Qualifier Weekend
Qualifier Weekends are monthly tournaments on MTG Arena, which provide access to Arena Championships and the Pro Tour. They used to be similar to the former Pro Tour Qualifiers (PTQs) from the tabletop Pro Tour tournaments. Starting with the 2022–23 Pro Tour Season they are incorporated in the Premier Play system and can be equated to Regional Championship Qualifiers.[1][2][3]
Description
Each monthly Qualifier Weekend is a two-day event in MTG Arena, using a Best-of-Three format for both days. While mostly Constructed, there has been one instance of Phantom Sealed. Top-finishing players from each Qualifier Weekend are invited to the upcoming Pro Tour.
Entering the event
Originally, only monthly Ranked Play provided access to the Qualifier Weekend, with the top 1,200 players getting an invite. Starting in 2022, the qualifying is segmented; the top 250 in either Constructed or Limited get the invite[4], whereas the other players of the top 1,200 will receive an entry's worth of a new organized play currency - 20 Play-In Points - for the new Qualifier Play-In gateway event. Play-In Points can also be earned through regular constructed and traditional limited events and can be cashed in at the player's discretion. The Play-In event can also be entered using 4,000 gems or 20,000 gold directly, and they appear shortly before the scheduled Qualifier Weekend; the Best-of-one queue appears a week prior, and the Traditional queue appears a day prior.
Once a player reaches the maximum wins in the play-in event, they can enter the Qualifier Weekend; winning 14 matches across two days with a maximum of one loss per day will qualify them for the Arena Championship and the Pro Tour.[2] However, due to the high attrition of the 7/2 splits, players on day 2 have been documented as being unable to match against an opponent in the last few hours. Some at the higher wins get discretionary invites, slotted in with the normal invitees, given that less than the expected eight per month qualify the normal fashion.
By 2024, event attendance started dropping under 100 players, culminating in the March Qualifier weekend where no player could make seven wins before the queue was depopulated; April also only had one player qualifying through seven wins. Thus, structural changes were made to improve attendance: the incentives were improved for players, and the leaderboard was scrapped as the expected numbers were clearer.[5] Firstly, the knockout condition in Day 1 was changed to three losses from two losses. As all six-win players had qualified already, six wins now would provide an invite to the Arena Championship. Not all players would gain a Pro Tour invite, but in exchange the Arena Championship was now uncapped, and 16 players would gain an invite. To reward good performance and populate the matchmaking, four and five wins on Day 2 gain a Day 2 invite for the next Qualifier, and any number of wins on Day 2 would gain entry to the next Qualifier.
In May 2025, it was revealed that the 2024 changes did not produce the increased number of invites that had been hoped for. To remedy this this, the number of match wins was reduced from six down to four on Day Two of a Qualifier Weekend to earn an invite to the Arena Championship.[6]
Awards
| Qualifier Weekend | Day 1 gems | Token for | Day 2 gems | Token for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Wins | 12,000 | Day 2 | N.A. | N.A. |
| 6 Wins | 10,000 | 5,000 | Arena Championship | |
| 5 Wins | 7,500 | 2,500 | Arena Championship | |
| 4 Wins | 5,000 | 2,000 | Arena Championship | |
| 3 Wins | 3,000 | 1,500 | Next Qualifier Weekend | |
| 2 Wins | 2,000 | 1,000 | Next Qualifier Weekend | |
| 1 Win | 1,000 | 500 | Next Qualifier Weekend | |
| 0 Wins | 500 | 250 |
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (March 31, 2022). "Return of the Pro Tour, Your Path to Playing Magic at the Highest Level". Magic.gg.
- ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (April 21, 2022). "MTG Arena Premier Play in 2022". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 21, 2022). "MTG Arena Premier Play in 2022 FAQ". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (August 24, 2022). "Qualifier Weekend Information". Magic.gg.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (March 19, 2024). "MTG Arena Play in 2024". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the CoastMay 9, 2025. "Qualifier Weekend Event Updates". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
External links
- Wizards of the Coast (May 9, 2025). "Qualifier Play-Ins and Qualifier Weekend Information". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.