Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast seeks to diversify its Magic Pro League following the departure of two Magic: The Gathering players, and now they're filling those two slots by adding Janne "Savjz" Mikkonen and Jessica Estephan.
The announcement made today clarified why the two players were chosen for the Magic Pro League, the group of 32 players with $75,000 contracts to stream Magic Arena and compete at high-level tournaments.
Savjz, a popular streamer focused on competitive CCGs, made it to Top 4 of the Mythic Invitational, and he was also the highest-ranked Challenger at the PAX East event. Savjz had reached the Mythic #1 rank in Arena.
Jessica Estephan was the first woman to be added to the Magic Pro League. The Australian player was the first woman to win a Grand Prix tournament.
The news comes after Yuuya Watanabe was removed from the MPL for cheating at Mythic Championship II and after Gerry Thompson resigned from the MPL. Last month, Autumn Burchett joined the MPL after Owen Turtenwald was removed.
In addition to filling the two MPL slots, Magic Esports has revealed how it's trying to diversity if tournaments and leagues in the near future.
"The barriers women face when attempting to play competitively are significant," the Magic Pro League wrote. "The MPL is making a purposeful effort to remove barriers and invite a slate of accomplished players who more fully represent the complete Magic community."
The MPL is adding 16 discretionary slots to each of the Magic Arena Mythic Championships for the 2019 season. "These discretionary slots will be used to invite a broader representation of the Magic competitive community to high-level play. These sixteen slots are in addition to the existing MPL, prior performance, and direct qualification slots."
MPL Weekly is set to air on May 18 on the official Magic Twitch channel with Savjz and Estephan playing make-up matches in the upcoming weeks.
Check out our new Magic Arena video:
Related:MTG Fan Shares Possible Video Evidence of Yuuya Watanabe's Marked Cards
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Magic: the Gathering