from around $150,000 per tournament in 1996–97 to $250,000 in 2012. In the first Pro Tour season each Pro Tour event awarded more prizes than the previous one. Afterwards prize payouts had only minor fluctuations throughout a season with the exception of the World Championships, where additional prizes are awarded. Pro Tours started as single-format events in 1996, alternating between Constructed and Limited, with the exception of the World Championships which have been multi-format events since the inception of the Pro Tour. In 2010 Pro Tours were changed to always have several rounds of Constructed and Limited play. Pro Points and Pro Club MTG Pro Tour players benefited from a point system that granted tiered awards called the Pro Club. Points were earned based on performance in the Pro Tour events. The tiers were Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and provided players with bye-games in tournament play, automatic invitations to Pro Tour events, and complimentary travel expenses to the tournaments. Platinum level players received cash bonuses for participating in tournaments and were given custom Players cards. This program ended on December 22, 2019. Transition to Players Tour In December 2018 Wizards of the Coast announced that the Pro Tours would be renamed to Mythic Championship in 2019. This was done in an effort to include the digital MTG Arena in the competitive scene. Tabletop and online MTG had individual versions of Mythic Championship, and the prize pool was increased to $500,000 per event. Along with this restructure, a "Magic Pro League" (MPL) was created. The Mythic Championship was intended to feed players into the MPL. This system was discontinued after the 2019 season. Beginning in 2020, the tabletop Mythic Championships were replaced by a new regional system called the Players Tour. This effectively makes the Players Tour the successor to what was once the tabletop Pro Tour. Qualification There are approximately 3600 invitations to compete in the Players Tours, and there are many ways to qualify. The most common are: Qualifying for the Finals in the previous season. Placing highly at Qualifier-level events Reaching a Top 8 ranking or having at least 39 match points in individual format Grand Prix; or reaching the Top 4 or having at least 36 match points in team format Grand Prix In 2012 it was announced that Sponsor's Exemption invitations would be given regularly to players who "showed excellence in play and positive community