MagicCon is a lot more than the Pro Tour.
It's something that column partner Frank Karsten writes every week: Pro Tour such-and-such at MagicCon: Cool Location. But name-dropping the con isn't just good branding—it's an acknowledgement that there's a lot more going on than the Pro Tour.
And I don't mean Game Knights (though the roars across the hall tell me it's awesome).
The Pro Tour and PTQ weren't the only big events happening at #MCAmsterdam this weekend.
— Magic Europe (@Wizards_MagicEU) June 30, 2024
Congratulations to the winners of our 75K Modern Open and Secret Lair Showdown, Arch Dota and Toni Ramis Pascual! pic.twitter.com/xAALnICmMt
The Magic Play offerings that run parallel to the Pro Tour have taken on a prestige of their own since live events returned. The $100,000 Limited or Modern Open and the Secret Lair Showdown give players a chance to play the format of their choice for big stakes even if they didn't qualify for the topline event. Simply put, there's huge prizes on the line all across the convention hall over the course of a MagicCon weekend, and Magic World Championship 30 coming up later this year at MagicCon: Las Vegas is no exception. Beyond the two marquee events, there's the direct-to-the-Pro Tour Qualifier, MagicCon Cup tournaments that give players the chance to compete in the format of their choice, and even original artwork events.
It's easy for some of us to get lost in the Pro Tour, but the truth is there's a heck of a lot of Magic happening just a few feet beyond the ropes of the PT. While that Magic may not be streamed live to an audience of tens of thousands, but it's no less meaningful for those involved in the high stakes matches.
Although Toni Ramis Pascual might be getting used to that at this point, the Arena Championship 5 winner has proven over a decades long career that he is equally adept at gaming online and in-person. The former national champion has added another title to his growing resume: Secret Lair Showdown winner.
Podemos tener nueva carta favorita 🏄🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/AU4gSv3w1D
— Toni Ramis Pascual (@TonisRP) June 30, 2024
"I'm a person who plays Magic Online daily, so preparing for the event was not much more than I would normally do. But I played the format daily, and my friend Patxi created a Pro Tour preparation group," Pascual explained. "I also talked to Javier Dominguez every day, who helps me a lot in everything. I played Bant Nadu, the big winner of the weekend, and there's little to say about it. But winning a tournament is always difficult and it's a joy that gives you confidence for the next events."
Pascual's confidence should be running high right now. While he was taking down the Secret Lair Showdown, testing partner Dominguez was making the Top 8 of the Pro Tour. Pascual entered the event hoping to qualify for the next Pro Tour, but winning the event so close to dominant MTG Arena performance was not something he had planned for. But it couldn't have come at a better time.
"This was one of the best Magic weekends I've had," he reflected. "I saw a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a while and enjoyed the experience. There was no pressure on me after winning the Arena Championship 5. I just went there to enjoy the weekend."
That he certainly did. Pascual was joined in the winner's circle in Amsterdam by Arch Dota, a 27-year-old London native who's a regular on the competitive circuit and now has a breakthrough victory to point to: he cruised through a stacked field to win the $75,000 Modern Open.
I should clarify something here: When I said these events are running in parallel to the Pro Tour, I meant it literally. The two events are usually not far apart physically, and savvy Magic spectators can hustle between the two to catch up on the action. As the weekend wears on and Pro Tour players drop out, the other events fill up with more and more of the best Magic talent on the planet. Heck, Kai Budde won the Pro Tour Qualifier in Amsterdam.
So, what does the stacked field I'm referring to look like? For Arch, it meant pairing into not one but two former champions in Eli Loveman and Andrew Elenbogen. Loveman previously won Mythic Championship II while Elenbogen took down Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica. It's the kind of pairings nightmare players have nightmares of but it's also the kind of challenge that brings Arch back to the Pro Tour: four and counting in his career.
"I was testing with my team World Counsel for the Pro Tour and the Open. We have some of the best players in the world and more importantly people I respect and would hang out with; in my opinion team vibes are the most important factor in any group of players," Arch explained. "Shoutout to Zen for masterminding everything, and Jono for lending me his Nadu deck to play for the first time! I would say I was quite proud of myself for instinctively approaching the deck when it was still unclear how strong it was. There was some general indecision about the deck choice at the time, so those who picked up Nadu earlier ended up doing very well overall."
In addition, we have four team members competing in the Open that is happening at MagicCon Amsterdam! pic.twitter.com/kKuAZuzzlg
— Worldly Counsel Heavy Play (@worldlycounsel) June 27, 2024
"Overall, it was a great experience," Arch recalled while understandably pining for a trophy to accompany the title). "There are a lot of things that make up a great Magic trip: gaming, food, traveling, and of course wonderful friends and teammates. MagicCon is special since you get to spend time with people you know online from all around the world. I felt very privileged to experience the whole weekend with such wonderful teammates and friends."
In the end, the vibes were immaculate and so was Arch's play. He felt good about his prep and his confidence remained high as he worked his way through the tournament and watched big-name players fall off below him. That boosted his already-strong confidence, and the rest followed from there.
"I go into every tournament believing I can win, otherwise there's kind of no point," Arch explained. "I was fairly confident that I was on the best deck based on a lot of instinct and some preparation, so from there's all about just playing my best, one step at a time.
"It means a lot, even though I wasn't overly emotional since I truly believed I could win the tournament. When you play and theorize over the game so much, it always feels satisfying to have hard work pay off in the form of a big win. I tend to meme quite a bit, so it's reassuring knowing that I have what it takes to perform when it counts."
Your 75kOPEN WINNER @ArchaeusDota
— Martos (@tonimart0s) June 30, 2024
So happy for this man! He worked like a machine and all the work paid off! 🦆🦆🥳🥳💪🏼💪🏼@worldlycounsel #MCAmsterdam pic.twitter.com/71SaeA67Ca
After a couple years now of refreshed tabletop play and the switch over to major conventions, it's been really enjoyable to watch the growth of these tournaments. They're reminiscent of the large, open-field events of the past, and the diversity of formats typically offered gives format specialists an opportunity to flex their muscles. However, if you want to game, MagicCon probably offers it.
The Road to the World Championship
When MagicCon: Las Vegas rolls around later this year, there will be even more eyes on the main event—the World Championship field is smaller than the typical Pro Tour field of players. But with so many other events to play, there's sure to be a flock of competitive players anyway.
Until then, Frank and I are looking back at each of the previous 29 World Championship events. Last week we covered the epic Player of the Year playoff that came with Guillaume Matignon winning the World Championship title (Brad Nelson would win the Player of the Year showdown), and this week takes us to 2011, when a team and a player already mentioned in this article were at the height of their game.
That would be Hall of Famer Luis Scott Vargas and the rest of Team Channel Fireball, which put four squad members into the Top 8 of the 375-player field. But while it was badge of honor for the dominant testing team, it was Jun'ya Iyanaga from Japan who ultimately took down the title. The win accompanied a Grand Prix title Iyanaga won in 2007, but perhaps more notable is that in the global scale of Magic the win was a big deal—it returned the World Championship title to Japan for the first time since Makihito Mihara's 2006 victory.
