On March 13–15, the China Open brought together the region's most-skilled players to the city of Changsha to face off in a Standard Regional Championship. Invitations to the Pro Tour were on the line, in addition to a much-coveted seat at the World Championship. Over 200 people arrived to contest the trophy. At the end of the tournament, it was Yu Muhan who laid waste to the opposition with his trusty Izzet Prowess deck!
The Top 8 was a blazingly fast affair, with all but one of the matches resulting in a swift 2-0 victory. Izzet Prowess was undoubtedly the deck of the tournament. The final match between Yu and eventual runner-up Jiao Hongchen was an Izzet Prowess mirror, and both had dispatched Izzet decks in the semifinals as well. Other Regional Championships across the region had seen Izzet challenged and beaten, but not at the China Open, where blue-red mages dominated the weekend.
Four Top 8 competitors—Yu Muhan, Jiao Hongchen, Shi Yang, and Ying Zhehao—played Izzet Prowess, while Zheng Chang played Izzet Lessons. Rounding out the Top 8 were Johnathan Ng on Mono-Green Landfall, Gao Tan on Bant Rhythm, and Peng Zhenying on Temur Harmonizer. None of these three made it past the quarterfinals, however, as the might of the Izzet contingent proved to be too much.
Izzet Prowess was the deck of the weekend. It not only ended up as the most popular pick for players in Changsha, but it also put on a terrific performance and demonstrated it's still one of the strongest strategies in Standard. Players took different approaches when attacking the format, from the proven option of Mono-Green Landfall to aggressive white-based strategies. More combo-centric decks like Bant Airbending and Temur Harmonizer were also reasonably well-represented.
If you want to test your mettle against your region's best players, there's no better place to do so than at a Regional Championship like this one. Qualifiers are held all over the world, so if you want to start your journey toward the Pro Tour, check to see where you can find the next qualifier near you and get involved in the world of competitive Magic!