Austin Bursavich has been one of the players in the Magic: The Gathering 2020 Grand Finals that analysts and fans have their eyes. He has dominated the lower bracket and, today, he claimed the crown to win it all. The Omnath, Locs of Creation decks, are prevalent in the whole tournament, and the finals was not any different. To spice up the storyline, the unscripted finals was between two teammates.
Bursavich has plowed through his opponents to secure his top-eight spot during day two of the competition. As the first one to accomplish the playoffs spot, he had three rounds to spare to sit back and enjoy watching his other co-competitor.
Battling back from the lower bracket, Austin Bursavich felled giants of the game to win the #2020GrandFinals 🏆🎉 pic.twitter.com/lvO3lSY6lN
— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) October 12, 2020
He lost to Raphael Levy during the top-eight bracket in the first round but has bounced back to win four straight three-game series in the losers’ bracket. Doing so has earned him his finals appearance. He is expected to bank $25,000 of the $250,000 prize pool of the 2020 Grand Finals.
He faced his teammate Aaron Gertler in a best of three series, with both deciding to bring the dominant Omnath Adventures decks. In a one-day playoff of the tournament, Bursavich had a longer day than his opponent climbing the lower bracket’s ladders and then mustering all his stamina to overcome the final battle. The teammates are also both newcomers to the upper echelon of the MTG eSports compared to other participants.
While Bursavich received attention in the scene last year, Gertler’s top eight qualifications this year is a first in his career. Though he lost in the finals, it’s not a terrible tournament for him all things considered. It wasn’t smooth sailing for the first-timer, as well, going into the finals. Gertler was on the verge of letting his spot go with four losses in nine rounds that he played in the swiss round. But he will fight back to win four straight games and an international draw as he lands his playoffs spot.
The Omnath, Locus of Creation-filled 2020 Grand Finals seen the TCG’s fans split whether they like the meta or not. With Temur Adventures already has a strong foothold on the battlefield, dropping Omnat can see some of the most explosive turns in this current metagame. This made some of the games extremely long, and even some players had two minutes left on their clock. Three non-Omnath players bravely ventured the battlefield in the top eight but ultimately fell under the strongest deck at the moment.