Editor's Note: This article was amended with the changes announced at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar.
A little over a month ago, at Pro Tour Magic Origins, we announced a number of improvements to the 2015–16 Premier Play season and revealed the schedule for 2016's Grand Prix. Since then, we have had to make some changes to that schedule. Today, we will also be revealing the modified prize structure for 2016's Grand Prix, which we briefly touched on in our previous announcement.
2016 Grand Prix Schedule Changes
Since our initial announcement, we have had to shift a couple of dates and formats around for the 2016 Grand Prix schedule. You can find those changes below:
Grand Prix Beijing: Date moved to April 15–17, format changed to Limited to match other Grand Prix that weekend
Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur: Date moved to October 21-23
Grand Prix Milwaukee: Format changed to Limited
Grand Prix New York City: Date moved to May 6–8
Grand Prix Sydney: Date moved to July 29–31
Grand Prix Taipei: Date moved to June 24–26
In addition, the Grand Prix have been split into blocks that will qualify top finishers for a selected Pro Tour. Those date ranges are:
November 28, 2015–March 20, 2016
Feeds: Pro Tour Madrid 2016
GPs (11): Oakland, Vancouver, Nagoya, Mexico City, Houston, Detroit, Bologna, Melbourne, Washington, D.C., Paris
March 26, 2016–June 5, 2016
Feeds: Pro Tour Sydney 2016
GPs (10): Albuquerque, Barcelona, Beijing, Toronto, New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Manchester, Costa Rica
June 10, 2016–August 28, 2016
Feeds: Pro Tour Honolulu 2016
GPs (13): Columbus, Prague, Pittsburgh, Taipei, Sao Paulo, Montreal, Stockholm, Sydney, Portland, Rimini, Indianapolis, Lille, Guangzhou
September 3, 2016–November 27, 2016
Feeds: The First Pro Tour of 2017
GPs (11): Louisville, Kyoto, Atlanta, London, Kuala Lumpur, Providence, Warsaw, Santiago, Dallas, Rotterdam, Chiba
December 2, 2016–December 11, 2016
Feeds: The Second Pro Tour of 2017
GPs (3): Denver, Madrid, Milwaukee
Note: The early-2017 Grand Prix will be added to this list once those events are scheduled later next year.
The previous announcement will be modified to reflect these changes. However, you can find the complete schedule, broken down by season along with which organizer is running which event, below. If you are planning on attending any Grand Prix next year, then I highly advise bookmarking this page for your records and your convenience.
Editor's Note: The schedule was updated to remove Buenos Aires and add Costa Rica, as a result of this announcement and the announcement at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar. The schedule was also updated to reflect the change in venue for Grand Prix Madrid.
City | Country | Venue | Date | Format | Organizer |
Oakland | USA | Oakland Convention Center | January 8-10, 2016 | Standard | ChannelFireball |
Vancouver | Canada | Vancouver Congress Centre | January 29-31, 2016 | Limited | GameKeeper |
Nagoya | Japan | Port Messe | January 29-31, 2016 | Limited | BIG MAGIC |
Mexico City | Mexico | Expo Reforma | January 29-31, 2016 | Limited | Necrotower |
Houston | USA | George R Brown Convention Center | February 26-28, 2016 | Standard | ChannelFireball |
Detroit | USA | Cobo Hall | March 4-6 2016 | Modern | Professional Event Services |
Bologna | Italy | Bologna Fiere | March 4-6 2016 | Modern | Legacy Distribution |
Melbourne | Australia | Melbourne Olympic Park | March 4-6 2016 | Modern | ChainLinks |
Washington, D.C. | USA | Walter Washington Convention Center | March 11-13, 2016 | Team Limited | StarCityGames |
Paris | France | Paris Le Bourget | March 18-20, 2016 | Standard | ChannelFireball |
Albuquerque | USA | Albuquerque Convention Center | April 15-17, 2016 | Limited | Cascade Games |
Barcelona | Spain | Fira Barcelona | April 15-17, 2016 | Limited | TournamentCenter.EU |
Beijing | China | Yi Fang Sports Center | April 15-17, 2016 | Limited | Panda Events |
Toronto | Canada | Enercare Centre | April 29-May 1, 2016 | Standard | Face-to-Face Games |
New York | USA | Meadowlands Exposition Center | May 6-8, 2016 | Standard | ChannelFireball |
Tokyo | Japan | Big Sight | May 6-8, 2016 | Standard | Hobby Station |
Los Angeles | USA | Los Angeles Convention Center | May 20-22, 2016 | Modern | ChannelFireball |
Charlotte | USA | Greater Charlotte Convention Center | May 20-22, 2016 | Modern | StarCityGames |
Minneapolis | USA | Minneapolis Convention Center | May 27-29, 2016 | Standard | Pastimes |
Manchester | England | Manchester Event City | May 27-29, 2016 | Standard | Mind Sports International |
