Japan wins 2017 Magic: The Gathering World Cup

Japan has beaten Poland to take home this year’s World Magic Cup for Magic: The Gathering.

The team made up of Kenta Harane, Yuuya Watanabe and Shota Yasooka came out on top with a 2-1 win over the European side in the finals for the major yearly competition held this year in Nice, France.

The competitors consisted of 73 teams of three players who had previously reached the finals of the national tournaments held in their respective countries.

Joining Poland and Japan in the top eight rankings this year were China, Italy, Poland, Wales, Slovakia and Germany, making it a particularly strong showing for Europe with three-quarters of the top sides.

The highest-placed home nation was Wales, who lost to Poland 2-1 in the day three quarterfinals, ultimately placing fifth and walking away with $4,000. Japan took the lion’s share of the prize pool with the $15,000 grand prize.

All of the home nations except Northern Ireland – that's England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales – made it to the second day of the World Cup, with Scotland becoming the only team in the history of the World Magic Cup to always make it to the second half of the competition.

Scotland and Wales were also two of the three winners of Spirit Awards, awarded to the sides “that most creatively show their national pride”. Scotland went for Braveheart-esque face paint and kilts, while Wales opted for Welsh dragon onesies.

The overall top eight rankings were:

1. Japan
2. Poland
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Wales
6. Austria
7. China
8. Slovakia

You can see the full breakdown of each match’s results and the teams’ decklists over on the Magic website. There are also a couple of short videos chatting with the English and Scottish sides, as well as other teams from throughout the international competition.