Wizards of the Coast
Magic: The Gathering is launching its $10 million esports league with its free-to-play digital game Magic Arena this year and that means that the popular trading card game is also getting some major rebranding as its competitive scene changes in a big way in 2019. Today, the Magic Pro Tour Twitter account has changed its name to "Magic Esports".
Today, the official Twitter account for competitive Magic: The Gathering content has announced: "We've had a name change! This account is still the place for competitive Magic content, including the Magic Pro League and Mythic Championship series. Can't wait to see you all for #2019MC1 at #MTGCleveland in two weeks on http://twitch.tv/magic."
This makes sense since Wizards of the Coast are already moving away from Pro Tour as the name for Magic's professional scene. The Pro Tour events that fans are familiar with are being replaced with the Mythic Championships and Mythic Invitationals, and the first ever Mythic Invitational will be held at PAX East next month (You can read the details and the list of players competing at the event here).
They went on to explain that they're using the term "esports" to reflect all aspects of competitive Magic, both tabletop and digital. This year, Mythic
While many are welcoming Magic's refocus into the esports scene, many fans have criticized how Wizards of the Coast changed the structure of the game's competitive events. As Magic professional player Jon Stern recently pointed out, they're taking away major events like Nationals and Magic World Cup this year to focus more on Magic Arena and the Magic Pro League, 32 of the best players each paid $75,000 to play competitively and stream this year.
Fans online have also complained about the lack of text and video coverage in recent Magic Grand Prix events. Many were disappointed with MagicFest New Jersey's lack of coverage and trophy for the winner last month. Channelfireball recently announced that they're taking over the coverage for Grand Prix events but they haven't confirmed any plans for video coverage yet.
Are you happy with Magic; The Gathering rebranding this year? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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