Over 250 of the best Magic: The Gathering players from around the globe competed in the Modern format and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Limited Draft at the final Pro Tour of the 2022-2023 season.
For the first time since 2019, the Modern format was featured at a high-level MTG tournament at the final Pro Tour of the season. Much like Pro Tour Minneapolis and the Phyrexian Pro Tour, players at the Lord of the Rings Pro Tour Barcelona competed in a mix of Limited Draft and Constructed Swiss rounds.
Both day one and day two featured three rounds of LTR Draft, followed by five rounds of Modern Constructed. All players who made it to the top eight earned a direct invite to the Magic World Championship.
July 28, MTG Pro Tour Lord of the Rings standings
Day one of Pro Tour Barcelona showcased three rounds of LTR Draft, playing a significant role in who advances to day two, in addition to five rounds of Modern Constructed. All players with a record of 4-4, or 12 match points advanced to day two of the Lord of the Rings Pro Tour in Barcelona.
Following the LTR Draft rounds, 32 players had a perfect record of 3-0 heading into the Modern Constructed Swiss rounds.
After five rounds during day one—three through LTR Draft and two in Modern Constructed—eight players still had an undefeated record.
Ending day one undefeated was Simon Nielsen, defeating Dimir Control, Jeskai Breach, Mono-Green Tron, and Four-Color Omnath in addition to sweeping opponents during the LTR Draft rounds. Sitting number two was Greg Orange, with a 7-0-1 record, followed by players like Kai Budde and Zachary Klihne.
July 29, MTG Pro Tour Lord of the Rings standings
Day two began with another three rounds of LTR Draft, followed by up to five rounds of Modern Constructed. All players who hit 13 match wins, or 39 match points, automatically advanced to the top eight playoffs on day three and earned an invite to the Magic World Championship.
Nielsen entered day two of the MTG Lord of the Rings Pro Tour with a Worlds invite already and an undefeated record from day one. And he kept that record going, earning three more round wins during day two of LTR Draft to have an 11-0 record heading into the Modern Constructed rounds.
In addition to Nielsen going undefeated during day two of the LTR Draft, six other players also went 3-0: Marei Okamura, Gabriel Nassif, Sean Goddard, Tin Miheael Capar, Stephano Vinci, and Toru Inoue.
Heading into the two final Modern Constructed rounds, Nielsen and Dominguez sought to hit 13 wins and advance to the final day of Pro Tour Barcelona. Also having a shot of making it to the top eight were players like Greg Orange, Alexander Hayne, Gabriel Nassif, and Kai Budde.
First to lock up a top-eight slot was Javier Dominguez, playing Mono-Green Tron. It was Dominguez’s second top-eight finish this season. And right behind Dominguez was another World Champion securing a top-eight finish, Kai Budde.
Related: MTG World champions secure top 8 finishes at Pro Tour Lord of the Rings
Joining Dominguez and Budde in the top eight at Pro Tour Lord of the Rings were Calcano, Nielsen, Beardsley, Del Piveo, Vinci, and Harvey.
July 30, MTG Pro Tour Lord of the Rings standings
The top-eight playoffs featured gameplay through Modern Constructed only, with players competing in the best three-out-of-five games. And players were allowed to start side-boarding after game two. Pairings for the quarterfinals were Dominguez vs Harvey, Beardsley vs Del Pivo, Calcano vs Budde, and Nielsen vs Vinci.
Calcano and Mono-Green Tron swept Budde and his Temur Rhino’s deck. Mono-Green also dominated Temur Rhino in the Nielsen and Vinci matchup, with Nielsen winning the quarterfinal match 3-1. Harvey and his Amulet Titan Modern deck knocked out World Champion Dominguez and his Mono-Green Tron deck 3-1. And Beardsley on Rakdos Evoke beat out Marco Del Pivo and his Temur Rhinos deck 3-1.
Beardsley continued his win streak by defeating Harvey 3-1 and Calcano advanced past Nielsen in the Mirror Mono-Green Tron matchup to play against Beardsley in the final match of Pro Tour Lord of the Rings.
The final match of the day went five games, with Beardsley winning over Calcano to earn the Pro Tour Lord of the Rings title.
