Elaine Chase is the vice president, global brand strategy and marketing for Wizards of the Coast.

Editor's note: The date for Pro Tour "Spaghetti" in Atlanta has been adjusted after publication. It is now November 9-11, 2018.

We have 2018 Pro Tour info, Team Trios Pro Tour details, PPTQ/RPTQ info through next year, and the specifics on what to expect in 2017's World Championship and World Magic Cup here for you today. Here's the quick read:

The 2018 Pro Tour Schedule

The Pro Tour will feature stops in Bilbao February 2–4, Richmond, VA, June 1–3, Minneapolis August 3–5, and Atlanta November 9-11 in 2018. The formats for Bilbao are Modern and Draft. The formats for Richmond are Standard and Draft. The format for Minneapolis is Team Trios Constructed. And finally, the formats for Atlanta are Standard and Draft.

Next year's World Magic Cup will take place in Barcelona, Spain, December 14–16, with format information coming in early 2018.

A Return to Team Trios: Pro Tour 25th Anniversary Details

Trios can qualify for our special Pro Tour 25th Anniversary Team Trios Pro Tour through Pro Club status, the Pro Tour Team Series, Team Grand Prix and Sunday PTQs for those Team Grand Prix from January 6 until May 27, 2018, and a special round of Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers that will feature the Team Unified Standard format.

Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers for this round will still be individual tournaments, but players who qualify for this round of Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers by winning a Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier can bring two teammates to compete with, provided they are not ineligible to compete in a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier due to already being qualified via other methods.

The format for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary is Trios Constructed, meaning each player on a registered trio will compete with a legal Standard, Modern, and Legacy deck for this event.

PPTQ and RPTQ Dates and Formats Through 2018

We reveal the rounds, date ranges, and formats for Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers and Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers through 2018.

2017 World Championship Details

The 2017 Magic World Championship takes place in Boston October 6–8. The formats for the main event are Standard and Booster Draft (both using Ixalan for the first time on the professional stage).

The Team Series Championship will take place on Sunday, October 8. The format for the playoff between the Top 2 teams from the 2017–18 Pro Tour Team Series will be Team Sealed, using Ixalan.

2017 World Magic Cup Details

The formats for the 2017 World Magic Cup—taking place in Nice, France, December 1–3—will be three rounds of Ixalan Team Sealed to kick things off, and then Team Unified Standard for the remainder of the event.

We're making some tweaks to the tournament structure. Day One advances the Top 32 teams into Day Two—any team that gets four wins before Round 7 and then the teams with the best records after the last round of the day—while Day Two is now just two stages of modified double-elimination before the cut to Top 8.

The 2018 Pro Tour Schedule

Today, we're excited to reveal the dates, locations, and formats for 2018's Pro Tours, along with the date and location of the 2018 World Magic Cup.

Event Location Date Format Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan Bilbao, Spain February 2–4, 2018 Modern/Booster Draft Pro Tour Dominaria Richmond, Virginia June 1–3, 2018 Standard/Booster Draft Pro Tour 25th Anniversary Minneapolis, Minnesota August 3–5, 2018 Team Constructed Pro Tour "Spaghetti" Atlanta, Georgia November 9–11, 2018 Standard/Booster Draft World Magic Cup Barcelona, Spain December 14–16, 2018 TBD

The schedule for next year highlights some transitions for professional Magic, as the Pro Tour date untethers from two weeks after a set release once Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan concludes. It'll also mark the return to Modern Constructed, featured at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan in Bilbao, Spain.

As part of this year of transition, and to celebrate 25 years of Magic, our August event will revisit team-based competition for the first time since Pro Tour Charleston in 2005, and we're happy to share more details with you about what that event will be.

A Return to Team Trios: Pro Tour 25th Anniversary Details

It has taken us over a decade, but we've finally brought the team competition back to the Pro Tour with a very special one-off event August 3–5, 2018. Pro Tour 25th Anniversary will be a special Team Trios Constructed tournament that features our return to teams in the conclusion to the 2017–18 season.

What is this?

Pro Tour 25th Anniversary is the fourth Pro Tour of the 2017–18 season. Unlike other Pro Tours, which are individual competitions, this one is a Team Trios competition, where three players form a trio to compete for their share of fame and prize money.

