A million dollars. 64 players. The biggest prize pool in Magic history—$250,000 to first place—and the biggest names in esports all in one place at the sprawling PAX East.

Welcome to the Mythic Invitational.

Comprised of 31 members of the Magic Pro League and 33 challengers ranging from popular streamers like Kenji "NumotTheNummy" Egashira, Amy "Amyzonian" Demicco, Caleb "CalebDMTG" Durward, past winners like Mythic Champion Autumn Burchett and Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica Champion Andrew "Aje8" Elenbogen, and even a pair of Hall of Famers in Luis Scott-Vargas and Gabriel "yellowhat" Nassif, the Mythic Invitational is the world debut on the professional for MTG Arena, as competitors fought in the new Duo Standard format to fight their way out of the four groups of sixteen.

Here are some of the storylines that stood out from Day One.

Today's Big Takeaway

MTG Arena Goes Pro

What will live on from today isn't the result of any individual match—it's the launch of a new way to play Magic professionally. The creation of the Magic Pro League and the successful public launch of MTG Arena created a new niche in the esports world for Magic to fill, and while pros were aggressively jumping full into the program, the fact remained that there had still not yet been a high-level event played on the platform.

That all changed this weekend. MTG Arena has hit the big time, the Magic Pro League had its first taste of competition, and it all came together in a celebration of the game with the biggest names from across the esports world—yes, that's Brian Kibler and Sean "Day9" Plott making appearances on the coverage team—along with the most prominent streaming figures in the community.

It's hard to overstate the importance of competitive Magic appearing on such a stage, and its significance was not lost on the community.

This looks incredible. Great job Wotc. I'm super excited about the future of magic as an Esport. #MythicInvitational #PAXEast pic.twitter.com/zNmtdfJz3S — Ben Stark (@BenS_MTG) March 28, 2019

Sitting here watching the #MythicInvitational & chat. All I can think about is how amazing it feels to see so many new people & audiences enjoying a game many of us have loved & played for so long. I’m truly grateful we have @MTG_Arena & how it’s evolving the game. ❤️ — Ashlen (@AshlenRose) March 28, 2019

Eight Advance to Top 16

In a day with memorable matches and incredible storylines, two stood out above the rest. The first undoubtedly must be the brilliant run put on by Brittany "MTGNerdGirl" Hamilton, who shocked the field by tearing through a trio of difficult opponents: streamer JamieTopples, Mythic Champion Autumn Burchett, and Pro Tour Dominaria Champion Wyatt Darby.

Managed to 3-0 to lock up top 4 in my pod in the #MythicInvitational. Thankfully I dont have to play the next 2 rounds because I am starving! Thanks for all the hype today guys. <3 pic.twitter.com/Tk03MmH4Y6 — MTGNerdGirl (@MTGNerdGirl) March 28, 2019

It was a fitting underdog run for Hamilton, and she highlighted a day of a competition that revealed parity among the participants. No clear pattern emerged from the eight competitors to advance to the Top 16, with a diverse group advancing.

Brittany Hamilton (streamer)

Matt Nass (MPL member)

Jessica Estephan (Challenger)

Ondřej Stráský (Arena qualifier)

Edoardo "Quicksort" Annunziata (MTG Arena qualifier)

Andrea Mengucci (MPL member)

Luis Salvatto (MPL member)

Amy "Amyzonian" Demicco (streamer)

If you're keeping count, out of a field that was nearly exactly half-MPL, half-challenger, that's three MPL members and five challengers advancing—plus two players who qualified via finishing in the Top 8 of Mythic on MTG Arena last month.

The other big story had to be Stráský, who undoubtedly faced the toughest path to the Top 16. He started things off on the wrong foot with a close 2-1 loss to Matt Nass before finding himself paired up against none other than Hall of Famer Yuuya Watanabe in the next round with his tournament life on the line.

He survived. But things didn't get any easier—next up? Mythic Champion Autumn Burchett.

Again, he survived. Next? Four-time Pro Tour Top 8 competitor Ken Yukuhiro.

Improbably, again Stráský survived, this time setting up a do-or-die match against Alexander Hayne.

Watch Mythic Invitational - Group A - Day 1: Round 4 - Ondrej Strasky vs. Alexander Hayne from Magic on www.twitch.tv

As Stráský admitted, it was an emotion roller coaster all day long. So how did he take it after his wildly impressive run?

Well, it's safe to say he kept his excitement in check.

Be it luck or skill or a little of both, Stráský's run highlighted a Day One that demonstrated anything is possible at the Mythic Invitational.

Amyzonian Advances

For an early adopter of MTG Arena streaming, there could be no more fitting payoff than advancing to the Top 16 of the Invitational, and that's exactly what Amy "Amyzonian" Demicco did today.

After the match, Demicco spoke of being proud to be one of three women advancing to the Top 16 today, and the popular streamer will undoubtedly be a fan favorite in the underdog role as she moves on to Saturday play.

We are the survivors of Group B.



The B stands for "Best". pic.twitter.com/5gXCtvpfxl — Amazonian @ PAX East (@coL_Amazonian) March 28, 2019

Game of the Day – Gerry Holds Off Javier

There are plenty of candidates for this one after a busy first day at the Mythic Invitational, but for my money I'll take Gerry Thompson's match against reigning World Champion Javier Dominguez. It played out in the lower half of Group A, and it was key to Thompson's advancing 2-1 victory.

Dominguez was on the White Weenie aggro strategy that was popular at the tournament (second only to Esper Control), while Thompson was playing an innovative Rakdos Midrange strategy. I could recount to you the tense attack steps, the spectacles of Rix Maadi Reveler and the clutchest of Shocks—or you could take 5 minutes and watch it for yourself. Trust me, it's worth it.

Watch Mythic Invitational Day 1 from PAX East from Magic on www.twitch.tv

Adventures in Experimental Frenzy

The card really does do it all—and it's never not exciting to watch. It's an Experimental Frenzy world, and the rest of us are just living in it.

BDM Battles

Speaking of going pro, longtime coverage fixture Brian David-Marshall may have retired from coverage, but an unexpected opportunity to compete at the Invitational meant that for this weekend at least, BDM was back.

I have had a front row seat to watch #MythicInvitational competitors play the game at the highest level for the last 17 years. This is going to be one helluva uphill climb but win, lose or sudden-death tiebreaker I am going to give it my best and appreciate every minute of it. pic.twitter.com/lrmhczhbFu — Brian David-Marshall (@Top8Games) March 27, 2019

It was the perfect celebration of community as the rich history of Magic met with its future today in Boston, and while the tournament itself may not have gone very well for BDM, it was a treat to watch him compete after so many years on the other side.

Looking Ahead – The "Group of Death" Awaits

We're back in action at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow (7 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. UTC) at twitch.tv/magic, and the biggest storyline awaiting us is how Group C—also known as the "Group of Death"—will play out. Six Hall of Famers and more than 50 Pro Tour and Mythic Championship Top 8 appearances between the sixteen players.

It's going to be wild. We'll see you then!