Last weekend, over 200 players gathered in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, for the MTG China Open, China's Regional Championship. These competitors had spent the last handful of months earning their seats at this event through qualifiers at local game stores or by finishing well at the last Regional Championship.
At the end of eight Swiss rounds and the Top 8 elimination bracket, Yuchen Liu emerged victorious as China's newest Regional Champion, earning him an invitation to the Pro Tour and Magic World Championship 32. Congratulations to Yuchen Liu!
Yuchen has finished in the Top 8 of two previous Regional Championships, both in 2024. He also made the Top 8 of two Pro Tours in 2025. This Regional Championship featured Standard, and Yuchen was on "Izzet Otters" (widely known as Izzet Prowess), which has continued to be a popular choice despite a lackluster performance at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven. He battled against Jixin Liu, who was on Mono-Green Landfall, in the finals.
Congratulations to the Top 8
Congratulations to all the players in the MTG China Open Top 8 who earned invitations to the Pro Tour.
The Top 8 included Yuchen Liu, Jixin Liu, HongXuan Chen, Weiqin Zhang, Yiwei Mao, Wang Kunrui, Yuxiang Hao, and Yuling Shu.
Their decks included some of the Standard staples that have shaped the format for the last few months, with multiple pilots on various flavors of Izzet and Landfall decks. There were departures from the norm, however, with a few control decks making use of
Another Regional Championship in the Books!
Izzet Prowess continues to be one of Standard's most popular decks, with Selesnya Landfall climbing the ranks behind it. Dimir Excruciator, which saw little play at the last Pro Tour, continues to take up a solid share of the metagame at the regional level. Four-Color Control is also on the rise, and the remainder of the Regional Championship season will show if the deck has staying power.
Congratulations to all the competitors at the MTG China Open, and congratulations again to Regional Champion Yuchen Liu!
Find out more about how you can qualify for your Regional Championship here.
