MTG Mythic Championship VII is down one competitor

Mythic Championship qualifier George Kaschihin has been removed from the 68-player Magic: The Gathering Arena Championship roster. Wizards of the Coast said that Kaschihin won’t be attending the last major MTG Arena tournament of the year because of a visa delay. 

“Unfortunately, due to a visa delay, George Kaschihin will no longer be attending Mythic Championship VII,” WotC said. “With insufficient time to accommodate a new competitor, the event will proceed with 67 total players and Kaschihin will be invited to the first Mythic Invitational of 2020.”

Kaschihin qualified for MCVII through the MTG Arena Mythic Qualifiers in October. Playing a Sultai Food deck, prior to the Oko ban, he finished in fourth place. Kaschihin will still get to compete at a Mythic Championship, but he’ll have to wait for the first Invitational in 2020 to do so. 

The absence of Kaschihin from the 68-player roster means that there will need to be some form of a bye at Mythic Championship VII.

Related: MTG invitees shouldn’t receive Mythic Points, Ondřej Stráský says

Mythic Championship VII has a $750,000 total prize pool and the winner will earn $100,000. The last major Magic tournament of the year, played in MTG Arena, takes place from Dec. 6 to 8. 

Correction Dec. 4 3:25pm CT: This article has been updated to include accurate information provided by WotC about the additional bye at Mythic Championship VII.

A player in round one will receive a bye, according to WotC director of communications, Bruce Dugan. The same will occur in rounds two to four with different players.

“One player will receive a round-one bye and then byes will continue in rounds two to four for different players, at which point the bye will work itself out of the system before the end of the first day,” Dugan told Dot Esports.