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2021 Challenger Gauntlet: Day Two Highlights and Results

This Saturday marked the second day of the Challenger Gauntlet, a high-level Magic tournament where players who aren’t a part of this season’s Magic Pro League (MPL) compete for a chance to compete at World Championship XXVII and in next season’s pro leagues.

The Challenger Gauntlet is the first event of the ’20-’21 Postseason, which will culminate with the World Championship in October. If you missed out on the first day, find the standings and a more in-depth look at the metagame in yesterday’s coverage.

Just as the first day, the second day of the Challenger Gauntlet consisted of six Swiss rounds- three in the Historic format, and three in Standard. All of the Swiss rounds for the event have now concluded, and the top 12 players from the first two days will compete on Sunday in a playoff to determine the final standings.

Sam Pardee, also known as Smdster, started out strong on day one, and he continued his hot streak on day two- ending the day with an impressive 10-2 record. The next four players, Noriyuki Mori, Matti Kuisma, Arne Huscenbeth, and Gavin Thompson, all have a tied match record at 8-4.

Below you will find the current standings, which include the final top 12, as well a review of the metagame for each format and decklists from the top 3 players. Tomorrow we will be publishing all of the top 8 decklists as well as final standings from the Gauntlet, so be sure to check back. For live coverage of the top 12 playoffs, tune in to the official MTG Twitch stream starting at 9:00am PST.

Challenger Gauntlet Day Two Standings

RankPlayerHistoric DeckStandard DeckOverall Record
1Sam PardeeJeskai ControlNaya Adventures10-2
2Noriyuki Mori Jund FoodIzzet Control 8-4
3Matti Kuisma Jeskai Control Gruul Adventures8-4
4Arne HuschenbethRakdos ArcanistGruul Adventures8-4
5Gavin ThompsonAzorius Auras Gruul Adventures 8-4
6Sam RolphRakdos ArcanistGruul Adventures 7-5
7Logan NettlesJeskai ControlNaya Adventures7-5
8Ian BirrellSelesnya CompanySultai Ultimatum7-5
9João MoreiraJeskai Control Dimir Rogues7-5
10Jan MerkelRakdos ArcanistNaya Adventures7-5
11Tomas Pokorny DragonstormSultai Control6-6
12Piotr WiktorzakJund CitadelNaya Winota6-6
13David InglisJeskai Control Gruul Adventures6-6
14Keisuke SatoJeskai Control Naya Winota6-6
15John GirardotJeskai Control Temur Adventures6-6
16Yohei NomiyaOrzhov AurasNaya Winota5-7
17Tim WanMono Red GoblinsNaya Winota5-7
18Lars LukhauptJund FoodGruul Adventures4-7
19Bernando TorresMono Black AggroDimir Rogues4-7
20Ron BranchaudOrzhov AurasJeskai Cycling4-7
21Brad BarclayJeskai Control Sultai Control3-7
22Toni Ramis PascualMono Black AggroGruul Adventures3-7
23Evan KaplanJeskai ControlDimir Rogues2-7
24Michael BernatIzzet PhoenixGruul Adventures1-7
Visit MTGmelee to view results from the whole field.

Historic Metagame

Deck ArchetypeNumber of PlayersPercentage of Field
Jeskai Control1041.7%
Rakdos Arcanist28.3%
Orzhov Auras28.3%
Mono-Black Aggro28.3%
Jund Food28.3%
Azorius Auras14.2%
Selesnya Company14.2%
Jund Citadel14.2%
Izzet Phoenix14.2%
Mono-Red Goblins14.2%
Dragonstorm14.2%

Top Day Two Historic Decklists

[sd_deck deck=”xVCbCIB4c”]

[sd_deck deck=”vWCGkb661″]

[sd_deck deck=”TxTc3RdGU”]

Standard Metagame

Deck ArchetypeNumber of PlayersPercentage of Field
Gruul Adventures833.3%
Naya Winota416.7%
Dimir Rogues312.5%
Naya Adventures312.5%
Sultai Control28.3%
Temur Adventures14.2%
Jeskai Cycling14.2%
Izzet Control14.2%
Sultai Ultimatum14.2%

Top Day Two Standard Decklists

[sd_deck deck=”ndtdgfQNS”]

[sd_deck deck=”806ppGF4Q”]

[sd_deck deck=”UDjn0gu-9″]

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Paul
Paul

Dude from Vermont who likes to play Magic and Escape from Tarkov. Musician, writer, and gamer. Submit feedback or corrections to @Paul on the Discord.

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