Overview

Magic: The Gathering 2023 World Championship XXIX will take place in Las Vegas, USA at MagicCon: Las Vegas on September 22-24, 2023.

The formats for 2023 World Championship XXIX are Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft and Standard Constructed.

Official hashtag: #WCXXIX

Location

MagicCon Las Vegas
Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
United States of America

Invited Competitors

2023 World Championship XXIX is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations to 2023 World Championship XXIX are awarded as follows:

• The Top 4 finishers at Magic World Championship XXVIII.
• Competitors that finished with 36 or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or the top eight (8) finishing competitors (whichever is greater) in each Pro Tour in the 2022-2023 Season.
• The top two (2) finishers from each Regional Championship from the United States, Europe, and Japan regions in the 2022-2023 season
• The top finisher from each Regional Championship from all other regions in the 2022-2023 season
• The top two (2) finishers from each Arena Championship designated to award invitations to World Championship XXIX.
• The top two (2) finishers from each Magic Online Champions Showcase designated to award invitations to World Championship XXIX.
• The top 32 ranked competitors that are not already invited to World Championship XXIX in the Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Adjusted Match Point standing and all players tied with 32^nd place in that standing
• Competitors that are otherwise invited to 2023 World Championship XXIX.

The 2023 World Championship XXIX invitation list is available online. If you believe you are an invited competitor but are not on the invitation list, please email PremierPlay@wizards.com

Competitor Information

Decklists

Standard decklists will be due in MTGMelee on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 12:00 PM (Las Vegas local time). To see the equivalent time where you are located, click here.

During the Standard rounds, opponents' decklists will be available for viewing on MTGMelee on your mobile device. Competitors can only access the decklists of other players prior to the start of a game or in between games. Competitors cannot reference decklists during games.

During the Booster Draft rounds, only competitors from the featured draft table will have access to their opponent's decklist. These will be a paper checklist.

Hall Hours

The estimated hours of operation for 2023 World Championship XXIX are:

• Friday & Saturday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
• Sunday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM

Note: The opening times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are for World Championship competitors ONLY. The public will be able to enter the World Championship section of MagicCon only when the show opens each day.

Registration

In-person registration takes place from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at a location to be determined (details will be provided to players at a later date). If you are unable to attend this registration session on Thursday, late registration will be available Friday morning from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM.

Even though competitors will have registered for the tournament on MTGMelee prior to Thursday, competitors must still register on-site to confirm they are in Las Vegas, undergo an ID check, and receive their complementary Pro Tour gifts.

For in-person registration, all competitors must present one of the following forms of identification:

• a driver's license; or
• a passport; or
• a copy of a birth certification and photo ID (school IDs are acceptable)

Tournament Information

The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and Infraction & Penalty Guide are in effect for this tournament unless specifically overruled by information in this section.

Structure (Swiss Rounds)

• Friday: 3 rounds of Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft, followed by 4 rounds of Standard Constructed.
• Saturday: 3 rounds of Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft, followed by 4 rounds of Standard Constructed.
• 14 Swiss Rounds total, 50 minutes per round.
• All competitors may participate in all 7 Swiss rounds of Friday's competition.
• Competitors with twelve (12) or more match points after Round 7 will advance to Saturday's portion of the competition.
• Whenever a competitor reaches ten (10) match wins before round 14, they immediately advance to the Top 8 playoff and are removed from future pairings in Swiss rounds.
• Competitors in the Top 8 playoff are seeded in order from 1st through 8th. Seeding is determined by:
  • The round in which a competitor received their 10th win.
  • Their OMW%, GW%, and OGW% as of the round in which they receive their 10th match win.
  • Seeding for the Top 8 playoff is locked after each round in which a competitor reaches their 10th win.
• The top 8 competitors after Round 14 will advance to Sunday's single-elimination playoff rounds.

Structure (Playoff Rounds)

• Playoff rounds will use a traditional, single-elimination bracket.
• Playoff rounds will run in the Standard Constructed format.
• All playoff matches will be best 3 out of 5. The first two games played in each playoff match are pre-sideboard games. After Game 2 is complete, competitors may exchange cards from their deck for cards in their sideboard.
• Standings after the Swiss rounds will be used to determine final order in the standings for losing competitors in the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff rounds.
• While there are no time limits in the playoff rounds, competitors are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 90 minutes.
• For the first game of each match in the playoff rounds, the competitor that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each playoff match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

Schedule

Other Items

• Rules Enforcement Level: Professional
• Competitors must use the same Standard deck for Day 1, Day 2, and the Top 8 playoff
• Competitors are responsible for knowing all tournament rules
• Competitors are responsible for bringing their own appropriate counters and tokens

Prizes

Competitors that finish in the Top 8 will receive invitations to each Pro Tour and the World Championship in the 2023-2024 Season.

There is a $1,000,000 prize pool, which is awarded to competitors based on their final standing in the tournament. All prizes are displayed in U.S Dollars. Prizes are subject to change.

First place will receive $100,000. All competitors will receive $4000 regardless of the final placing.

**Assumes 104 players