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Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Viewers Guide

July 18, 2023
Wizards of the Coast

The final Pro Tour of the 2023 season arrives with nearly 280 players facing off for $500,000 in prizes at Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings, taking place July 28–30 at MagicCon: Barcelona!


How Can I Follow the Event?

Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings will be streamed from MagicCon: Barcelona all three days of the event, July 28–30, at twitch.tv/magic. Catch players, fans, and social coverage across the weekend at @PlayMTG with the hashtag #PTLOTR.

On Friday and Saturday—July 28 and 30—broadcast begins at 5 a.m. ET (5 a.m. ET // 11 a.m. CEST // 6 p.m. JST) with three rounds of The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Draft followed by five rounds of Modern Constructed.

On Sunday, July 30 for the Top 8 playoff, broadcast begins at 4 a.m. ET (4 a.m. ET // 10 a.m. CEST // 5 p.m. JST) with all four quarterfinal matches played concurrently, followed by semifinals matches then the finals of Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings.

While competitors begin their Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. CEST on-site, broadcast begins later in the day at 11 a.m. CEST (5 a.m. ET) with a featured drafter to follow into their Round 1 gameplay. As we continue the Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings broadcast we'll catch up to the tournament, showing a full feature match from every round and reducing downtime until we're pacing live gameplay on a short delay.

The Sunday Top 8 playoff broadcast begins at 10 a.m. CEST (4 a.m. ET) showing a full quarterfinal match and then as many games from other quarterfinal matches as possible, moving on to a full semifinal match (and as much of the remaining semifinals match) then the complete finals.

When Will Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings Decklists Be Published?

Modern Constructed decklists for the tournament will be published on the Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings event page on Friday, July 28 at the beginning of Round 4 gameplay, approximately at 8 a.m. ET (2 p.m. CEST).

The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft decklists will not be published.

Ahead of the event, there's even more decklist content for fans (and players) to experience being published:

  • July 20: Frank Karsten breaks down the largest format to feature on the Pro Tour this year: Modern. Here's what the players—and you—should know before the event.
  • July 27: The decklists are in and the data is ready. Frank Karsten has the full scoop on the Modern metagame at Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings.
  • July 28: When the decklists go live there's plenty to check out, but Frank has done the work and found the spiciest decklists across the field.

These articles will be available here on Magic.gg and the Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings event page.

Broadcast Schedule

Friday, July 28: 5 a.m. ET // 2 a.m. PT // 11 a.m. CEST // 6 p.m. JST

  • Broadcast ends after Round 8 at the end of Modern Constructed rounds.

Saturday, July 29: 5 a.m. ET // 2 a.m. PT // 11 a.m. CEST // 6 p.m. JST

  • Broadcast ends after Round 16 at the end of Modern Constructed rounds and the Top 8 for Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings is announced.

Sunday, July 30: 4 a.m. ET // 1 a.m. PT // 10 a.m. CEST // 5 p.m. JST

  • Broadcast ends after the Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings Top 8 is complete and the champion is determined.

You can watch coverage for Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings each day here at Magic.gg and at twitch.tv/magic.

Who Are the Casters?

Can I Co-Stream the Event?

Following Twitch's Content Sharing Guidelines, you can co-stream Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings 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.

Who Is Playing?

Nearly 280 competitors—from Regional Championship events, past event performance, MTG Arena and Magic Online Premier Play, Magic Hall of Famers and more—have invitations to play in Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings. The invitation list for Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings is available online (and subject to change).

How Will the Tournament Play Out?

Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings features two formats across three days of play, beginning with The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft followed by Modern Constructed on each of the first two days, then a Top 8 single-elimination playoff featuring Modern Constructed on the final day.

Day One, Friday July 28:

  • Rounds 1–3: The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft
  • Rounds 4–8: Modern Constructed

Day Two, Saturday July 29:

  • Rounds 9–11: The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft
  • Rounds 12–16: Modern Constructed

As players earn their 13th match win, they will automatically advance to the Top 8 playoff. Final standings at the end of Round 16 will determine any remaining Top 8 slots available after all players with 13 wins have advanced—and any ties for a Top 8 slot will be determined by final standings after 16 rounds.

Day Three, Sunday July 30:

  • The Top 8 single-elimination playoff will feature Modern Constructed.
  • All playoff matches, including the finals, will be Best-of-Five games. The first two games of the match will be played without competitors using sideboard cards.

What Do Players Win?

Competitors that finish with 30 or more match points at Pro Tour The Lord of The Rings earn invitation to the first Pro Tour of the 2024 season taking place at MagicCon: Chicago in February 2024.

All players compete for their share of $500,000 in prizes. Prizes for the Top 8 finishers are awarded as follows. All competitors will receive at least $1000 regardless of the final placing.

Place Prize
1 $50,000
2 $30,000
3–4 $15,000
5–8 $10,000
9–12 $5,000
13–16 $3,000
17–24 $2,500
25–32 $2,000
33–48 $1,500
49–204 $1,250
205–267 $1,000
268+ $1,000
Total $500,000**

**Assumes 267 players

Pro Tour participants also receive a non-foil copy of 2023’s Secret Lair prize card featuring Jace, the Mind Sculptor with art from Wizard of Barge.


The top 16 competitors will also receive a foil copy of Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

Additionally, all competitors receive a special Gandalf the White promo card—with top finishers receiving a traditional foil copy!


How Can I Play in a Pro Tour?

Beginning with Regional Championship Qualifiers at your local game store, you can start on your path to the Pro Tour today. Earn your invitation to your Regional Championship at a qualifier event, then battle through the best from across your region in a Regional Championship to clinch your Pro Tour invitation!

Regional Championship Qualifier participants in qualifiers now through August 20 can earn their invitation to Regional Championships feeding the first Pro Tour of the 2024 season receive an Unholy Heat promo card.


Top finishers in qualifiers can also earn an Eldritch Evolution promo card, with those earning invitations to the Regional Championship snagging it as a traditional foil version.


Beginning September 9, and running through December, participant in qualifiers can earn their invitation to Regional Championships feeling the second pro tour of the 2024 season receive An Offer You Can't Refuse promo card.


And top finishers can earn a Death's Shadow promo card—with traditional foil versions available for invitation winners.


Your local WPN game store has the opportunity run these events, and they may be hosting one near you: check with your local store for more details on the what, the when, and the where.

To learn more about Regional Championship events for your location please visit your location’s tournament organizer:

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