Magic: The Gathering World Championship Kicks off This Weekend

This weekend sees the opening of the Magic World Championship XXVII, pulling 16 of the best players from around the world over the 2020-21 season. The competition sees all participants receiving an appearance prize of $50,000, with a prize pool shared of $250,000 and the opportunity to have their likeness featured on a Magic: The Gathering Card. 

You can catch it streamed to Twitch from Friday October 8th, to Sunday October 10th, beginning at 9am each day. 

Both Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Draft and Standard Constructed formats will be used for Magic World Championship XXVII, covering 10 Swiss rounds of play total across two days.

Standard decklists have been published and are available now. Innistrad: Midnight Hunt decklists will be published on the Magic World Championship XXVII event page on Friday, October 8, after recaps of each draft pod are broadcast.

An overview of the all-new Standard format by analyst Mani Davoudi will be published Thursday, September 30, followed by an Innistrad: Midnight Hunt draft deep dive with Limited expert Marshall Sutcliffe on Wednesday, October 6. The metagame details and breakdown analysis by Magic Hall of Famer Frank Karsten will be published on Thursday, October 7.

Below is a look at the schedule and formats for each day:

• Friday, Oct. 8 - 9 a.m. PDT / 4 p.m. UTC / 1 a.m. JST (Oct. 7)
  • Rounds 1–3: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Draft
  • Rounds 4–5: Standard Constructed
  • Broadcast ends after Round 5
• Saturday, Oct. 9 - 9 a.m. PDT / 4 p.m. UTC / 1 a.m. JST (Oct. 10)
  • Rounds 6–10: Standard Constructed
  • Tiebreaker round to follow, if needed
  • Broadcast ends after Round 10—plus any tiebreaker matches to be completed—and the Top 4 for the World Championship is announced
• Sunday, Oct. 10 - 9 a.m. PDT / 4 p.m. UTC / 1 a.m. JST (Oct. 11)
  • The Top 4 playoff will feature Standard Constructed
  • Upper Bracket matches will be a best of three games
  • Lower Bracket matches, and the Championship Match, will be a best of three matches.
  • Broadcast ends after Magic World Champion XXVII is determined