Which Magic Pro is talented enough to win it all in Modern? The second Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship is taking center stage this weekend with over 500 players and a prize pool of $500,000. Taking place in London, the tournament runs from April 26 to 28. It also correlates with the pre-release of MTG newest expansion, War of the Spark. The Mythic Championship will feature two formats, War of the Spark draft and Modern constructed. Days one and two will feature three rounds of War of the Spark draft, followed by five rounds of Modern constructed. The final day will feature the top eight players, using a single-elimination bracket. The playoff rounds will be fought in a best-of-three. Not all Magic: The Gathering tournaments are live streamed, but the second Mythic Championship will be via the MTG streaming channel on Twitch. Who are the top players in Modern and what Pro’s should viewers keep an eye on? To answer that, here are several MTG Pro’s to watch during the second MTG Mythic Championship in London. Luis Scott-Vargas Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic The Gathering Best known on Twitch as “LSV,” Luis Scott-Vargas is no stranger to MTG tournaments on the pro level or the Modern format. He’s placed in the top eight 15 times and was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2013. During the first Mythic Championship, Luis Scott-Vargas finished in fourth place. Of all the format’s, LSV is exceptionally good at Modern. He typically favors control and combo decks, so it should be interesting to see what he brings to the second Mythic Championship. Autumn Burchett Image via Forbes and Magic The Gathering Winning the first MTG Mythic Championship title, Autumn Burchett also won the English National Championship in 2017 and 2018. Identifying as transfeminine non-binary, they became the first non-male to ever win a Pro Tour. Autumn also participated in the first MTG Mythic Invitational, losing to Gaby Sparks due to lack of mana. Andrea Mengucci Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Nicknamed “King of the Hill,” Andrea Mengucci became a household name this year by winning the first Magic: The Gathering Mythic Invitational. He’s finished in the top eight three times during the World Magic Cup and last won a tournament in 2015 with the Italian national team. Mengucci brought a White/Blue/Black “Esper” deck to the Mythic Invitational, so it should be interesting to see what he’s constructed for the Modern format in the second Mythic Championship. Reid Duke Image via Channel Fireball and Magic: The Gathering Playing since the age of five, Reid Duke came onto the Magic: The Gathering scene by winning the Magic Online Championship in 2011. Nicknamed “reiderrabbit,” Duke has four Pro Tour top-eight finishes and 23 Grand Prix top-eight finishes. Duke’s previous Modern tournaments was a Grand Prix teams event in 2017, where they finished in second and a 2018 individual event where he finished sixth. Reid Duke is familiar with the Modern format and should be expected to finish in the Mythic Championship II top eight in London. Javier Dominguez Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Winning the 2018 World Championship, Javier Dominguez now his eyes set on the second Mythic Championship in London. In his last two Modern tournaments, Dominguez has finished third and sixth. He’s been in the top eight 10 times in the Grand Prix and once on the Pro Tour. The second Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship runs from April 26 to 28 in London and will be available via live stream on Twitch.<doc-sep>The insanity of Modern Constructed continued throughout day two of the Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship II with 302 players seeking the top eight spots for the playoffs on day three. Today wasn’t without controversy, though. Fernando David Gonzalez landed a second draw in a match due to miscommunication from his opponent in the War of the Spark Limited draft. A poor call was also made by a judge on the floor, resulting in a reversal of moves and almost a draw between Yuuya Watanabe and Andrew Watts. Disqualification round 15 Modern Constructed Judges noticed several markings on Watanabe’s card sleeves during his match in round 15. Based on the similarities in markings and the cards they were on, officials ruled that it wasn’t a random occurrence. Watanabe, who was a sure shot for the top eight, has been disqualified. Day two Modern Constructed Modern Constructed, however, ran smoothly considering all the shenanigans taking place from the player’s decks. With only two rounds left in the afternoon, nine players were sitting at 11-3. Going into the final round of Modern Constructed at the Mythic Championship II in London, several players found themselves locked into the top eight. Screengrab via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Round 16 featured Eli Loveman (Humans) vs. João Andrade (Hardened Scales) and Sergio Garcia Gonzalez vs. Adrian Zhu. Loveman and Zhu both walked away victorious. Tron was thought to be the favored deck, but Humans showed its versatility and strength, especially in the final rounds of the day. But Thien Nguyen is the name of the day, finishing in the top spot heading into the playoffs tomorrow. Right behind him are MPL players—Alexander Hayne, Brian Braun-Duin (BBD), and Javier Dominguez. I hate when that