The format for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary will be Team Trios Constructed. To compete in this format, eligible trios that compete must bring a legal Standard, Modern, and Legacy Constructed deck, with each player piloting one of those decks through the duration of the tournament. For this Pro Tour, there will be no Limited rounds. It's Team Trios Constructed for all three days!

How do I qualify?

Players will be eligible to compete in this Pro Tour through a variety of methods.

Be Part of a Top-Finishing Team in the Pro Tour Team Series after Pro Tour Dominaria

As announced back in October of 2016, the top-finishing teams after the third Pro Tour of the 2017–18 season get invitations to the fourth Pro Tour of that season, where all team member Pro Point earnings count toward their team score.

We're upping the benefit for this one, however. We previously announced that the Top 8 teams would receive invitations, but because this is going to be a Team Trios Pro Tour, we're increasing it! Instead, the Top 16 teams after Pro Tour Dominaria in the Pro Tour Team Series will be invited to compete in Pro Tour 25th Anniversary, if those teams compete in trios made up only of their Team Series team members.

Players who are interested in this path to Pro Tour 25th Anniversary should take a look at the 2017–18 Team Series Rules & Eligibility now. The deadline to apply isn't until October, but it's still important to think about now!

Top 4 a Team Grand Prix from January 6 until May 27, 2018

Because this event is about teaming up, we're increasing the number of Team Grand Prix to take place from January 6 until May 27, making them either Team Limited, Team Unified Modern, or Team Constructed—the same format as the Pro Tour—and will qualify all Top 4 finishers from that range of events for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary!

In addition, the Sunday Pro Tour Qualifier that takes place during Grand Prix weekends will be run with a team format for all team Grand Prix taking place between January 6 and May 27. Winning teams from each of these PTQs will qualify for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary.

Finish in the Top 2 of a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary

For the round of Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers tied to this event, we'll be running the events as Team Unified Standard. 30 of these tournaments will take place worldwide, and the finalists from each of these events will receive an invitation to Pro Tour 25th Anniversary along with airfare to the event.

Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers for this round will work a bit different. The formats for these will be Standard and Limited, and will be individual tournaments, but winners of PPTQs during this round can bring any two players to compete so long as they are not ineligible to compete in RPTQs.

Unfortunately, Magic Online players will not be able to qualify for Pro Tour 25th Anniversary. We will instead slightly increase the number of Magic Online PTQs for the other Pro Tours taking place in 2018, and welcome Magic Online players to compete in those.

Pro Club Status, Top Pro Tour Dominaria Finishers, and Hall of Fame

As with any Pro Tour, players who would typically earn a qualification to a Pro Tour via their Pro Club status or by being a member of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame can use this to compete in Pro Tour 25th Anniversary. That means Gold, Platinum, and Hall of Fame players are eligible to be part of trios in this event, and Silver pros may use their Pro Tour qualification (if it's available) to be part of a trio in the tournament.

Players with 33 or more match points at Pro Tour Dominaria (taking place June 1–3, 2018) are eligible to be part of a trio at Pro Tour 25th Anniversary.

Anyone who can compete in this event via these methods will be placed in a pool of eligible players; players in that pool may form trios with each other. This pool of players will be published on the event information page once invitations for this Pro Tour are live.

What are the prizes?

Pro Tour 25th Anniversary will coincide with a special exhibition tournament, which together will award $1,000,000 in prizes!

Look for more details in September.

PPTQ and RPTQ Dates and Formats Through 2018

Looking ahead to the Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier (PPTQ) and Regional Pro Tour Qualifier (RPTQ) rounds that will take place next year, here's when you can expect which events to feed what Pro Tour.

For Pro Tour Dominaria (June 1–3, 2018):

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed) : October 14, 2017–January 7, 2018

: October 14, 2017–January 7, 2018 RPTQ Weekends (Sealed Deck with Booster Draft Top 8): March 31–April 1, 2018, and April 7–8, 2018

For Pro Tour 25th Anniversary (August 3–5, 2018):

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed, individual format) : January 20, 2018–April 15, 2018

: January 20, 2018–April 15, 2018 RPTQ Weekends (Team Unified Standard): June 9–10, 2018, and June 23-24, 2018

For Pro Tour "Spaghetti" (November 9–11, 2018):

