Today, Director of Global Organized Play Helene Bergeot released the Organized Play Announcement for Pro Tour Eldritch Moon. These changes are normally announced during the Pro Tour. Considering the breadth and depth of this round of updates, it makes sense for them to be publicized outside of the lunch break in competition.

The update deals with the Pro Player Club, Pro Tour Top 8 payouts, the World Championship, Grand Prix, and also introduces the Magic Pro Tour Team Series.

“Some of the most exciting stories in Pro Tour history have centered around the testing teams that are often composed of Pro Tour Hall of Famers, future Pro Tour Champions, and aspiring pro players.” That is how Bergeot begins the section on the Magic Pro Tour Team Series.

Officially launching with the 2017-18 Pro Season, players will be able to form a team of nine players that will compete for the span of the season.

At either the first or second Pro Tour of a season, a team can be formed and registered. These nine players must include a captain who will be the go between for the team and Wizards of the Coast. Once a player is registered for a team they will be locked on that team’s roster for a season. This represents a change from the current testing team structure where players often shift alliances between Pro Tours.

At a given team’s first Pro Tour all 9 members will have their pro points added to the team total. At their second it will only count the top 6 members of the team. If the team was registered at the first Pro Tour of the season then their third Pro Tour will also count the top 6 members.

The fourth Pro Tour of the season will feature the “Top 8” of the Team Series. All nine members of these teams will receive an invitation to the fourth Pro Tour and their Pro Point total will count towards the final score.

The players from the Top 4 teams will received invitations to the first Pro Tour of the 2018-19 season (even if they switch teams). The Top 2 teams will be invited to an event at the 2017-18 World Championships to compete in a playoff. The winning team will walk away with $104,400.

Fans of Magic will not have to wait until next year, however. The Team Series will see a soft launch in the 2017-18 season at Pro Tour Aether Revolt. While this soft launch is subject to change, it will follow the structure in place for a team’s first and second Pro Tour. Members of the top 4 teams will be invited to the first Pro Tour of the 2018-19 season. The top 2 teams will be invited to the 2016-17 World Championships to compete in a playoff where the winning team will walk away with $36,000.

Teams have long been a part of competitive Magic and it is great to see Wizards embrace this element of the game. As Magic moves more into the realm of spectator sport giving fans a rooting interest can serve to increase attention to professional events

After April’s announcement and walk back, the changes for the 2017-18 Pro Player Club have been released. The changes are as follows:

• Platinum Pros will receive a $500 appearance fee for the first 6 Grand Prix events they compete in for a given season.
• Platinum Pros will no longer receive hotel accommodations for Pro Tours.

The first change is designed to reduce burnout from the feeling of “needing” to travel to every Grand Prix to earn benefits. The second change came about from discussions with professional players. Many players already pool resources for lodging in advance of a Pro Tour and the funds for hotel rooms could be better spent elsewhere.

The Pro Tour Top 8 will be seeing a format change starting with Pro Tour Kaladesh. While Swiss standings have always mattered, in the new structure they take on a new importance as the players in first and second place after two days of competition will automatically advance to the Semifinals.

The new structure is a modified single elimination bracket where the Quarterfinals take place in two stages. In the first stage the 5th seed plays the 8th seed while the 6th seed squares off against the player who finished 7th. The winner of the 5/8 match will play the player in 4th while the winner of the 6/7 match will face the 3rd seed.

The semifinals will see the winner of 5-8 vs 4 against the player in 1st. The other half of the bracket will have the victor of 6-7 vs 3 up against the player in 2nd. The winners of these will meet in the finals.

There is a new payout structure, both cash and Pro Points, which can be found in the article. Winning a Pro Tour now awards $50,000 and 31 Pro Points.

These changes seem designed to place more emphasis on doing well during the Swiss rounds. Instead of everyone entering Sunday on equal footing performing well over the course of two days now earns you the right to rest and prepare for the semifinals.

