As laid out in our response to COVID-19, Magic esports is changing quickly, and we're excited to share several updates to programs and competitive opportunities. With last week's shifts and this week's additions to Magic Online, we're working to provide even more ways for players and fans to engage competitive Magic, and you can expect more frequent Esports Updates as we share new programs and opportunities.
Ensuring players can compete safely will continue to be our priority.
MagicFest Online
As announced by our partner CFB Events, MagicFest Online is a brand-new way to compete for Players Tour and Players Tour Finals invitations, as well as cash prizes. From their announcement:
"MagicFest Online is a tournament series played on Magic: The Gathering Arena, pitting players from around the globe against each other for cash prizes and invites to the Players Tour.
Daily Qualifiers will run at 3AM, 9AM, 3PM and 9PM Pacific Time to give all players a convenient time to play, and each with an entry fee of $25. Players finishing 5-1 or better will advance to the Weekly Championship! As an added bonus, each player that plays in a MagicFest Online Daily Qualifier will receive a coupon for one free Booster Draft at a live MagicFest (up to $20 value).
Each Weekly Championship is a two-day tournament with Day One on Saturday and Day Two on Sunday. Players are competing for a $25,000 cash prize pool, with the Top 8 receiving invites to the Players Tour Series 2, and the Top 32 receiving invitations to the Season Finals. The tournament is 8 rounds on Day One with players with 6 wins or more advancing to Day Two. Magic Pro League and Rivals League members are invited to the Weekly Championship, so the competition will be tough!
The Season Finals is a two-day tournament with a $50,000 cash prize pool, 32 Players Tour Series 2 invitations and two invites to the Players Tour Finals Minneapolis up for grabs!"
These are all-new events—for Magic esports and our partner CFB Events—that we're excited to share with the world as quickly as we can. You can expect a few bumps on the road as these experimental events roll out, and we appreciate players' understanding as everyone works through the launch. You can expect times, formats, and other details to change as MagicFest Online ramps up.
If you're ready to be among the first to join MagicFest Online, with registration beginning March 22, be sure to read ChannelFireball's full announcement for registration information and details.
Magic Online Super Qualifiers
As announced earlier today, Super Qualifiers are another new way to earn prizes and qualify for the Players Tour through competing on Magic Online. Offering formats like Modern and Pioneer in addition to Standard and Sealed, Super Qualifiers will run often and change format regularly. While invitations will not pass down, every Super Qualifier offers two Players Tour invitations and all players are welcome to play regardless of other qualifications to Players Tours
The first Super Qualifier kicked off at 3 p.m. today, with more scheduled through next week. Check out the full announcement and get started today.
FNM at Home
If you're just getting started playing online and looking to learn with players from your local game store, then Friday Night Magic is the perfect place to start. Today we also shared a new MTG Arena weekly event—FNM at Home—to bring new and experienced players from game stores together online.
Supporting local game stores and leaning into our Magic communities takes all of us connecting with our fellow players, and there's no better way to start online now than with FNM at Home.
Mythic Points Standings and Leaderboard Invitations
With the completion of the March 2020 Mythic Qualifier for Mythic Invitational Core Set 2021, 20 players earned invitation—congratulations again to everyone! Additionally, based on Mythic Points earned through Q1 MTG Arena events, 14 additional players have been awarded invitation to Mythic Invitational Core Set 2021 based on their Mythic Points Standings and tiebreakers:
- aldebaran2112
- akira
- ChristofferLarsen
- desmostylus3
- Ginky
- GlimpseOfRandomness
- Im2g00t4ubarn
- James_Zhi
- MasterWarcraft
- neos
- Ryuzo
- Shouloucou
- Sunshine 60 Street
- wiktorrr
17 wins across the January Mythic Qualifier, February Mythic Point Challenge, and March Mythic Qualifier events was a clean tiebreak point for the 14 available invitations for Mythic Points leaders:
| Rank | Player | Points from MQs | Points from MPCs | Season Total | Q1 Wins |
| 1 | Citr* | 6 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
| 2 | Kumazemi* | 6 | 6 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | matthewlnass* | 6 | 6 | 12 | 21 |
| 4 | rara* | 6 | 6 | 12 | 20 |
| 5 | sortreew* | 6 | 5 | 11 | 23 |
| 6 | Nefaros* | 8 | 3 | 11 | 23 |
| 7 | Ryuzo | 5 | 6 | 11 | 21 |
| 8 | IsaakKrut* | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 |
| 9 | uristeeen* | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 |
| 10 | GlimpseOfRandomness | 6 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| 11 | littlebeep* | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 |
| 12 | shoop* | 8 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| 13 | neos | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 |
| 14 | wiktorrr | 9 | 0 | 9 | 18 |
| 15 | ChristofferLarsen | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 |
| 16 | Schnaan* | 6 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| 17 | desmostylus3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 |
| 18 | Ginky | 2 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| 19 | MasterWarcraft | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 |
| 20 | James_Zhi | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 |
| 22 | Im2g00t4ubarn | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
| 21 | Siggy* | 6 | 2 | 8 | 18 |
| 26 | Sunshine 60 Street | 5 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| 23 | Shouloucou | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| 24 | aldebaran2112 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| 25 | akira | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| 27 | ESO* | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 28 | bdic11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| 30 | sapporo | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| 29 | Shadowth | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| 31 | pitosy | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 |
Congratulations again to all competitors now vying for the trophy a Mythic Invitational Core Set 2021.
Top 200 Mythic Points Leaders
In addition to the top Mythic Points-earning competitors receiving invitations to the next Mythic Invitational, the Top 200 Mythic Points-earning competitors from Q1 receive Challenger role status for upcoming Mythic Qualifiers and Mythic Points Challenges. Competitors with Challenger role in Q2 will be awarded invitation to these events within Q2. Players should review the official event rules for specific events to understand what the role of Challenger provides for each event.
The breakpoint at the Top 200 in leaderboard was 5 mythic points, with 205 competitors being at or above that number. While the tiebreakers for Mythic Invitational Core Set 2021 are clear and can be used to break those ties, the need for a tiebreaker to manage the event size, tournament structure, and prize distribution of the invitational is a more arbitrary cutoff for those competing for a Top 200 leaderboard spot for the purposes of receiving the Challenger Role for all of Q2 2020’s Mythic Qualifiers and Mythic Point Challenges. Therefore, everyone at 5 Mythic Points via Mythic Qualifiers and Mythic Point Challenges will be receiving the Challenger Role for Q2’s events that require the role.
May 2020 Mythic Qualifier Date Change
The May 2020 Mythic Qualifier date has been changed, from Saturday, May 30 to Saturday, May 16. Event details and rules will be available later, but the format will be Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Standard, and will provide players invitation to Mythic Invitational Zendikar Rising later this year.
Onward and Upward
With changes to our 2020 partial season events and schedule plus the suspension of in-store tabletop qualifiers, creating new paths for players to connect and compete around the world is a priority we'll continue to share more about. We will continue to monitor ongoing guidance from local governments and health officials as we experiment with the new ways to compete online announced this week.
Stay safe and stay tuned for more soon!