Andrea "Mengu09" Mengucci has won the first Mythic Invitational for Magic: The Gathering Arena. This is his first major digital win, and he takes home the top prize of $250,000.
Hailing from Italy, Mengu09 started his competitive tabletop play durng the Pro Tour Austin in 2009. His achievements include winning the World Magic Cup in 2015 as part of the Italian National Team. Mengu09 had a runner-up finish at the Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad in Spain back in 2016. In the 2018 world Magic: The Gathering rankings, he came in at number 12.
When the Magic esports program was launched, Mengu09 was a member of the Magic Pro League, a group composed of the world's top 32 Magic: The Gathering and Magic: The Gathering Arena players. Overall, Mengu09 has 24 Pro Tours played with three top eight finishes. His most played Arena format is Traditional Draft with a 70 percent win rate.
In the most recent tournament, Mengu09's journey started by winning against Edoardo "Quicksort" Annunziata, 2-1. However, he would fall against David "TheAsianAvenger" Nguyen in the next round, sending him to the Loser's Bracket. Here he would slowly work his way beating Matthew Nass, Luis Salvatto, and Gabriel "Yellowhat" Nassif, to qualify for the Top Four.
Hi first match was against Janne "Savjz" Mikkonen, winning 2-1. He then swept Piotr "Kanister" Glogowski to qualify for the Grand Finals. However, Mengu09 once again faced Kanister in the Grand Finals. For the Grand Finals, Mengu09 opted for his White/Blue/Black Esper deck, with Kanister choosing to go for the Blue/Red Izzet deck. Much like the semi-finals, Mengu09 handily won 2-0 to take the championship.
We have a #MythicInvitational winner! Congratulations to @Mengu09!!!!! pic.twitter.com/V0FUDCvCTJ
— MTG Arena (@MTG_Arena) March 31, 2019
Talking about the first Mythic Invitational, Wizards of the Coast Esports Vice President Elaine Chase said that the excitement was thanks to the new Duo Standard format. She added that "we saw strong play from some of the best players in the world as we usher in a new era of Magic esports." Chase said further than fans can expect more action when the Magic Pro League begins competitive streaming this May.
