MTG Mythic Championship III Matias Leveratto

Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

Who to watch for this weekend at MTG Mythic Championship IV

Modern takes over Barcelona.

Danny Forster

Published: Jul 24, 2019 05:43 pm

This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Barcelona heats up this weekend as Magic: The Gathering comes to town in the form of a Mythic Championship (MC) being played in the Modern format.

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This will be the second MC this year to feature the Modern format, with the previous one taking place in London (MCII) while testing the waters of the London Mulligan. Full of controversy after Yuuya Watanabe was disqualified at the end of day two for cheating (later found guilty and banned from MTG), Eli Loveman got bumped into the top eight and won the second Mythic Championship.

Modern Madness begins in beautiful Barcelona this Friday at #MythicChampionshipIV!
Watch as the world's best players compete for $500K and the chance to be number 1 and secure their spot at Worlds.

Watch all the action at https://t.co/glt0Vc0v0l starting July 26th, 9 AM CEST. pic.twitter.com/G7asZOR1f4
— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) July 22, 2019

MTG Mythic Championship IV in Barcelona will also have the London Mulligan in effect and likely be the last MC featuring the Modern format this year. Many in the community expect it to top MCII considering all the new cards that have released. With War of the Spark, Modern Horizons, and the newly released M20 set, expect the meta to look a tad different this time around.

Along with the addition of new cards to the format, certain players have been rising in the ranks and proving themselves worthy in the MTG community. Ones like the previous champion (Loveman), Louis Deltour, and Gabriel Nassif—along with MTG Pros Reid Duke, Lee Shi Tian, Piotr Głogowski, and the MCIII champion Matias Leveratto.

And let’s not forget about the youngest player this year to qualify for an MC, Milan Bhayana. Dominating the Legacy MCQ’s at MagicFest Niagra Falls, Bhayana is a 13-year-old underdog everyone should keep an eye on.

But don’t underestimate Leveratto or Deltour either. Leveratto may have won MCIII playing Nexus Ramp in Standard, but he also knows a thing or two about Modern. Meanwhile, Deltour has the highest win rate in the Modern format. And then there’s the champ Eli Loveman. Can he perform a miracle and go back-to-back as champion in MCIV?

Other names who could have an impact include Samuele Estratti, who won an MCQ invite to Barcelona and is the first Modern Pro Tour champion that took place in Philidelphia eight years ago. There’s also Shota Yasooka, who came up just shy of the top four at MCIII, and Javier Dominguez, who just recently won the Red Bull Untapped tournament.

MTG Mythic Championship IV runs from July 26 to 28. Live coverage begins on the Magic Twitch channel at 2am CT Friday through Sunday. Reruns of the day’s events should air after the livestream ends.

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Author

Danny Forster

Staff writer, lead beat writer for MTG and TFT

Danny has been writing for Dot Esports for over five years, first as a freelancer and now as a staff writer. He is the lead beat writer for Magic: The Gathering and Teamfight Tactics. Danny is also a solid Monopoly GO player, having beaten every main event without spending a dime. When Danny isn't writing or gaming, he's chilling by the water in Spacecoast Florida with his family and friends. He's always got a tan, because touching grass is important, and loves playing strategic digital and tabletop games. Past outlets Danny has written for include TheGamer and ScreenRant.