We've spent a lot of time redefining what's possible in Magic.
From what playing Standard looks like now, as Magic: The Gathering Foundations prepares us for a new era of Magic, to what it looked like then, as we went from playing with cardboard to online, remote play and all the way back to tabletop. From an era where Top 8 appearances at the Pro Tour were career-defining heights to reimagining what the best Magic players in the world can accomplish every season. We just wrapped Magic World Championship 30, and the surprises are still coming as we settle into the next era of the Pro Tour.
We're fresh off the finals of Magic World Championship 30, and for the third time in as many years, we're once again redefining what's possible.
After Magic World Championship 30, anything feels possible. The finals match featured the only two players to ever make three World Championship finals. It would also see the crowning of the second two-time World Championship winner and the only player not nicknamed the German Juggernaut to win the World Championship and Player of the Year in the same season.
All of this in a season where the World Champion, Javier Dominguez, never finished worse than 10th place. Welcome to the era of the superstar.
It started with Nathan Steuer's momentous run in the year that belonged to the wunderkind who grew up during the pandemic and came out of it on the other side a World Champion. He won the February and October Magic Online Championship Series in 2022, Magic World Championship XXVIII, made the Top 8 at Pro Tour Phyrexia in February 2023, and would go on to win Pro Tour March of the Machine in May. As I wrote then, Steuer wasn't just doing something he wasn't supposed to be able to do at his age, he was doing something that no one was supposed to be able to do.
With that, we had to reconsider what conventional wisdom told us about the Pro Tour. We learned not to underestimate what a player at the top of their game can accomplish. And it was a good lesson to learn, because it happened again.
Simon Nielsen's run began in 2022 as well, mirroring Steuer's in some ways. But while Steuer's was most notable for his titles—his four premier event titles are tied (with Seth Manfield) for second all-time, looking up at only Kai Budde's seven trophies—Nielsen's run just kept going, and going, and going. Just like Steuer's run, it ended in multiple titles.
He scored a Top 8 at Pro Tour March of the Machine and another at Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings last summer. Then, he made an epic semifinals run at Magic World Championship XXIX to cap off 2023 that saw him earn the Player of the Year title. But he wasn't content with that trophy, and he wasn't done yet. He came amazingly close at Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor where he lost to Manfield in the finals, before meeting Sam Pardee in another finals match at Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3. There, he closed the deal and added a Pro Tour title to cap off his sixth Top Finish in the last 24 months. This man put together a winning resume of titles in the shortest span we've ever seen. Again, we had to reconsider what was possible in our game.
🏆Congratulations to Simon Nielsen, winner of Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3!🏆
— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) June 30, 2024
After two incredible years – including winning Player of the Year and making the Top 8 in five out of six events – he finally secured his first ever Pro Tour victory.
Congratulations again, Simon! pic.twitter.com/etQyotNe8I
Now comes Dominguez. He's the second two-time World Champion in the game's history. Dominguez also joined Kai Budde as the only players to win a season-long Player of the Year title alongside the World Championship. Dominguez and his most recent finals opponent, Marcio Carvalho, are the only two players to ever compete in three World Championship finals. He's got four Top Finishes (plus two more near misses) in the last 18 months.
The common thread among these all-time stats that take into account every single human being who has played on the Pro Tour for the last three decades?
Only Javier.
"Yeah, it's been a wild year. Sometimes the cards go your way," said Dominguez in the aftermath of the championship, celebrating with a trophy that's much heavier than you expect—unless you're Dominguez and you're adding this year's to your World Championship trophy case that already houses the 2018 edition. "I don't know that this is better, but it's definitely different. The first time, you never really believe you can get there and win. I don't know if I believed I could get there again."
I remember that 2018 title well. I spoke to Dominguez at length in the aftermath of his win over Grzegorz Kowalski, and we talked about the challenges of staying engaged with a game that was undergoing seismic changes then, too. How, after reaching the top of the mountain, do you find the same drive to climb down and start all over again?
The thing about winning the World Championship once is that, after that you know exactly how much work, dedication, sacrifice, and good fortune it takes, you know exactly the level of work you're signing up for if you want to do it again. A player knows that the odds are heavily stacked against them.
Dominguez's answer back then was the same as it is now. He doesn't wake up and spend six hours grinding Magic Online queues or chasing down "just one more draft" to climb a rung on the ladder to the World Championship final. He does it because he loves playing Magic. The joy Dominguez finds in the game is evident every time he takes to the feature match area, and it's why his career has had such staying power. To wit, his year leading up to the World Championship featured near misses of 9th and 10th place at the Pro Tour, disappointing results but something Dominguez took in stride. Never too high, never too low, Dominguez remains cool and lets the Magic come to him.
The result is the latest super-season from one of our modern-day superstars.
- Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor: 9th
- Pro Tour Thunder Junction: 10th
- Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3: 7th
- Magic World Championship 30: 1st
Simply put, that's unheard of. One of the stats we used to keep for Hall of Fame consideration was a player's best two-year stretch to try and assess how good they really were at the top of their game, and nothing I saw from Hall of Famers I voted for came anything close to what Dominguez has done over the last year.
It seems fitting that teammates Nielsen and Steuer were both there to celebrate their teammate making history. More than anyone else, the trio has launched Magic into its next era, and there is no better flagbearer for the game than our new and reigning champion.
WON WORLDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Javier Domínguez "Thalai" (@JavierDmagic) October 28, 2024
DJEJDNCKSSOFIDJWNSKSSLSKNDBDNSJSKSJXBDJSKSKDNDDNDNDjducjwksixfjdbcksksbcieowosdwood
Still can’t believe it. Thanks everyone. Thanks a lot. I really mean it ☺️ #MTGWorlds pic.twitter.com/UNE0w23pJF
"I'm happy, but I'm mostly thankful," said Dominguez. "Things have been going my way, and I'm lucky to have the support of my friends and teammates. They make it easy."
That has certainly been a key part of the success. Team Handshake Ultimate Guard has been the most consistent Pro Tour team of the past three years, and Dominguez has been a key part of the testing processes that have helped the squad to stay at the forefront of the ever-improving field.
With Dominguez's win, the 2024 season is behind us. But don't worry, the Regional Championships for the next round of events are already in full swing. Szu Yuan Chen just took down the MIT Championship, and there's another slate of events on tap this weekend as the Pro Tour circuit rolls on with the