2020-21 Rivals League

The 2020-21 Rivals League is the Rivals League played in the 2020–21 Players Tour Season. It is the second season to feature a Rivals League.
==History==
The 2020-21 Rivals League was originally planned to be the first Rivals League in a regular season. At the start of the season, it was planned to consist of 46 players as follows:
* 1st–12th ranked digital players (not previously in the MPL)
* 1st–12th ranked tabletop players (not previously in the MPL)
* Bottom 12 players from the MPL Gauntlet
* The bottom 4 players from the previous MPL season
* 6 discretionary invites
However, with the cancellation of much of the 2020 Players Tour Season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only the first Players Tour was completed. Hence, the 2020 Rivals league was to be retained, and sixteen players would be added. Wizards of the Coast invited the top seven Mythic Points earning MTG Arena players who were not already a member of the MPL or Rivals League. From tabletop Magic, the top eight players in Player Point standings (not already a member of the MPL or Rivals League) were invited. While difficult circumstances allowed only one series of Players Tours events, they wanted to ensure those players who had tabletop success during the 2020 Partial Season were rewarded for their efforts. 
In July 2020 it was announced that Rivals would play against each other in recurring tournaments—League Weekends—where each match would win awards one point toward their league standings. Final league standings at the end of the season, after seven total League Weekends, could place players into the Rivals Gauntlet to determine the new invitees to the following season's MPL and Rivals League. All competitors who continued to succeed in their events across the entire 2020–2021 season—MPL, Rivals League, and Challengers—would receive the best opportunities for an invitation to the next World Championship.
==Structure==
===Splits===
There are three splits during the 2020–2021 season: 
* Zendikar Rising Split (ZNR) features two League Weekends (LW) — October 24-25 and November 7-8..
* Kaldheim Split (KHM) will feature three League Weekends.
* Strixhaven Split (STX) will feature three League Weekends.
In total for all League Weekends, the 48 Rivals League players were to compete in 84 matches — a maximum total of 84 points — across seven weekends. Across the first two splits, players would compete intraleague in a complete single-round-robin play against every other competitor, for 47 total matches (after the departure of Handy and Estephan a total of 45 matches). The third split will seed pools of eight or ten players each (as necessary for equal sized pools) based on league standings. Each Strixhaven Split League Weekend will reduce the players competing week over week, locking players into end of season placements and rewards. Each weekend results in the remaining top ranked Rivals League players by standings being invited to Magic World Championship XXVII, and the bottom seven ranked Rivals League players being removed from the following League Weekend.
There's a $200,000 prize pool divided across the three splits with $50,000 each, as well as an end-of-season bonus $50,000.
Standing	Prize
1-4 	$2,250
5-12 	$1,500
13-24 	$1,250
25-36 	$750
37-44 	$500
45-48 	$250
Total 	$50,000
===Split Championships===
Three Split Championships each form the culmination of a Split, featuring a $250,000 prize pool with remote play on MTG Arena. On top of League Weekends, MPL and Rivals players will earn points toward their league standings from each split's Championship:
* 9 wins earn 1 point toward league standings (the same as winning one match during a League Weekend).
* 10 wins earn 2 points toward league standings.
* 11 wins earn 3 points toward league.
* Making Top 8 of a split's Championship earns 4 points toward league standings.
===Results===
For the Rivals League, standings at the end of the season determine the next steps for that player:
*The Top 4 Rivals League players are invited to the 2021–22 Magic Pro League and qualify for Magic World Championship XXVII.
*Rivals players 5th through 20th will compete for MPL invitation (and do not face relegation to Challenger) in the MPL Gauntlet.
*Rivals players 21st through 32nd will battle fellow Rivals and Challengers for the last MPL invites (and do not face relegation to Challenger) in the Rivals Gauntlet.
*Rivals players 33rd through 36th will retain Rivals League invitation for the 2021–22 Rivals League.
