The second weekend in March, 88 of the best Magic players from across Chinese Taipei gathered for the MIT Championship, Chinese Taipei's Regional Championship. It was the culmination of months of qualifying events, and two invitations to Pro Tour Thunder Junction, one invitation to the World Championship at MagicCon Vegas, and the title of Regional Champion were all on the line.

Congratulations to David Yeh, winner of the MIT Championship!

After seven rounds of Modern followed by a Top 8 playoff, David Yeh claimed the title and the trophy piloting Temur Rhinos on what would turn out to be Violent Outburst's final weekend in the Modern format. Yeh defeated Chen Ze Hao on Mono-Black Coffers in the finals.

Finals Match, caption: David Yeh and Chen Ze Hao play in the finals.

Yeh, who qualified for the Regional Championship via an RCQ at Boardgame Samurai, will be heading to the Pro Tour for the first time after his win. He counts his previous Magic accomplishments as "having three children and still playing Magic," which many parents will agree is a considerable feat. Yeh chose Temur Rhinos for the weekend because of its reliability. In this case, it was reliable enough to earn Yeh a spot at the World Championship this fall.

[insert photo: Chen Ze Hao, caption: finalist Chen Ze Hao]

Finalist Chen Ze Hao will also be heading to the Pro Tour for the first time this April. Hao also qualified via an RCQ, this one at CardMaster, and this MIT Championship was his second. Hao chose Mono-Black Coffers, named for the card Cabal Coffers, because "black is my favorite color in MTG."

Congratulations to the Top 8

At the end of seven Swiss rounds of Modern, eight players advanced to the Top 8. It was a Top 8 that highlighted Modern's flexibility, with eight unique decks making their way into the bracket. Familiar Modern decks like Temur Rhinos and Golgari Yawgmoth were joined by more off-the-beaten-path choices like Mono-Black Coffers and Selesnya Heliod, making for an interesting Top 8.

Top 2 Qualify for the Pro Tour

Congratulations to David Yeh and Chen Ze Hao!

It was a tense Top 8 at the Gathering Showdown Series, as players vied for a spot in the finals and a Pro Tour invite. You can see the decklists of the two Pro Tour qualifying players below:

The Metagame: Modern Is As Varied As Ever

In recent weeks, Temur and Domain Rhinos have risen to the top of both the Modern metagame and the standings. With only a single copy of Temur Rhinos in the MIT Championship Top 8, you might wonder if the deck was at the tournament at all.

The answer is yes, Temur and Domain Rhinos were the top two played decks in the tournament. They had a challenging weekend in the standings, though, as Domain Rhinos' win rate hovered around 45% and Temur Rhinos barely cracked 51%. Living End, also a recent rising star in the metagame, was the third most-played deck, but failed to put a single copy into the Top 8.

Congratulations again to this weekend's players on a great tournament of terrific and hard-fought matches and excellent competition. Catch the next MIT Championship during the next Regional Championship cycle!

Find out more about how you can qualify for the Regional Championship and the Pro Tour by visiting here and finding out more from your regional organizer!