At the Game Awards today, Wizards of the Coast announced a massive push into Magic the Gathering esports.
The announcement revealed that there will be a total of $10 million up for grabs globally, split between traditional, tabletop Magic and Magic the Gathering Arena. The announcement also included a shake-up of the tournament structure and the creation of the Magic Pro League.
The first MTG Arena esports tournament the$1 Million Mythic Invitational will take place at PAX East 2019 in Boston,
Magic esports
Chris Cocks, President of Wizards of the Coast called the announcement of the Magic esports program ” an extremely important day for Magic The Gathering.”
We announce our commitment to esports and our Magic players by introducing a new tournament structure with a $10 Million prize pool.
We have worked diligently to create a program that will establish Magic as a major player in esports, particularly with Magic The Gathering Arena in the collectable card game category.
With over 35 million Magic players, across 70 countries, the Magic esports program is designed to be an open platform for all players. The number of Magic the Gathering players is sure to grow with the release of Magic the Gathering Arena’s open beta.
Magic esports will take place across 10 tournaments with $5 million for tabletop and $5 million for digital.
Mythic Championships
The 10 tournaments are called Mythic Championships and will be run alongside special partner events. Additionally, the Magic Pro League will feature the top 32 players in the world. Pro League members will receive automatic entry into each Mythic Championships and pro contracts.
These pro contracts are worth $75,000 and include both streaming and playing. Magic Pro League players will take part in weekly competitions in Magic the Gathering Arena that lead up to each of the Mythic Championships.
Players outside of the Pro League will be able to qualify for each Mythic Championship. The Championships will see Magic Pro League players facing off against the best of the community.
Additional details about how players can climb the ranks and the announcement of the pros will be released in 2019.
Esports’ Magical Future
According to Elaine Chase, Vice President of Esports at Wizards of the Coast;
Magic Esports will catapult the game to new heights while providing support to the players by giving them the platform to build their brand and bring Magic to a broader audience
This announcement is huge news for Magic and the community as it brings a renewed focus on the game and allows players to compete for huge prizes and glory.
It’ll be exciting to see how the new tournament structure works and to see how players react to the prize money and potential to be signed by the Magic Pro League.
We’ll bring you more news as we have it.
Magic the Gathering Arena is now in open beta and you can download it here. More info on Magic esports can be found here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlsm4BZtgIc
