The sprint to the 2020-21 postseason continues for league competitors at the April Strixhaven League Weekend. Both the Magic Pro League and Magic Rivals League face off in intraleague competition in the fifth League Weekend of the year.
With all 70 players of the MPL and Rivals League streaming live and playing online through MTG Arena, everyone can follow their favorites battling for $400,000 in season prizes and postseason playoff spots.
How Can I Follow the Event?
The April Strixhaven League Weekend will be streamed live April 10 and 11 on twitch.tv/magic, beginning at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. ET/3 p.m. UTC) each day. With Swiss pools and each match determining which players will stay safe—or fall to relegation—there's no guarantee for feature matches.
Only the best showdowns and biggest victories await viewers all weekend long.
Be sure to check out our overview of the Strixhaven League Weekends for the details on Swiss pools and how players can lock in a Magic World Championship invitation—or end with relegation—each weekend.
Swiss pools are based on standings, which means we know the pools starting on Saturday morning—including those in prime position to earn an invite to Magic World Championship XXVI.
| MPL Swiss Pool 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pod A | Pod B | Pod C | |||
| Standings | Player | Standings | Player | Standings | Player |
| 1 | Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa | 9 | Seth Manfield | 17 | Shota Yasooka |
| 2 | Gabriel Nassif | 10 | Javier Dominguez | 18 | Brian Braun-Duin |
| 3 | Ondřej Stráský | 11 | Autumn Burchett | 19 | Andrew Cuneo |
| 4 | Brad Nelson | 12 | Jean-Emmanuel Depraz | 20 | Lee Shi Tian |
| 5 | Márcio Carvalho | 13 | William Jensen | 21 | Chris Kvartek |
| 6 | Reid Duke | 14 | Martin Jůza | 22 | Piotr Głogowski |
| 7 | Andrea Mengucci | 15 | Shahar Shenhar | 23 | Raphaël Lévy |
| 8 | Rei Sato | 16 | Ken Yukuhiro | 24 | Carlos Romão |
With Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa holding a narrow one-point lead over both Gabriel Nassif and Ondřej Stráský, and just one or two more over both Brad Nelson and Márcio Carvalho, "Who earns a World Championship slot?" is a question left wide open at the top of the MPL. With Hall of Famers and all-stars that close, any one of these players can have a hot weekend to claim their ticket.
If reigning World Champion Damo da Rosa finishes the weekend at the top of the standings, the invitation will be added to the slots awarded to top-finishing players at the MPL Gauntlet—an outcome that's definitely possible for the Elite Spellbinder himself.
| Rivals League Swiss Pool 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pod A | Pod B | Pod C | |||
| Standings | Player | Standings | Player | Standings | Player |
| 1 | Matt Sperling | 9 | Bernardo Santos | 17 | Thoralf Severin |
| 2 | Eli Kassis | 10 | Yuta Takahashi | 18 | Kenji Egashira |
| 3 | Stanislav Cifka | 11 | Austin Bursavich | 19 | Jacob Wilson |
| 4 | Luca Magni | 12 | Chris Botelho | 20 | Alexander Hayne |
| 5 | Christian Hauck | 13 | Luis Scott-Vargas | 21 | Miguel Da Cruz Simões |
| 6 | Riku Kumagai | 14 | Ivan Floch | 22 | Grzegorz Kowalski |
| 7 | Zachary Kiihne | 15 | Luis Salvatto | 23 | Shintaro Ishimura |
| 8 | Corey Burkhart | 16 | Mike Sigrist | 24 | Simon Görtzen |
| Rivals League Swiss Pool 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pod D | Pod E | Pod F | |||
| Standings | Player | Standings | Player | Standings | Player |
| 25 | Yoshihiko Ikawa | 33 | Greg Orange | 41 | Matias Leveratto |
| 26 | Théo Moutier | 34 | Kai Budde | 42 | Sebastián Pozzo |
| 27 | Lucas Esper | 35 | Matthieu Avignon | 43 | John Rolf |
| 28 | Jakub Tóth | 36 | Ryuzo Fujie | 44 | Beatriz Grancha |
| 29 | Frederico Bastos | 37 | Ben Stark | 45 | Ally Warfield |
| 30 | Louis-Samuel Deltour | 38 | Matt Nass | 46 | Joel Larsson |
| 31 | Eli Loveman | 39 | Brent Vos | ||
| 32 | Kenta Harane | 40 | Ma Noah | ||
Just three points separate the top seven players that start in Pod A on Saturday morning. Matt Sperling, Eli Kassis, and Stanislav Cifka have been Rivals League leaders throughout the season, but MTG Arena all-star Luca "LordofIronforge" Magni's outstanding performance wrapping the Kaldheim Split put him into contention. Riku Kumagai is hot off his Top 8 finish at the Kaldheim Championship on top of a strong showing during the Kaldheim Split as well.
It sets up a murderer's row of players all ready to claim a coveted promotion to the MPL next season along with a World Championship slot.
