Streamer Janne “Savjz” Mikkonen has turned down an invitation to compete in Magic: The Gathering esports Rivals League.

Savjz joined the Magic Pro League in May of 2019 with Jessica Estephan after Yuuya Watanabe was removed for cheating at Mythic Championship II. At the end of the 2019 season, the bottom 12 ranked MPL players were given invitations to compete in the Rivals League for the upcoming 2020 partial season. But Savjz is turning down the invitation so he can focus on streaming instead.

As last years MPL player, I was invited to play in the Magic Rivals league this year. If I competed, I would want to give it my 100%.



However, you guys know how incredibly much my stream means to me, and in order to fully focus on content creation, I have decided to decline 2/3 — Janne Mikkonen (@Savjz) January 5, 2020

“As last year’s MPL player, I was invited to play in the Magic Rivals league this year. If I competed, I would want to give it my 100 percent,” said Savjz. “However, you guys know how incredibly much my stream means to me, and in order to fully focus on content creation, I have decided to decline.”

Savjz had a record of 3-18 during the MPL split league play and was ranked last upon the completion of Magic’s 2019 Pro season. The streamer also received harassment over a lack of consistent Magic streams and a refusal to compete at tabletop tournaments.

If Savjz had remained in the Rivals League, he would have been eligible to earn $15,000 in appearance fees at Mythic and Players Tour tournaments, excluding prize money earnings. By declining his invitation, there is now an open slot in the Rivals League for the upcoming 2020 partial season.

At the time of writing, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t announced who will fill the slot.