The schedule for the 2016 World Championships has been announced. Taking place at PAX West, the schedule is:

The slots for the 2017 World Championships have also been announced. Notably absent are the 2016 World Champion, the Grand Prix Master slot (which generated a ton of interest down the stretch in the 2015-16 season), and the Hall of Fame slot.

The 24 seats will be awarded to:

• 4 winners of the 2016-17 Pro Tours
• Magic Online Champion
• Standard Master (most Pro Points from constructed at the Pro Tour)
• Draft Master (most Pro Points from draft at the Pro Tour)
• North American Champion (most Pro Points from North America)
• European Champion (most Pro Points Europe)
• Asia-Pacific Champion (most Pro Points from the Asia-Pacific region)
• Latin American Champion (most Pro Points Latin America)
• 13 Top Ranked Players - Top 13 players from the Player of the Year race who have not yet qualified for the World Championship.

The prize pool at the 2017 World Championships will be $300,000, with $100,000 going to the winner. Additionally, players will earn one Pro POint only for each victory beyond their third win. This change is designed to prevent the previous year’s World Championship having too great an influence on the Pro Point race.

The 2017 Grand Prix Schedule has been released and can be found here. Highlights include:

Grand Prix San Antonio (March 31-April 2) and Grand Prix Madrid (December 8-10) will feature Team Unified Modern.

Grand Prix Las Vegas (June 15-18) is not one but rather three Grand Prix, all occurring in the same four day span.

The schedule for various Preliminary and Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers, World Magic Cup Qualifiers, and more events were announced as well and can be found here.

For Pro Tour Nashville (May 12–14, 2017)

PPTQ Round(Standard/Sealed): October 15, 2016–January 8, 2017

RPTQ Weekends (Standard): February 25–26 and March 4–5, 2017

Magic Online RPTQs: March 4 and March 11, 2017

For Pro Tour Ky?to (July 28–30, 2017)

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed): January 21–April 16, 2017

RPTQ Weekends (Sealed with Top 8 Booster Draft): June 3–4 and June 10–11, 2017

Magic Online RPTQs: June 10 and June 17, 2017

For Pro Tour Albuquerque (November 3–5, 2017)

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed): April 29–July 2, 2017

RPTQ Weekends (Standard): August 12–13 and August 19–20, 2017

Magic Online RPTQs: August 19 and August 16, 2017

For the first Pro Tour of 2018 (TBD)

PPTQ Round (Modern/Sealed): July 15–October 8, 2017

RPTQ Weekends (Modern): November 11–12 and November 18–19, 2017

Magic Online RPTQs: November 18 and November 25, 2017

For the second Pro Tour of 2018 (TBD)

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed): October 21, 2017–January 7, 2018

RPTQ Weekends: TBD

Magic Online RPTQs: TBD

July 1–2, 2017 (Modern)

September 9–10, 2017 (Standard)

September 23–24, 2017 (Modern)

These events will qualify winners to participate on their country's team for the 2017 World Magic Cup in Nice, France, December 1–3, 2017. More info on next year's World Magic Cup will be available at a later date.

Super Sunday Series Championship: January 7–8, 2017 (taking place at Wizards of the Coast Headquarters in Renton, Washington)

Magic Online Championship: March 3–5, 2017 (location TBD)

Eternal Weekend in North America: September 23–24, 2017 (taking place in Columbus, Ohio)

Eternal Weekend in Europe: March 31–April 2, 2017 (taking place in Paris, France)

These changes indicate that Wizards is making a push to showcase the very best players. The Team Series will highlight the camaraderie of players while displaying how teams work together towards a larger goal. Giving fans a rooting interest in teams and not just players could change how video coverage is done.

The changes to the Pro Tour Top 8 structure puts an increased importance on the Swiss rounds and rewards success. Similarly the 2017 World Championships places a greater stress on success over the course of the season and not winning an arbitrary title.

Professional Magic is entering a new era and starting in 2017 we will have a chance to watch it unfold.