Once again proved they are the industry leader in announcing upcoming announcements, Wizards of the Coast announced today that they will soon be making a series of major announcements about Organized Play and the 2018-19 Pro Tour season, including “the Pro Tour itself, qualifications, Nationals, the Pro Club, the Team Series, and more.”
Alongside the announcement of more announcements came several small announcements including the dates and location for the First Pro Tour of 2018-19 (presumably Pro Tour Ravnica Allegiance), a change to Pro Club duration from one cycle to two cycles, a clarification on which Pro Tour Team Series teams will be invited to which Pro Tours in which seasons (crystal clear), and the formation of a three-member Pro Player Advisory Board (not the official name).
Announcements coming in the future will include the format for the First Pro Tour of 2018-19 which will be announced 8-12 weeks prior to that event, the full Pro Tour schedule for the 2018-19 season which will be announced in early September on Weekly MTG, in theory an announcement of which Pro Players have been selected to the Pro Player Advisory Board (still not an official name).
What wasn’t announced is likely to be a much larger topic of discussion than what wasn’t officially announced such as the 2019 Grand Prix schedule (and whether or not Channel Fireball will remain the exclusive organizer of Grand Prix events), plans for announcing the 2019 World Championship and/or World Magic Cup, and any plans to announce the PPTQ season for the currently unnamed third upcoming Ravnica expansion (you think I’m looking too far ahead but the PPTQ season for Ravnica Allegiance ends on September 23rd which is less than two months from now).
Here’s a quick run-down:
First Pro Tour of 2019
February 22-24. Cleveland, OH. Be there or be square. LeBron may or may not… no wait, he will not be there.
Pro Club Levels Last for 2 Cycles
They used to last for four cycles (a full year). Then they scaled back to one cycle (three months). Now the last two cycles (six months). Hopefully they’ll figure out a way to help pros figure out which status they have currently achieved, which is a common complaint among players.
Pro Player Advisory Board
Again, this is not the official name. I came up with it. Wizards, you’re free to use it. You’re welcome. Oh, also, this is a great idea. I think three players might be too few but maybe it isn’t. Most sports have this sort of thing but they also have unions so maybe a Pro Player Union is next? Sorry, Libertarians.
Anyways, that wraps up this announcement of announcements. We look forward to many more Organized Play announcements in the coming weeks and months as the 2018-19 season takes shape!