MTG Spotlight Series looks to fill competitive play gap—and players are rejoicing

Organized play in Magic: The Gathering is bringing back third-party run events through the Spotlight Series, revealed by director of Play Programs William “Huey” Jensen on the MTGWeekly Aug. 20 Twitch stream.

Competitive MTG has evolved since Huey became the director of Play Programs, bringing back revised forms of organized play that players have been steadily asking for. It started with the return of tabletop at major events and the return of the Pro Tour. At the beginning of 2025, a revamped version of GP events will return through the MTG Spotlight Series.

The Spotlight Series features eight open tournament events that players don’t need to qualify for to participate in. Rewards from top finishes will include a slice of a $50,000 total prize pool, Standard cards for a year, and an invite to a Pro Tour event.

Here’s a breakdown of what players can expect from an MTG Spotlight Series tournament:

• Eight open tournaments annually
• $50,000 prize pool
• A theme for each event with promo cards matching that theme
• Eight invites to the next Pro Tour
• Broadcast coverage provided by third-party host
• Starts with the first tournament in Atlanta from Jan. 3 to 5 at SCGCon
• The winner earns six Play booster boxes from Standard releases for that year

Events may have a player cap based on accommodations from the third-party host, and players are encouraged to contact the host for more details. Five MTG Spotlight Series events will take place in the United States, hosted by StarCityGames. Two are in Europe through Fanfinity, with the second Spotlight Series in the Netherlands. And one event will run in Japan through Big Magic.

The first MTG Spotlight Series Atlanta event will feature Foundations Standard Constructed play, while the Netherlands event will feature the Modern format. Players can expect more details from WotC and the hosts closer to the tournament event dates.