Brad Nelson

Brad Nelson is an American professional Magic player. He is the brother of Corey Baumeister, who is also a successful player at the professional stage.

Professional play
In 2010, he finished in the top eight of two Pro Tours, San Juan and Amsterdam, and became the 2010 Player of the Year after defeating Guillaume Matignon in the first-ever Player of the Year playoff match. This made him the first American player to win the Player of the Year title since Bob Maher won it in 2000. During the following years, Nelson experienced varying degrees of success; in 2011, he failed to make it to the top eight of any premier event, and Nelson briefly fell off the Gravy train the following year. He bounced back starting in 2013–14, however, and has since been among the more successful Pro Tour players, qualifying for the World Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and posting his third Pro Tour top eight at PT Shadows over Innistrad. In particular, Nelson has gained a reputation as a Standard specialist, both for his technical play and for his ability to react to subtle changes in the metagame; during coverage of Grand Prix Denver 2017, Ben Stark suggested that he is the best Standard player in the history of the game. In December 2018, it was announced that Nelson would be one of the 32 players joining the upcoming 2019 Magic Pro League. Finishing in the Top 20, he could continue in the 2020 Season.