Wizards of the Coast just announced they are expanding Magic tournaments to the Esports realm with a prize pool of $10 million dollars.
You might have heard Wizards of the Coast’s name pop up earlier in the year as they began to sell their Magic booster boxes online directly to customers for cheaper. Now, they’re back in action announcing that Magic will be moving to Esports with a larger than ever prize-pool that has the potential to either bring more players into the game (and local stores) or entice current players to skip gaming stores altogether.
Check out the latest from WOTC.
Magic Coming to Esports 2019
2019 is going to be the biggest and most exciting year in Magic‘s 25 years of competitive gaming history as we evolve our organized play program into an esports structure that takes the legacy of our pioneering tabletop system and integrates Magic‘s new digital platform, MTG Arena.
There’s a $10 million prize pool up for grabs in 2019 across digital and tabletop Magic, which is more than double 2018. The new system provides lucrative opportunities for pros, players, sponsors, and esports partners.
Traditionally, most of the spotlight from WOTC has been on tabletop tournaments. Players travel to conventions and meet face to face to play. However, WOTC looks to be keeping up with the times and is expanding their horizons by bringing in the fans that play online as well.
In 2019, there’s going to be over double 2018’s prize support ($10 million) splitting into online MTG tournaments as well as tabletop ones. By Magic giving attention to the online aspect of gaming, they have opened the door for more opportunities of Esport sponsors and players. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that tabletop Magic tournaments will be a thing of the past. Those players are still getting more prize support than last year.
A New Magic Pro League
We’re also introducing the Magic Pro League, creating a new level of professional play. The inaugural year of the MPL comprises 32 of Magic‘s top-ranked players from around the world who are each offered player and streamer contracts with a combined worth of $75,000.
They’ll be competing in seasonal weekly competitive match-ups on MTG Arena, and in Mythic-level tournaments in both MTG Arena and tabletop. We’ll be doing player profiles of each of the 32 players in the 2019 MPL in the upcoming weeks so you can get to know the pros and follow their progress and prize winnings throughout the year.
A New Magic Pro League is coming to bring the top thirty-two players in Magic to the online scene. They’ll be offered Streamer contracts and will be competing in the MTG online Arena as well as tabletop. This will act as a Kickstarter to the online pro format.
When will we be seeing these players pop up?
We’re kicking off Magic‘s new esports and competitive gaming program with a special $1 million MTG Arena Mythic Invitational event at PAX East in Boston on March 28–31.
The invitational will reveal players in the Magic Pro League battling against other opponents. In January 2019, they’ll give us more information on the invitational including who manages to grab a seat to the event.
Mythic Championships & Increased Prize Support
Tabletop events formerly known as Pro Tours are going to be called Mythic Championships, exactly like the MTG Arena competitions. With this name change, there comes increased prize support starting with $500,000 in 2019.
Like we’ve said before, Wizards of the Coast has been on the move heavily in 2018 and it looks like they won’t be slowing down in 2019 either.
How do you feel about a Magic Pro League online? Will this hurt game stores further? Do you prefer Magic online or in person? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