San Jose | Costa Rica | Barcelo San Jose Palacio | June 3-5, 2016 | Standard | Playcon |
Columbus | USA | Greater Columbus Convention Center | June 10-12, 2016 | Legacy | Professional Event Services |
Prague | Czech Republic | Výstaviště PVA Expo Praha | June 10-12, 2016 | Legacy | TournamentCenter.EU |
Pittsburgh | USA | David D. Lawrence Convention Center | June 24-26, 2016 | Standard | TJ Collectibles |
Taipei | Chinese Taipei | Expo Dome, Taipei Expo Foundation No. 1 | June 24-26, 2016 | Standard | ChainLinks |
Sao Paulo | Brazil | Pro Magno | July 1-3, 2016 | Team Limited | Jambô Loja |
Montreal | Canada | Palais des congrès de Montréal | July 29-31, 2016 | Limited | GameKeeper |
Stockholm | Sweden | Stockholmsmässan | July 29-31, 2016 | Limited | TournamentCenter.EU |
Sydney | Australia | Sydney Olympic Park | July 29-31, 2016 | Limited | ChainLinks |
Portland | USA | Oregon Convention Center | August 12-14, 2016 | Standard | Cascade Games |
Rimini | Italy | Palacongressi | August 12-14, 2016 | Standard | Legacy Distribution |
Lille | France | Lille Grand Palais | August 26-28, 2016 | Modern | Mind Sports International |
Indianapolis | USA | Indiana Convention Center | August 26-28, 2016 | Modern | Pastimes |
Guangzhou | China | Guangzhou PWTC Expo | August 26-28, 2016 | Modern | Panda Events |
Louisville | USA | Kentucky Exposition Center | September 9-11, 2016 | Team Limited | TJ Collectibles |
Kyoto | Japan | Pulse Plaza | September 9-11, 2016 | Team Limited | Hobby Station |
Atlanta | USA | Georgia World Convention Center | October 7-9, 2016 | Limited | StarCityGames |
London | England | ExCel London | October 7-9, 2016 | Limited | ChannelFireball |
Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre | October 21-23, 2016 | Standard | ChainLinks |
Providence | USA | Rhode Island Convention Center | October 21-23, 2016 | Standard | TJ Collectibles |
Warsaw | Poland | Expo XXI | October 28-30, 2016 | Standard | ChannelFireball |
Santiago | Chile | Gran Palace | October 28-30, 2016 | Standard | La Forja de Stone |
Dallas | USA | Fort Worth Convention Center | November 4-6, 2016 | Modern | Professional Event Services |
Rotterdam | Netherlands | Ahoy Rotterdam | November 11-13, 2016 | Team Limited | TournamentCenter.EU |
Chiba | Japan | Makuhari Messe | November 25-27, 2016 | Legacy | Hareruya Inc. |
Denver | USA | Crowne Plaza International Airport Hotel & Convention Center | December 2-4, 2016 | Standard | Cascade Games |
Madrid | Spain | Pabellón Multiusos I. Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo | December 2-4, 2016 | Standard | Mind Sports International |
Milwaukee | USA | Wisconsin Center | December 9-11, 2016 | Limited | Pastimes |
The 2016 Grand Prix schedule can also be found on our Premier Events calendar as well as the Grand Prix events page later today.
2016 Grand Prix Prize Structure Updates
As mentioned in our announcement during Pro Tour Magic Origins, we have re-evaluated the current prize structure that exists for players who finish well at a Grand Prix. After careful consideration, we determined that the prize money awarded to the Top 4 finishers of a Grand Prix does not accurately reflect the difficulty in reaching that stage of a tournament.
The revised prize structure places more of the prize money awarded at Grand Prix to the top finishers, with the winner of an individual Grand Prix now slated to take home $10,000USD starting in 2016.
Below are the revised prize structures for individual and team Grand Prix in 2016, based on the number of players. No changes to Professional Point payouts have occurred.
Individual Grand Prix
Place | 0–2,999 | 3,000+ |
1 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
2 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
3–4 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
5–8 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
9–16 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
17–32 | $500 | $500 |
33–64 | $250 | $250 |
65–100 | n/a | $250 |
101–180 | n/a | $200 |
Team Grand Prix (prize payouts per team)
Place | 0–999 | 1,000+ |
1 | $15,000 | $15,000 |
2 | $7,500 | $7,500 |
3–4 | $3,750 | $3,750 |
5–8 | $2,100 | $2,100 |
9–12 | $1,800 | $1,800 |
13–16 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
17–20 | $1,200 | $1,200 |
21–24 | $900 | $900 |
25–30 | n/a | $900 |
31–42 | n/a | $750 |
43–58 | n/a | $600 |
As always, we strive to bring the community a positive, memorable experience at our Grand Prix, and we aim to both listen to and address appropriate feedback as quickly and professionally as we can.