Wizards of the Coast gave players a first look at its new esports structure today with details about how the next split, the Zendikar Rising split, will work.
The Zendikar Rising split will be the first of three splits, each based around a new expansion set, in the Magic Pro League’s 2020-21 season. It will be made up of three Ranked Seasons on MTG Arena that lead to one of three Qualifier Weekends, which in turn lead to the Zendikar Rising to cap off the split. The Ranked Seasons will take place over three months—September, October, and November—and the top 1,200 Mythic players in each will be invited to the associated Qualifier Weekend.
An overview of the Zendikar Rising split.
The Qualifier Weekends will be two-day events on MTG Arena that will use a Best-of-Three Constructed format (to be determined) for both days. Players will need seven wins to advance to Day 2 and will be eliminated with three losses, and players that win seven matches on Day 2 will be invited to the Zendikar Rising Championship.
Wizards said that players will also be able to qualify for the Zendikar Rising Championship via Magic Online events and tournaments held by third parties.
Those players will be joined at the Zendikar Rising Championship by the full rosters of the Magic Pro and Rivals Leagues, as well as the top-finishing players from the upcoming Players Tour Finals and Mythic Invitational. The Championship will be a two-day event played on MTG Arena with 15 rounds of swiss and a Top 8 and will award $250,000 in prizes. The Top 4 players will earn a spot in the 2020-21 season’s Magic Pro League Gauntlet.
An overview of who will qualify for the Zendikar Rising Championship.
This Fall’s Zendikar Rising split will mark Magic Esports’ return after the Magic Pro League’s 2020 partial season abruptly ended in March. Of the six events scheduled for the partial season season, only Players Tour Series 1 was able to be held before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Wizards to cancel the season, saying that it “unrecoverable.”
“It goes without saying that 2020 has been a year of upheaval and change, including in the world of Magic Esports,” Wizards said. “This new foundation for the 2020-2021 season has flexibility to not only allow us to add more play opportunities, but to meet the demands of a constantly changing world.”