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The Week That Was: Parenthood, Plane Tickets, and World Championship 31

December 03, 2025
Corbin Hosler

"The more I think about it, the less sense it makes."

That's how the Arena Championship 8 champion, Kristoffer Lindqvist, described the last year of his Magic career—where he experienced a slew of firsts including his first major win, his first Pro Tour, his first team experience (as part of Team Scryhard), and even his first trip from his home in Sweden to the United States all while navigating more non-Magic life challenges than ever before, and it's easy to understand how anyone might still be trying to catch up after all of those Magic firsts spurred by his incredible run at Arena Championship 8.

He may as well have been talking about parenthood; the two make about as much sense sometimes, and for Lindqvist they will forever be mixed. The father of three's path to the Pro Tour started in his own home on the streets of MTG Arena while his kids played in the background, and he said goodnight to his children in between playing Top 8 rounds of the Arena Championship. Or was it the other way around?

"After having my third child two weeks before Arena Championship 8, I fought through a lack of sleep and preparation to win," Lindqvist explained after the event—and his immediate post-finals victory reaction was indeed relatively muted. As he explained, getting the kids back to sleep after waking them up would be quite a hassle.

Lindqvist's way to the World Championship is one of the more distinctive—and certainly the one with the most diapers involved—but every competitor gearing up for Magic World Championship 31 on December 5–7 has a World Championship origin story as unique. Because, alongside players like Lindqvist looking to do the improbable in their first go-around, there are also luminaries like Reid Duke who are already Hall of Fame minted but still looking to attain the rarest and most prestigious title there is in Magic: World Champion.

For Lindqvist, the last year of Magic has been a dream, and one that he credits his wife Leila with making possible; when he sits down for the first draft of the World Championship, on the other side of the world from home, every round he plays is a family effort.

"Playing with a house full of kids is hard. You have to pick your moments and time is very limited—with the newborn, my lovely wife had to do most the caring for the first few weeks," he explained. "Trying to juggle a full-time job, three kids, and a possible Magic career is not an easy nut to crack. Many online games have been lost due to some kid falling or them not getting along with each other.

"Now I need to win the World Championship to continue my Magic journey. My mindset is to win it all. I think doing well in Draft is the key to success, as Standard feels more like a coin flip."

Lindqvist isn't the only father whose family has made this into a very special World Championship. For Mikko Airaksinen, one of a small number of players to earn two distinct invitations to the World Championship (there's no benefit conferred beyond bragging rights—which means there are plenty of benefits conferred), this event was never in his plans. But it was in the cards.

"My daughter was born in April 2024. I had made a promise to my wife to cut back on all hobbies including any paper tournaments so that we'd have all possible energy to take care of the new baby alongside her big brother. I still somehow managed to qualify for Worlds by playing MTG Arena from home," said Airaksinen, deadpan. "But for the foreseeable future, the World Championship is the last event for me. It's been obviously challenging to balance work, family time, and preparation for these huge events, but we've made it work. I could not be where I am without my wife Karoliina, and I'm so grateful for her support. I arrange free time for her and spend time with the children every night before starting my practice as it also gives me peace of mind and I don't have to worry while prepping.

"Traveling, however, is very rough. Last night I was tucking my son in and telling him that Dad is going to the US for a week, and I could see how hard it was on him. I hope to call him many times and bring him some sweet souvenirs."

Your first reaction might be that foregoing future Pro Tour invites would put a lot of pressure on Airaksinen for this World Championship. But that's not at all how Airaksinen—who is still surprised by his self-described "insanely hot run"—is looking at things.

"The last year has been wildly successful for me. The year sort of started in December 2024 with my finals run in Arena Championship 7, which at that point was easily my top Magic achievement," he recalled. "I was quite ecstatic to make it to the World Championship, but little did I know I'd be qualifying again at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities. I really had no expectations. After qualifying for the Pro Tour, my only goal was to finally get to Day Two after starting 2-1 at four Pro Tours in a row and bombing Constructed to not make it.

"It feels completely surreal to have had such wild success, and I could not have fathomed qualifying for Worlds a year ago. Making the finals in an Arena Championship and a Top 8 in a paper Pro Tour in the same season feels completely unreal. Even if I go 0-7 at the World Championship, I have reached all my goals and more, so it's really all upside from here."

And, of course, MTG Arena is still on the menu.

Lindqvist's and Airaksinen's stories show off one of the myriad ways players at the World Championship earned their seat: online play. In addition to MTG Arena, Magic Online events also feed the Pro Tour circuit, bringing together those who grind online like Lindqvist and those who hit the travel circuit like two-time Regional Championship Top Finisher Vinícius Karam, whose win at the City Class Showdown last year propelled him to the Pro Tour and across the world.

It was just the start of things to come for the World Championship qualifier, whose 9th-place finish at Pro Tour Aetherdrift was one of the two World Championship invitations he's earned, along with winning a Regional Championship.

"This year has been nothing but crazy. I've managed to experience the professional lifestyle for the first time—I'm super happy making a deep run and chaining invitations after having qualified and immediately falling off a couple times before. This has also been the first year that I've put serious preparation into it and I loved it," Karam explained. "I'm working with Team Worldly Counsel; it's incredible how I can be part of a group of smart and talented people that help me elevate my gameplay while also having immeasurable fun. Really, I couldn't ask for more."

It's been an extraordinary run for Karam—and it almost didn't happen at all. When he sits down for the first draft at the World Championship, he'll surely spare a thought for the RC trip that almost wasn't.

"That story is nothing short of magical," he began. "I was in the last semester of my law degree, and I've never had issues studying and playing, however, this time a sequence of unfortunate events happened: my local airport was not operational due to a devastating flood that hit my state. The Regional Championship was during my midterms, and I couldn't reschedule the test day. I was devastated, but my girlfriend insisted that I try all the options. She told me she knew how important playing competitively was for me and that I should try to make it work.

"I found a flight that left at 2 a.m. on Saturday and booked it. I got to the house with my friends close to 5 a.m. and was already up before 8 a.m. to play. I was super focused on each individual match and just kept winning. Winning the whole event was the culmination of me seeing myself as an actual capable player. I knew I could do it but actually doing it gives me a sort of relief, like I proved myself! At the end of the weekend, I just wanted to celebrate. A life goal was reached. Looking back, I know I will cherish that moment for years to come."

It was a conversation that led to a plane ticket that led to a Regional Championship that led to a Pro Tour that led to World Championship 31. Who knows where Karam's path will lead next?

"The most important thing to me is to make sure to have a good time," he explained. "This will be my first Worlds, and I want to make sure it's memorable. Double-qualifying for Worlds is nuts!"

There are 128 players qualified for Magic World Championship 31, and every one of them has overcome their own set of challenges—on and off the battlefield—to be there. Even at the World Championship, Magic remains many things to many different people, and it all comes together at the pinnacle of competition in the metropolis where it all started.

See you in Washington!

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