In his return to Magic: The Gathering, Joel Larsson claimed the first Players Tour champion trophy with a Sultai brew featuring Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath.
The MTG 2020 partial season swung into high gear with Players Tour Brussels this weekend, showcasing Pioneer Constructed for the first time on the main stage along with Theros: Beyond Death Booster Draft. Several of the best Magic players in the world made it to the top eight yesterday, but it was Larsson and his Sultai Delirium deck that claimed the trophy and a $35,000 grand prize.
Larsson placed in the top eight with a win against Bernado Torres in round 16 yesterday, who went undefeated in day one, along with Juan Jose Rodríguez López. But the power of Sultai Delirium in Pioneer Constructed wasn’t to be underestimated. Larsson defeated Mattia Rizzi (Bant Spirits) and Brent Vos to face off against Piotr “Kanister” Glogowski in the PT Brussels finals.
Larsson swept Vos and his Lotus Breach deck in the semifinals, as did Kanister and his Dimir Inverter deck against Paulo Vitor Damo “PVDDR” da Rosa and his Niv to Light build. But Kanister would fall just shy of earning the PT Brussels trophy, despite having an amazing run all three days.
A total of 10 rounds of Pioneer Constructed were played at PT Brussels leading up to the single-elimination playoffs today. And Larsson’s Sultai Delirium deck had a 69.44 win percentage, the highest of all the decks in the meta. The win for Larsson was well-deserved and a solid way to return to Magic out of retirement.