After a remarkable year of Magic, including several Top 8 and Top 16 finishes in premiere-level events and a victory recently in the 2020 Season Grand Finals, Austin Bursavich has been invited to join the 2020-21 Magic Rivals League.
Bursavich’s path to success this year was no easy task and almost didn’t happen at all. Back in May, Bursavich was suspended by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) for failing to comply with an investigation into leaked organized play information.
After a grueling twenty days of radio silence from WotC, and reaching out to as many contacts as possible, Bursavich finally received word that they had concluded their investigation and that he would no longer be suspended from competitive play.
This was obviously a huge win for Bursavich and he would go on to dominate several big events in the months to follow. But despite having arguably the most impressive run of any player this year, the current Magic Organized Play structure left him out of the running for the MPL and Rivals Leagues.
As waves of support from Magic’s top players poured in however, WotC has finally acknowledged Bursavich’s success and extended the invitation for him to join the Rivals League.
Should Bursavich accept WotC’s invite, his Rivals League debut would be “tentatively scheduled for the November Zendikar Rising League Weekend, November 7 and 8.”
Despite the addition of Bursavich, the Rivals League will remain 48 players, as Magic bids farewell to Hall of Famer, Eric Froehlich.
One of the most recognizable names in Magic, Froehlich is also the spouse of a now fulltime employee of WotC, and is “…no longer eligible to compete in Magic Esports events.”
Read the original article from Wizards of the Coast.