MTG Pro Lee Shi Tian Reacts to Grand Prix & Prize Cuts

Wizards of the Coast

Earlier today, CFB Events announced the schedule of Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix events for 2019, and some players online have expressed their disappointment about the lack of MagicFests (formerly Grand Prix weekends) in their regions. Now, Hong Kong-based Magic professional player Lee Shi Tian, has taken it to Twitter to share his concerns about the Grand Prix and prize cuts that Asia Pacific region will get next year.

For a newly-minted Hall of Famer to feel this way and vocalize it in a public platform is already saying a lot. This is not helping solve the issues that pro player Gerry Thompson brought up when he sacrificed his spot at the World Championship last month.

As you can see in the Grand Prix 2019 schedule from CFB Events below, there are only two MagicFests in Asia outside of Japan: Bangkok and Taipei. There's no Grand Prix Hong Kong, Manila, or Singapore next year. Even the Grand Prix events in China were scrapped!

However, let's not forget that DailyMTG Editor-in-Chief Blake Rasmussen said that CFB Events are still trying to determine another Grand Prix event that will most likely take place in the APAC region at the fourth quarter of 2019, so that would definitely help fill the void but it's still not enough for the Magic community in APAC. Many players from the APAC countries would have to travel to Japan and other countries outside Asia to join enough MTG events. They even cut the GPs in Latin America.

Do you think CFB Events and Wizards of the Coast should add more MagicFests in Asia and Latin America?

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