Top Finish

A Top Finish in Magic: The Gathering is a way to count a professional player's track record. The general qualifier was by reaching the elimination rounds of an invite-only event, though the rapid expansion of the game necessitated partitioning into a two-stage system. When the Hall of Fame voting was in session, Pro Tour Top 8s were often the largest factor for induction few were considered with less than three, with most other achievements acting as tiebreakers at best.
==Description==
The record required for contention depends on the size of the entry pool. Pro Tours and Grand Prix usually have 14-16 rounds, with some having gone to 18 rounds. At their peak, at which there were 15 rounds, Grand Prix of more than 1000 players have been recorded: players needed better than 13-2 to qualify, with some at 13-2 making it on tiebreakers. Pro Tours are usually smaller than 500 players (some have been larger) and 16 rounds, and the typical record has been 12-4 to qualify. At the very low end, World Championships of 16 players but 12 rounds have records such as 7-5 making Top 4, often due to having a runaway player with 10 or more wins. The Arena-run digital Mythic Championships have had odd structures, such as Day 2 byes, double elimination before cuts, and win thresholds for Day 2. Set Championships had Top 8 win thresholds where players were removed from the pool at 12 wins, giving them the byes for the rest of the tournament. This was carried over into the new Pro Tour. This was to avoid incentives to draw and the scenario of players accepting a draw on-camera, which has happened before in the original Pro Tour era.
===Counted tournaments===
Formerly, Pro Tour Top 8s and Grand Prix Top 8s were the only ones counted (dubbed as "Top 8s", but as more events under different names emerged, "Top Finish" was coined, which excluded Grand Prix results while adding others. As of 2022, the following events count as a Top Finish:
*Pro Tour Top 8s (1996-2018, 2022-current) and the equivalent rebranded events during the 2019-2022 period
**Mythic Championship Top 8s/Top 4s (2019)
**Players Tour Top 8s (2020)
**Players Tour Finals Top 8s (2020)
**Set Championships Top 8s (2021-2022)
*Season Grand Finals Top 8 (2020)
*Mythic Invitational Top 8s/Top 4s (2020)
*World Championship Top 4s (2012-current)
*Magic Online Championships Top 4s (2009-2014)
*Magic Online Champions Showcase Top 2s (2022-current)
*Arena Championship Top 8s (2022-current)
For team events, a Top 4 team place is considered making a Top 8 for the individual team members. 
In the current system, Grand Prix Top 8s are counted separately. Since the Covid 19 crisis, they haven't been rescheduled.
==References==
Category:Competitive Magic