pesky battlefield gets in the way of the graveyard I've worked so hard to build. In Round 15, @JavierDmagic won that graveyard-centric match to stay in contention for Top 8! #MythicChampionshipII pic.twitter.com/1Y8g471SmU — Magic Esports (@MagicEsports) April 27, 2019 Top eight going to playoffs Screengrab via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Due to the disqualification of Watanabe, the top eight included an MTG player who scored 36 points. The top eight also has two Tron and three Human decks. Thein Nguyen: 39 points Eli Loveman: 39 points Alexander Hane: 37 points Brian Braun-Duin: 37 points Adrian Zuh: 37 points Chris Kvartek: 37 points Javier Dominguez: 37 points Matthew Sperling: 36 points The crowd at #MythicChampionshipII enjoying the Top 8 announcement! pic.twitter.com/K4oDrwK3xa — Magic Esports (@MagicEsports) April 27, 2019 Mythic Championship II top 16 team standings Screengrab via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Screengrab via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Screengrab via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Day three of the Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship II will feature the top eight players facing off in the Modern Constructed playoffs.<doc-sep>Minutes prior to the top eight standings announcement during Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship II in London, officials declared Yuuya Watanabe’s disqualification for marked card sleeves. The news came as a shock to the MTG community and to fans of Watanabe, who was undefeated for the day prior to his loss in round 11. Watanabe, who’s never been caught cheating in his career, is a two-time Player of the Year winner and an inductee into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame. Shortly after his disqualification, Watanabe spoke out about the allegations on Twitter. “After the events transpired, I was very confused at first,” says Watanabe. “I’d like to explain things from my perspective.” Here is a statement from Yuuya Watanabe about the Mythic Championship London. pic.twitter.com/rHhEpQrfk7 — Team Cygames (@Team_Cygames) April 29, 2019 In addition to Watanabe’s statement, Team Cygames released photos of the card sleeve markings along with its own statement on the matter. “I would like to apologize to everyone who is supporting Team Cygames, for having been obliged to convey Watanabe’s disappointing results in this way,” Team Cygames said. Images of Yuuya Watanabe Mythic Championship II card sleeves Image via Team Cygames According to Watanabe, he put on new card sleeves after his loss to Thein Nuygen in round 11. The markings on the card sleeves are precise, similar in nature, and don’t typically occur from general play. Image via Team Cygames During the MTG Mythic Championship II, a new mulligan rule (London mulligan) was being playtested. The rule allowed players to draw seven cards with each mulligan, and then discard the number of cards equal to the number of mulligans taken. Because Watanabe had Urza’s Mine and Urza’s Tower marked, he could find land cards that give him additional mana on turn one by taking mulligans until he notices the notched card sleeves. In the MTG Modern format, it’s not unusual for a player to win a match by turn two or three. If Watanabe intentionally marked his card sleeves, he’d have a huge advantage over his opponent. Wizards of the Coast is having the MPL (Magic Pro League) investigate the card markings and Watanabe’s account of what occurred. No official statement has been released yet from the MPL.<doc-sep>
Yuuya Watanabe was disqualified from the MTG Mythic Championship II in London due to markings on his card sleeves. According to Magic: The Gathering officials, a deck check was performed in round 15 of Modern Constructed and a judge noticed several issues with Watanabe’s card sleeves. Playing a Tron deck, Watanabe had several card sleeves with similar notched markings. Watanabe is a veteran in the MTG pro scene. He won MTG Player of the Year in 2009 and 2012, and was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2016. Watanabe started off day two strong in the War of the Spark limited draft, pulling out a big win against his opponent, Andrew Watts. An MTG floor judge made a poor call when Watts questioned how Watanabe’s Sarhan, the Masterless took damage as a four/four dragon. Watanabe, despite being under the gun in time, pulled out the win. Heading into Modern Constructed, Watanabe continued to win, earning him a spot in the top eight for the Mythic Championship II playoffs. Shortly before the top eight announcements, however, officials said that Watanabe was being disqualified from the tournament. All of Watanabe’s Urza’s Power Plants were marked in a specific way. In addition, three Urza’s Mines and one Urza’s Tower had like markings on the card sleeves. The judge then found one Urza’s Mine and three Urza’s Tower with different markings from the other group of four. Due to the similarities in the markings and power of the cards in a Tron deck, Watanabe was disqualified. Officials declared that the marks weren’t accidental and were likely put there intentionally. Wizards of the Coast released a statement discussing the disqualification, saying that the incident would receive further investigation by the MPL. But Watanabe is still listed as an MPL player and is set to compete in the new MPL league.