In addition to feature matches at twitch.tv/magic, competitors will be sharing each of their matches on their personal streams throughout Saturday and Sunday. With 70 competitors and Swiss pools setting up new battles each day, the excitement will be nonstop all weekend.
Decklists will be published on Magic.gg Saturday, April 10 shortly before the start of the League Weekend. You'll also find exclusive content by following @MagicEsports on Twitter and the hashtag #MTGLeagueWeekend.
Standings will be provided throughout the broadcast and shared by @MagicEsports on Twitter at the end of the League Weekend. Official standings and League Weekend match results, as well as a recap from across the league, will be updated Monday, April 12 on Magic.gg.
When Will League Weekend Decklists Be Published?
Decklists are available now! Check out the League Weekend hub for all the details.
Will There Be Open Decklists Between Players?
Decklists are open, and players will be able to review their opponent's Constructed decklists anytime throughout the League Weekend.
Who Are the Casters?
- Riley Knight - Play-by-Play
- Corey Baumeister - Expert
- Haiyue Yu - Play-by-Play
- Mani Davoudi - Expert
- Tim Willoughby - Host
Who Is Playing?
70 players are competing in each league weekend, featuring the 24 players of the Magic Pro League and 46 players of the Magic Rivals League. With the Strixhaven Split, everyone plays in head-to-head Swiss pools within their league based on standings.
Learn more about Strixhaven League Weekends and the final stretch to the postseason.
How Much Money Is on The Line?
There's a $400,000 prize pool divided across three splits—Zendikar Rising Split, Kaldheim Split, and Strixhaven Split—with $50,000 each for the MPL and Rivals League, as well as an end-of-season bonus $50,000 for each league. Competitor league standings at the end of each split determine prizes.
Here's how it breaks down by league:
| MPL Standing | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | $3,500 |
| 5-12 | $2,500 |
| 13-20 | $1,500 |
| 21-24 | $1,000 |
| Total | $50,000 |
| Rivals Standing | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | $2,250 |
| 5-12 | $1,500 |
| 13-24 | $1,250 |
| 25-36 | $750 |
| 37-44 | $500 |
| 45-46 | $250 |
| Total | $49,500 |
The April Strixhaven League Weekend is the first of three League Weekends in the Strixhaven Split, which includes the Strixhaven Championship taking place June 4–6.
| Dates | Event | Format |
|---|---|---|
| April 10–11, 2021 | April Strixhaven League Weekend | Standard and Historic |
| May 15–16, 2021 | May Strixhaven League Weekend | Standard and Historic |
| June 4–6, 2021 | Strixhaven Championship | Standard and Historic |
| July 3–4, 2021 | July Strixhaven League Weekend | Standard and Historic |
What Is the Format?
The April Strixhaven League Weekend will feature both Standard and Historic Constructed formats.
- Matches are Traditional Standard or Historic Constructed—best of three games—including sideboards.
- Players will have 30-minute timers in MTG Arena to complete up to three games in each match.
- Each round has 60 minutes in total to finish.
Each player will play 3 matches of Swiss pairings within their pod for each of four sets of Swiss pools. Swiss pools group eight players based on standings—beginning with the top eight players by standings, then the next eight and so on—and be placed into new pools after rounds 3, 6, and 9.
- Saturday: Rounds 1 through 6
- Sunday: Rounds 7 through 12
Each match victory is worth 1 point toward a player's league standings. The player that finishes at the top of standings at the end of Sunday in both the MPL and Rivals League earns an invitation to Magic World Championship XXVII—and an invitation to the MPL for the 2021-22 season.
Check out our Strixhaven League Weekends explainer for even more details.
Broadcast Schedule
Saturday, April 10: 8 a.m. PDT (08:00) / 3 p.m. UTC (15:00) / Midnight JST April 11 (00:00)
- Six feature matches from across the top pods of both MPL and Rivals League Swiss pools.
Sunday, April 11: 8 a.m. PDT (08:00) / 3 p.m. UTC (15:00) / Midnight JST April 11 (00:00)
- Six feature matches from across the top-performing players and top pods of both MPL and Rivals League Swiss pools, followed by tiebreaker matches (if necessary).
You can watch every feature match for the April Strixhaven League Weekend live on twitch.tv/magic.
Looking to follow your favorite player? The League hub's Player Streams have you covered with links that show you when they're streaming live.
Can I Co-Stream the Event?
Following Twitch's Content Sharing Guidelines, you can co-stream the League Weekend broadcast from twitch.tv/magic using OBS or XSplit. This allows anyone on Twitch to cover the event in their voice and with their community. To be clear, co-streamed content is not endorsed by Wizards, and we expect anyone who participates in co-streaming to follow Wizards' Fan Content Policy.
How Can I Qualify for the League?
Your journey to join the Magic Pro League or Magic Rivals League begins on MTG Arena. The April 2021 Ranked Season is underway now. Finish in the top 1,200 ranked players at the end of the month to unlock your invitation to the May Strixhaven Qualifier Weekend.
Ascend to the Strixhaven Championship, taking place June 4–6, and prove yourself as a challenger on the path to the MPL and Rivals League!