Wizards of the Coast
On Magic: The Gathering'sofficial Twitch channel, DailyMTG Editor-in-Chief Blake Rasmussen has announced the new changes they're making for Pro Tour qualifications next year, a new name for major Magic weekend events, and also revealed the Grand Prix 2019 schedule.
First of all, Rasmussen summed up the ways to qualify for a Pro Tour. The Pro Player club will pretty much remain the same, and you can also qualify if you placed high in Grand Prix events. The third way of qualifying for a Pro Tour is by placing high in a qualifying event that will be held in certain stores that are qualified to run major tournaments. So there will be no more PPTQs, just qualifying tournaments for specific Pro Tours.
Check out more details below:
For PT Dallas and beyond, the qualification system will change. The new format is something like the "old PTQ system" with some twists. These events can happen in three different ways: (this season starts in march 2019)
Open Qualifiers - The PTQs - as they are known now - held in Magic Fests. Anyone can play, pretty much the same as the sunday PTQs we have in GPs right now.
Invite Only Qualifiers - Pretty much the same as "old PTQs" with one difference: you will need to meet some minimum requirements to play at them - announced in the near future (this may be or not something like PWP and/or pro level - not defined yet). These events will be a one day event awarding one PT slot. These events will have a cap of the number of competitors according to the size of the venue.
Professional events. This is (sort of) new. Best in class WPN stores and Professional Tournament Organizers will be able to organize events - or a series of events culminating in a final - awarding PT slots (yes, these events can award more than one PT invite in some cases).
Secondly, Grand Prix weekends won't no longer be called "Grand Prix"; they will be called "MagicFest" which will consist of Grand Prix, side events, and all six Pro Tours in 2019 will take place in MagicFests in the same weekends.
CFB Events revealed the full Grand Prix 2019 schedule, which you can check out below:
As you can see, CFB events announced the formats for only the Grand Prix events in the first quarter of 2019. March is going to be a huge month for Modern, and there are no team events in the first quarter of 2019. Expect them to announce the Grand Prix formats for the second quarter by January. Rasmussen went on to say that CFB Events is still planning to add one Grand Prix that will take place in the Asia Pacific region that will most likely happen in the fourth quarter of 2019 so that could be in China, Australia, or other Asian countries. Maybe it will be in Manila, Philippines, but we'll have to wait.
What do you think about these changes? Do you think MagicFest is a good name? Which MagicFests are you planning to attend? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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