Over the years Magic the Gathering has seen many iterations of its card-game, from physical cards being used, through to it taking place online. The World Championship itself has mostly taken place using real-time cards in the past, but it is fast becoming one of the biggest eSports with it’s newly incorporated digital ‘Arena’ game, as many players are moving into the new format. This means that the audience for the game is larger than ever, something which you can potentially capitalize on when it comes to betting, as we shall see here.
Running since 1994, the Magic the Gathering: World Championship has been an annual fixture within the tabletop gaming scene. Bringing in professional players from far-and-wide, it’s managed by the game’s developers themselves, ‘Wizards of the Coast’, who oversee the whole event. Originally hosted in America, it’s gone on to take place in various different countries throughout the world, including Japan, Europe, and Australia. Now using the MTG Arena video-game format exclusively, it has become an eSport at the forefront of online digital collectible card gaming.
Typically taking place in February each year, it’s a huge event with a lot of talent and equally high stakes behind it. How do you make sure this best works to your advantage though, and what can you hope for when betting on the event?
Where To Bet MTG: World Championship:
America: Providing odds for most, if not all of the World Championship games, BetOnline has a comprehensive list offering outright bets on the upcoming matches.
Canada: The ideal choice here is Bet365 Sportsbook, as it covers Canada completely, providing a range of bets for the World Championship.
Everywhere Else: Again, Bet365 Sportsbook is what you’ll want to go with internationally, offering the most bets at any given time.
What is MTG: World Championship?
Previously holding a total prize-pool of $1,000,000, the competition is normally comprised of sixteen players overall. So far the most successful contestant has been Shahar Shenhar, having won the competition twice during the entire run of the championship. There’s also a team portion of the event too, in which the United States has so far been the most successful with eight titles and counting.Now though, the championship largely focuses on individual players as they make their way up through the rankings. This is how the tournament itself is currently formatted at this time:
- Qualification: Alongside the previous years champion, fifteen players compete through the Mythic Championship and the Magic Pro League, gaining mythic points to qualify.
- Main Event: Taking place over 3 to 4 days, a series of games are played each day, gaining points and getting through to the semi-finals.
- Final Winners: The final scores are given, and a ranking of all the players and their prize money is drawn up, with one becoming champion.
Prior to this the World Magic Cup also takes place, being another hugely important event in bringing MTG talent to a wider audience. What can you do to better spot this talent early on though, successfully predicting the results and ultimately scoring a win for yourself?
Common MTG: World Championship Betting Questions:
What kind of bets does MTG offer and who should I look out for?:
So far the betting range is somewhat limited to the more general wagers, including ‘To Win Outright’ and ‘Region of Winner’. The game’s beginning to rise in popularity as an eSport though, especially after the arrival of Arena, meaning it will grow, with the number of prop bets made available, such as land props and other more specific wagers, increasing too. For now though, focusing on the outright winner is best, keeping an eye on who handles the table most professionally, not forgetting deck building and match preparation.
Where can I see the games?:
To see many of the older games you can find them through magic.gg/vod, giving you the official replays of many of the past matches. There’s also the official Magic Twitch and YouTube channels, providing live coverage and commentary on many of their games. Other live-streams are also available on Twitch, such as ChannelFireball, presenting many of the games themselves, which you can find out more about through magic.gg again. Keep up-to-date with older games and see which players are worth betting on, taking note of their playing styles and what decks they’ve built.
How to Bet MTG: World Championship:
BetOnline: Using the ‘Esports’ option from the navigation bar at the top of the page underneath the site sign-in, you can then go on and find the eSports rolling down the page. First you’ll see the current bets for today, but you can choose the ‘Outright’ option, which is along from it. Moving down you should find ‘To Win Magic World Championship’ for the current year, along with the players and their given odds.
Bet365 Sportsbook: At the landing page pick ‘Sports’ before going on and using ‘Esports’ on the left side, just below the ‘Darts’ option. Next you’ll have ‘Coupons’ and ‘Outrights’ at the top of the page, with the eSports and events down the center. Further down should be ‘MTG – World Championship’ with ‘Tournament Betting’ underneath opening up the relevant betting markets.
MTG: World Championship Major Betting Strategy:
First and foremost it’s best to focus on the players that are presently experiencing all round success. Next you want to look at how they’re dealing with the format of the tournament itself, looking for any upcoming changes that might be coming their way. You should also see what they’re experimenting with, and how they’re building up their decks, as this can also give you a clearer idea of what to expect from them in the future.
Social-media is a good starting point for finding out more, and Facebook can also help you here, as there’s many communities available dedicated to MTG. Keeping up-to-date with your preferred player is best, as you should then be able to make a more informed and conscious decision when placing your bet.