Forty-eight players from 24 countries faced off in the 2004 Catan World Championship in Essen, Germany. When the smoke cleared it was Francesco Ferrari from Italy who took the top spot.

Claus Sorensen of Denmark took second place, Katsumi Takahashi of Japan took third, and Colin McKenna of Scotland, who defeated last year's World Champion, Michel Hirschfeld of Germany, took fourth place.

As the 2004 World Champion, Francesco Ferrari earns a guaranteed spot in next year's competition and is automatically placed as a semi-finalist without having to compete in any of the elimination rounds.

The Catan World Championship brings together the top two players from each participating country. The finalists converge on the host city for the two-day competition.

Watch for upcoming news on the 2005 Catan World Championships right here on Catan Online!

2004 Catan World Champion Francesco Ferrari of Italy

Thanks to Guido Teuber for contributing to this article.