When Javier Dominguez won his first Magic World Championship, one of his initial thoughts was about the World Championship finals the year prior, where he had lost to William Jensen. That loss was just one match away from the ultimate prize for anyone who has ever picked up a Magic card.
That loss fueled Dominguez. For the next year, as he made his way through the Pro Tour circuit and racked up further successes, part of his mind was always looking ahead. He'd been nervously thinking about what he would do if he ever got the opportunity to play in the World Championship finals again. Then that storybook year ended with exactly that—Dominguez against Grzegorz Kowalski sweating out the finals in the Las Vegas heat—in the perfect culmination of a year-long journey. And Dominguez savored that moment when it all ended differently that time around.
Two weeks ago, Dominguez went back to Las Vegas for Magic World Championship 30 and, after a slow start, caught fire in the desert. The former Spanish national champion won ten of his last eleven rounds at the World Championship, cruising through Hall of Famers and Pro Tour champions alike, including Seth Manfield in a Player of the Year showdown in the semifinals. It all led to him becoming the second player in Magic history to ever win the World Championship title twice and the second player in history to win the Player of the Year title in the same season they won a World Championship.
All in all, Dominguez's victory was everything he could ask for. But this time, when the handshake came, Dominguez wasn't thinking about any of that.
"The first thing I remember doing, once I took a deep breath, was hugging Márcio. He's a good friend, and I knew what it would have meant for him to win, and I hope he finally gets there. That was my first thought," Dominguez recalled. "The first time was different. It was more like a massive explosion that I couldn't control."
Looking back, I think that's a telling moment in both finalists' careers. For Dominguez, the World Championship story can't be told without mentioning another feat that he was only the second player to ever accomplish: making a third World Championship finals. The only other player to ever do that is Dominguez's friend and fellow Magic competitor, Márcio Carvalho, who endured the sting of falling just short yet again. It was a blow barely softened by the fact that he was making Magic history of his own by playing in a third finals—or put another way, ten percent of the World Championship finals ever played.
For Carvalho, the search continues. Having seized eleven Top Finishes during his career across both tabletop and online play, his natural talent as a renowned Limited player has been matched over the past decade in his commitment to his team and regional community. The result has been World Championship finals in 2016 (Brian Braun-Duin won), 2020 (Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa won), and now 2024.
For Dominguez? The party is still going strong.
"This doesn't change much for me. I haven't really thought much about what this all means for my career. Maybe I will know in a few weeks. Maybe I won't," he said, nonplussed. "I'm still the same guy that loves playing tournaments and building decks. For me, winning the World Championship wasn't exactly my goal, which means even after winning, my goal still remains the same, in a way: get better and play as many high levels as I can, because I truly enjoy them."
That may sound easy to say after you've just locked up the World Championship title (and the $100,000 prize that comes with it), but it's the truth for Dominguez. I interviewed him after he lost the 2018 finals, and he said the same thing. So, when he answers that his goal is just to enjoy the Magic as it comes, it's as real as it gets. Dominguez's teammates have always described him as a joyful warrior who enjoys his time in the trenches of MTG Arena. In fact, I remember that after winning the title in 2018, he was back to brewing Standard decks just a few days later.
This go-round, he took plenty of time to celebrate, both with the Team Handshake Ultimate Guard squad that helped him test for the event and with his extended friends and family back home.
"That's truly part of the victory," he said. It felt especially earned after some unfortunate travel delays on the way home.
So, how does the second World Championship title feel?
"Going into the Top 8, I felt ready. I didn't put any pressure on myself other than trying to do what I like to do [playing Magic]," he recalled. "In a way, I felt like I was already winning just by being able to compete in that situation. I got a bit nervous before the match with Seth, but again, I realized that simply playing that match was already something I would cherish in the future, and that made me feel much better."
That mental prowess is everything when it comes to high-stakes Magic. It's no accident that players like Dominguez, who are able to keep sight of their goal, succeed at these events. For Dominguez, joy still comes in the process. But there's no doubt that the latest person to enter the GOAT conversation is in a different place now than when he won his first title.
"I think it's really hard to compare because I'm at a different point in my life, not only in Magic. I definitely put less pressure on myself this year than I did back in 2018," he explained. "My relationship with Magic is different, and I don't really put as much weight on my performances as I did before."
It's counterintuitive, but the longer I've covered the Pro Tour, the more I've learned that there really is a sweet spot between not caring enough and caring far too much. Much like certain Major League Baseball players who have figured out how to perform under incredible stress (and some Yankees still haven't), some Magic players can tune out the noise and thrive in the pressure cooker that is the Sunday stage. Kai Budde—the other player who won the World Championship and Player of the Year in the same season—was so good at his peak that his performance spawned the phrase "Kai doesn't lose on Sundays."
And it's a rare trait. Even among the top ten players with the most Top Finishes, only four have won more finals than they've lost. Not only did both Dominguez and Carvalho tie Luis Scott-Vargas for seventh on the all-time Top Finishes list, but Dominguez's victory moved him to 3-1 in title matches. That's the same record as Jon Finkel, and trails only the superhuman records of 4-0 and 7-0 by Manfield and Budde, respectively.
Then, there's his consistency. Dominguez's finishes at Pro Tour–level events this year have him placing 9th, 10th, 7th, and now 1st. I described it last week as the cementing of the era of the superstar, and even among the all-time runs we've seen over the last few years, Dominguez's achievements in 2024 will go down in Magic lore. I'll certainly be writing about it for a long time to come.
So, what's next for the World Champ?
"I'm looking forward to next year already; one of the biggest prizes of making the Top 8 at the World Championship is qualifying for the next World Championship!" Dominguez said with a grin. "Next season will probably be worse than this one in terms of results, and that's okay. I just want to enjoy the Pro Tours and the World Championship as much as I can. I don't really see myself ever winning another World Championship, but you never know what Magic cards have in store for you."
That's true, but there's one thing about Magic cards I do know:
WON WORLDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Javier Domínguez "Thalai" (@JavierDmagic) October 28, 2024
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Still can’t believe it. Thanks everyone. Thanks a lot. I really mean it ☺️ #MTGWorlds pic.twitter.com/UNE0w23pJF