Wizards of the Coast announced today, a new program for Magic Online that will incorporate both the Players Tour system and Magic Online Championship Series (MOCS).
Under the new system, competitive Seasons will be approximately seventeen weeks and will “culminate in an in-person Champions Showcase with a prize pool of $70,000 and a Players Tour Finals invitation.”
The ways in which players can earn Qualification Points (QPs) will also be changing; aiming to allow players more flexibility without compromising the structural integrity of existing events.
MTGO players can now earn Qualification Points through the following events:
Leagues (and Queues)
Leagues and Queues will “reward sustained success” while continuing to support more niche formats and are great for “allowing players to play on their own schedules.”
Preliminary Events
Preliminary events allow players to accumulate QPs over time, and will support Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Limited formats.
Format Challenges
Format Challenges are “where players can really demonstrate their mastery of a format” and will award enough QP for both first and second place finishers to enter Premier Play events.
Players Tour Qualifiers (PTQ) and Champions Showcase
Wizards currently plans to host approximately 25 PTQs per season with the winner of each event earning and invite to the regional Players Tour.
Players will also have several new ways of qualifying for the Champions Showcase:
- Showcase Challenges
- Showcase Last-Chance Events
- Showcase Qualifiers
- Showcase Opens
At the end of each season, eight players will participate in the Champions Showcase. These eight players are selected from the following criteria:
- The five (5) winners of each of the Constructed Showcase Qualifiers.
- The winner of the Limited Showcase Qualifier
- The two (2) winners of each of the Showcase Opens
With these changes, Wizards hopes to cut down on the complexity and “create a more focused experience.”
The first events under the new Premier Play Program are slated to begin December 10, and “all events distributing the old QPs will be updated the Wednesday after the final MOCS Preliminary.”
Read the original article from Wizards of the Coast.