place | 53 |