Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has announced a series of updates, changes, and a schedule of events for Magic Esports in 2020.
MTG Arena
Mythic Invitationals in 2020 will host 128 players, competing across 4 days with a prize pool of $750,000. The Schedule for quarter one Mythic Invitationals is as follows:
- May 14-17: Mythic Invitational – Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
- July 23-26: Mythic Invitational – Core 2021
- October 22-25: Mythic Invitational – Zendikar Rising
Wotc plans to provide another update containing information on event formats, locations, tournament structure and prize breakdown in early 2020.
Mythic Qualifiers
The first set of Mythic Qualifiers in 2020 will be Best-of-Three and Standard format. The schedule for the first four events are as follows:
- January 11: Ikoria Mythic Qualifier #1
- March 14: Ikoria Mythic Qualifier #2
- May 23: Core 2021 Mythic Qualifier #1
- June 20: Core 2021 Mythic Qualifier #2
A big change being introduced for the first quarter of 2020, is Mythic Qualifiers shifting from two-day qualifiers to one-day qualifiers.
This change comes after WotC “…dug into play rates, player behavior, and competitor feedback” from 2019 Mythic Qualifiers and identified that two-day Qualifiers are “a huge time commitment and friction point for players”.
WotC has made it clear that they intend to make the competitive environment on MTG Arena as convenient for players as possible, with the goal of “increasing participation rates”.
Those participating in Mythic Qualifiers will have a “two-hour window to join the event and can play in best-of-three Standard with a deck they select for the event until they either achieve 10 wins or 2 losses,” with any player who reaches 10 wins qualifying for the Mythic Invitational. Players will also receive 200 gems for each match win as an additional reward.
Mythic Points
Players who place within the Top 1200 Mythic Ranking at the end of each ranked season will qualify for a Mythic Points Challenge – an event that will “mirror the structure of Mythic Qualifiers, except players compete until they achieve 10 wins or 3 losses.”
These challenges will similarly reward gems based on match wins, with players also accruing Mythic Points beginning with their fifth win.
At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2020, the top eight Mythic Point earners “will receive an invitation to compete in the first Mythic Invitational.”
Additionally, WotC intends to grant the Top 200 Mythic Point earners “the ability to compete in all Mythic Qualifiers and Mythic Point Challenges in Q2 of 2020 regardless of ranking from those prior months’ ranked seasons.”
WotC currently plans to monitor the new system and intends to release more information about Magic Esports events past the first quarter in early 2020.
Read the original article from Wizards of the Coast.