There were 24 competitors when the Challenger Gauntlet began, but after 12 rounds of play (six Historic, six Standard), just 12 players move on to Sunday.
Sam Pardee, Noriyuke Mori, Matti Kuisma and Arne Huschenbeth enter as the top 4 seeds, with a win-and-in match for a spot at the World Championship for them. All 12 players returning on Sunday have qualified for the Rivals League, and that leaves two more World Championship seats for the rest of the competitors.
Pardee is a longtime competitor at the pro level, and his excellent year continues. He won the Strixhaven Championship just two months ago and now has his sights set on the World Championship with a top-four finish in the Swiss.
Moreira made it to the Gauntlet on the back of a strong performance at the Kaldheim Championship, and he arrived armed with a pair of classic decks: the most popular Historic deck in the field in Jeskai Control, and the Dimir Rogues archetype that has floated around Standard for the past year. It was Rogues that carried him over the hump to the Top 12.
The 12 players will return at 9 a.m. PST on Sunday to determine who will earn the four qualifications to the Magic World Championship, with complete coverage at twitch.tv/magic.