This weekend’s Grand Prix Austin marks the start of the Players Tour Series 2 qualification, as well as earning Player Points.
In an attempt to clarify how Player Points are earned, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released a statement late Thursday night, just hours before the start of MagicFest Austin, detailing the process.
The first two Grand Prix events players participate in per each Players Tour series cycle will contribute toward the total Player Points earned when calculating rankings.
Rather than looking at the full range of Grand Prix events, the new system will now only count the finishes from the first two events a player participates in.
Subsequent Grand Prix events during that Players Tour series cycle will not contribute toward total Player Points earned when calculating rankings.
After a player participates in two Grand Prix events in the same series, playing in any additional events from that series will not count towards Player Point total, even if the finish in the latter event is higher.
Despite attempting clarity, the announcement has since only sparked confusion and frustration among many prominent Magic: The Gathering Pros, former Pros, and Grand Prix Grinders.
Another important detail, nearly hidden at the bottom of the announcement, is the window for exempting Player Points earned from a specific event.
If a player competing in a Grand Prix event would like any Player Points earned to be exempted and to not be used for calculating season ranking, they must notify us prior to the beginning of Round 1 of that Grand Prix via email to [email protected]. This will permit that player to earn Player Points from a future Grand Prix event within the same Players Tour series cycle instead.
Rather than completing an event and requesting a poor finish to not be counted, players must request to be exempted prior to the event.
While this process does allow players to back out of an event prior to Round 1 and still be able to earn points in subsequent Grand Prix events, it places a new set of pressures on players and is seemingly beneficial only in very specific situations.
Despite immediate backlash from the Magic community, WotC has yet to comment on the situation and it is currently unknown whether they intend to make changes to the current Player Points system.
Grand Prix Austin is the first event awarding Player Points in Series 1 and takes place this weekend (January 11-12).
Read the original article from Wizards of the Coast.