*Rivals players 37th through 48th will be relegated to the Challengers for the following season.
==Roster==
For this season, the Rivals League roster at first featured 48 players. Besides all 32 players from the aborted previous season, these were the top eight Mythic Point earning players From MTG Arena who were not already a member of the MPL or Rivals League, and the top eight players in Player Points from tabletop Magic who were not already a member of the MPL or Rivals League. While originally there were fourteen new Rivals League slots available, there were ties between 7th and 8th place in both Tabletop (at 20 points) and Arena (at 17 points), so the invites were increased to sixteen. In October 2020, it became apparent that Eric Froehlich was no longer eligible to participate, because his wife had become a fulltime employee of Wizards of the Coast. He was replaced by Austin Bursavich.
After the first Split Championship, both Jessica Estephan (12 wins) and Emma Handy (14 wins) resigned from the league. Estephan was about to emigrate to the US and had found a job that would take up all her time, while Handy had accepted an invitation to become part of the Play Design team at Wizards of the Coast. Per league rules, Rivals members who leave the league mid-season are not replaced. Because both Handy and Estephan had played against some members of the league and not others, all their League Weekend match results (wins and losses) were voided.
Nat.	Name 	MTG Arena handle 	Qualification 	ZNRLW	ZNRChamp	KHMLW	KHMChamp	STXLW	Finished playing after	STXChamp	Total	Rank 	Result
 	Lucas Esper Berthoud 	BERTU 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	13 	 	10 	 	8 	 	31 	37 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Kai Budde 	KAI 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	11 	1 	8 	 	22 	 	 	42 	23 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Stanislav Cifka 	STANCIFKA 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	14 	 	17 	 	14 	 	45 	2 	2021–22 Magic Pro Leagueand 2021 World Championship	
 	Louis Deltour 	BENICIO 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	11 	1 	9 	 	19 	 	 	40 	29 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Kenji Egashira 	NUMMY 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	13 	 	12 	 	14 	 	 	39 	32 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Jessica Estephan 	JESSICA 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Withdrawn.
 	Simon Görtzen 	SIMONGOERTZEN 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	11 	1 	12 	 	13 	 	 	37 	33 	2021–22 Rivals League
 	Christian Hauck 	CHAUCKSTER 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	15 	 	14 	 	13 	 	 	42 	25 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Alexander Hayne 	HAYNE 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	9 	 	15 	 	19 	 	 	43 	19 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Eli Kassis 	GENERALMYTHIC 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	14 	 	17 	 	10 	 	41 	1 	2021–22 Magic Pro Leagueand 2021 World Championship	
 	Grzegorz Kowalski 	URLICH 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	10 	 	10 	4 	25 	 	 	49 	7 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Matias Leveratto 	LEVUNGA 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	10 	 	9 	 	12 	2 	31 	38 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Ma No Ah 	MODIFIED USERNAME	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	11 	 	8 	 	21 	 	3 	43 	20 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Théo Moutier 	SWIFTH 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	12 	1 	10 	 	17 	 	 	40 	30 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Matt Nass 	MATTHEWLNASS 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	10 	 	9 	 	8 	2 	27 	40 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Gregory Orange 	CITR 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	11 	 	10 	 	8 	 	29 	39 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Sebastian Pozzo 	SEBASTIANPOZZO 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	8 	1 	10 	 	20 	 	 	39 	31 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	John Rolf 	JROLFMTG 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	8 	 	10 	 	5 	 	23 	42 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Luis Salvatto 	LUISSALVATTO 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	9 	2 	13 	2 	18 	 	3 	47 	10 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Thoralf Severin 	TOFFEL 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	13 	 	12 	 	21 	 	 	46 	11 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Mike Sigrist 	SIGGY 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	14 	 	11 	1 	19 	 	 	45 	15 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Miguel da Cruz Simões	EDMVYRUS 	Top 8 Arena Challenger 2019 	13 	 	11 	 	17 	 	 	41 	27 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Matt Sperling 	SPERLING 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	16 	2 	12 	2 	19 	 	4 	55 	3 	2021–22 Magic Pro Leagueand 2021 World Championship