PPTQ Round (Standard/Sealed) : April 28, 2018–July 8, 2018

: April 28, 2018–July 8, 2018 RPTQ Weekends (Standard): August 25–26, 2018, and September 1–2, 2018

For Pro Tour "Meatballs" (First Pro Tour of 2019):

PPTQ Round (Modern/Sealed) : July 21, 2018–September 23, 2018

: July 21, 2018–September 23, 2018 RPTQ Weekends (Modern): December 1–2, 2018, and December 8–9, 2018

2017 World Championship Details

The 2017 Magic: The Gathering World Championship takes place at the Castle at Park Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts, October 6–8, featuring 24 of the world's very best Magic players as they compete for a first-place prize of $100,000 and the title of Magic World Champion.

The 2017 Magic World Championship will feature two parts: the individual competition between 24 players over all three days, and the Team Series Championship, featuring the Top 2 teams from the Pro Tour Team Series as they compete for their share of over $50,000. Here are the details for that weekend.

The World Championship Structure and Formats

Players in the World Championship will compete in two different formats: Standard and Booster Draft, both featuring Ixalan at the professional level for the very first time. As this tournament is featuring brand-new cards and a freshly rotated Standard format, we're keeping the formats to this event to just two so players have the time needed to prepare for the big weekend.

Friday and Saturday

With just two formats, both days will have the same structure. The first three rounds of both days will be Booster Draft featuring three packs of Ixalan, while the last four rounds of each day will be Standard.

Sunday

The Top 4 will play out on Sunday, but it's not what starts the day's action. Sunday will kick off with the Team Series Championship, featuring the Top 2 teams from the Pro Tour Team Series 2016–17 season.

The format for the Team Series Championship is Team Sealed using Ixalan. Each team will be given two Team Sealed pools, and they will build three decks from each (for six total decks). Teams will have a total of 120 minutes in which to build decks out of the two Sealed pools.

Once building is complete, teams will split themselves up into two groups of three players, and will assign themselves to a Team Sealed pool. Each team member in that group must play a deck from that pool.

On Sunday, the two groups from each team will be matched up against the other team in traditional Team Sealed matches. In the event both teams win one team match each, the winning groups from each team will face off in a deciding team match to determine the Team Series Champions and the winners of the $36,000 first-place prize, which will be divided among the team members.

Once the Team Series Championship has concluded, the Top 4 for the World Championship will commence, as competitors will play best three-out-of-five Standard to determine who will walk home with $100,000, the trophy, and the title of 2017 Magic World Champion.

We'll be broadcasting the World Championship on twitch.tv/magic, with more details regarding start times, schedule, and commentators coming once we get closer to the tournament.

2017 World Magic Cup Details

Today, we'd like to share with you the formats and the structure for this year's World Magic Cup, taking place in Nice, France, December 1–3. As announced earlier this year, the format for the 2017 World Magic Cup will be Team Unified Standard, but will kick off with three rounds of Team Limited.

We're also making some tweaks to the three-day structure based on feedback from last year. Here's how it will work.

Day One

The first day of the World Magic Cup will be seven rounds, with the first three as Team Sealed and the remaining four as Team Unified Standard.

How teams will get through to Day Two is changing from last year. This year, once a team reaches four wins in any round before Round 7 on Day One, they will automatically advance into Day Two and are finished playing for that day. Once Round 7 concludes, we will advance the top finishing teams into Day Two until we have 32 teams for the second day of competition, based on total match points plus tiebreakers. The 32 teams will be split into eight pools of four, and the teams will be put into these pools randomly.

Day Two

Day Two will consist of stages of pool play with pool play consisting of modified double-elimination in the same fashion as last year, with Team Unified Standard being the sole format played throughout the day's stages. To review:

In the first stage, teams are paired randomly.

The winners of the first round in the first stage play each other and the losing teams play against each other in the second round.

Once a team wins two matches in their pool, they automatically advance to the next. Once a team loses two matches in their pool, they are automatically eliminated from the tournament.

The two teams to advance to the second stage of pool play will repeat the same structure as above, teams again paired randomly.

Top 8

The Top 8 will remain with the same format as the previous year, with best two-out-of-three, using Team Unified Standard.

That's a lot of info in one day, but we're not done just yet. Check back tomorrow to get a look at 2018's Grand Prix. In the meantime, check out the transformations to the Pro Club that will be kicking in officially next year.