2020-21 Magic Pro League

The **2020-21 Magic Pro League season** is the third season for the Magic Pro League. It is part of the 2020–21 Players Tour Season.

## History

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 roster of the MPL was completely carried over to the 2020–21 season.

## Structure

In this season, MPL players will play against each other in recurring tournaments — League Weekends — where each match win awards one point toward their league standings. Final league standings at the end of the season, after seven total League Weekends, will place players into the MPL Gauntlet to determine the new invitees to the following season's MPL and Rivals League. All competitors who continue to succeed in their events across the entire 2020–2021 season will receive the best opportunities for an invitation to the next World Championship.

### Splits

There are three splits during the 2020–2021 season:

* *Zendikar Rising* (ZNR) Split featured two League Weekends (LW) — October 24-25 and November 7-8.
* *Kaldheim* Split (KHM) featured two League Weekends — January, 16-17 and February 27-28.
* *Strixhaven* Split (STX) features three League Weekends.

In total for all League Weekends, the 24 MPL players will compete in 84 matches — a maximum total of 84 points — across seven weekends. Across the first two splits, players will compete intraleague — MPL against MPL, in a double-round-robin play for 46 total 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 MPL players by standings being invited to Magic World Championship XXVII, and the bottom three ranked MPL 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.

 5-12
 13-20
 21-24
 **Total** | $50,000

### Split Championships

*Main article: 2020–21 Players Tour Season#Schedule*
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 MPL, standings at the end of the season determine the next steps for that player:

* The Top 4 MPL players are invited to the 2021–22 Magic Pro League and qualify for Magic World Championship XXVII.
* MPL players 5th through 12th will compete for MPL invitation (and face Rivals League relegation) in the MPL Gauntlet.
* MPL players 13th through 16th will compete for MPL invitation (and face Rivals League relegation) in the Rivals Gauntlet.
* MPL players 17th through 24th will be relegated to the Rivals League.

### Notes

**^†** League Points not awarded because the player had their rank locked earlier.

## References

1. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 1, 2020). "Esports Update: MPL, Rivals, and Competitor 2020 Partial Season Changes". Magic.gg.
2. ↑ ***a*** ***b*** ***c***  Wizards of the Coast (July 14). "The 2020-2021 Magic Pro League Season Overview". Magic.gg.
3. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 7, 2021). "What are *Strixhaven* League Weekends?". Magic.gg.
4. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 8, 2021). "April Strixhaven League Weekend Viewers Guide". Magic.gg.
5. ↑ Ben Drago and Bear Watson (August 27, 2020). "Esports Update: Changes to 2020-2021 Magic Pro League Play". Magic.gg.
6. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 23, 2020). "Announcing the 2020-2021 League Rosters". Magic.gg.