 	Ben Stark 	BENS_MTG 	Bottom 12 MPL 2019 	12 	 	7 	 	4 	 	23 	43 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Luis Scott-Vargas 	LSV 	Top 8 Tabletop Challenger 2019 	17 	1 	7 	2 	23 	 	 	50 	5 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Yoshihiko Ikawa 	WANDERINGONES 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(13th in challengers race) 	11 	 	11 	2 	18 	 	2 	44 	16 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Bernardo Santos 	BERNARDOCSSA 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(14th in challengers race) 	15 	 	10 	2 	17 	 	 	44 	18 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Beatriz Grancha 	ALIADESCHAIN 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(20th at Mythic Championship VII)	7 	 	10 	 	5 	 	22 	45 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Ally Warfield 	MEEBO 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(14th at Mythic Championship VII)	9 	 	8 	 	6 	 	23 	44 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Eli Loveman 	NEWPLAYER1 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(Mythic Championship II Winner) 	8 	 	13 	 	12 	 	33 	35 	2021–22 Rivals League 	
 	Emma Handy 	EM_TEEGEE 	Discretionary Invitation 2019(SCG Commentator) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Withdrawn.
 	Corey Burkhart 	MAGICIAN15 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	10 	2 	15 	 	19 	 	2 	48 	8 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Kenta Harane 	JSP 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	12 	 	9 	 	18 	 	2 	41 	28 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Shintaro Ishimura 	RIZER 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	15 	 	9 	 	18 	 	1 	43 	21 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Zachary Kiihne 	ZKIIHNE 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	14 	 	14 	1 	16 	 	 	45 	14 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Joel Larsson 	HEFFAKLUMPEN 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	7 	 	9 	 	5 	 	21 	46 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Yuta Takahashi 	DAZAI 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	13 	 	14 	 	21 	 	3 	51 	4 	2021–22 Magic Pro Leagueand 2021 World Championship
 	Brent Vos 	UNDUTCHABLE 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	8 	 	11 	 	12 	3 	31 	36 	2021–22 Rivals League 	
 	Jacob Wilson 	CZECHIAHONEY 	Top 8 Tabletop Player Points 2020 	15 	2 	7 	1 	21 	 	 	46 	12 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Matthieu Avignon 	EMRAKUL 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	12 	 	7 	 	23 	 	 	42 	26 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Riku Kumagai 	KUMAZEMI 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	10 	 	15 	4 	19 	 	2 	50 	6 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Chris Botelho 	CHRISB 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	13 	 	12 	2 	17 	 	 	44 	17 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Ivan Floch 	LAW 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	13 	 	13 	 	15 	 	1 	42 	24 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Jakub Toth 	FLASHJACK 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	8 	2 	12 	 	20 	 	1 	43 	22 	2020–21 Rivals Gauntlet
 	Frederico Bastos 	BAXTOX 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	14 	 	8 	 	14 	 	 	36 	34 	2021–22 Rivals League
 	Ryuzo Fujie 	RYUZO 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	8 	 	11 	 	7 	1 	26 	41 	Relegated to Challenger status 	
 	Luca Magni 	LORDOFIRONFORGE 	Top 8 MTG Arena Mythic Points 2020 	11 	4 	13 	2 	16 	 	 	46 	13 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
 	Austin Bursavich 	PERCALERT 	Discretionary Invitation 2020(2020 Grand Finals Champion) 	11 	1 	12 	3 	20 	 	 	47 	9 	2020–21 MPL Gauntlet
===Notes===
: League Points not awarded because the player had their position locked earlier.
==See also==
*2020-21 Magic Pro League
==References==
Category:Rivals LeagueCategory:2020Category:2021