How to Actually Enjoy Watching the MTG Pro Tour (Even If You’re Not a Grinder)

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The Magic: the Gathering Pro Tour is where the best players in the world battle it out with finely tuned decks, insane skill, and high-stakes pressure—but if you’re not deep in the meta, it can feel like watching chess in a foreign language. Don’t worry. Whether you’re a casual Commander player or just MTG-curious, there are simple, smart ways to make the Pro Tour fun, accessible, and even addictive to watch.

Here’s how to turn the broadcast into something you’ll actually look forward to, in three best ways to enjoy it.

1. Follow a Favorite Player or Team

Having someone to root for gives the event stakes. Many top players are part of teams like ChannelFireball, Team Handshake, or Hareruya, and they often have distinct playstyles or personalities. Follow them on social media before the event. Learn what deck they’re on. Then, when they show up on camera, you’re not just watching MTG—you’re watching your person try to crack the top 8.

Bonus: It gives you a lens to understand match decisions and side boarding strategies more deeply because you’re tuned in to their whole tournament run.

How do you qualify for the Pro Tour? Wizards of the Coast knows the ways.

2. Use a Companion Stream or Discord

Watching alone can be dry. Watching with commentary—your own or someone else’s—adds context and flavor. Use Twitch chat (with a grain of salt), jump into Discord with friends, or watch alongside a content creator who’s doing a live recap or co-stream.

This turns passive viewing into an interactive experience where you’re asking:

  • “Was that the right mulligan?”
  • “Why did they play that land first?”
  • “Would I have made that attack?”

3. Learn the Meta Beforehand

Nothing kills interest faster than watching cards you don’t understand. Before the Pro Tour, check out a metagame breakdown—most outlets post expected decks. Learn the top 3-5 archetypes and their key cards. Once you can identify what a deck is trying to do, every game becomes a high-level puzzle you can solve along with the players. You’ll start spotting key moments: the exact turn the control player stabilizes, when the aggro deck misses lethal, or how sideboard tech flips a matchup.

Follow a player. Watch with others. Know the meta.

That’s how you turn watching MTG Pro Tour from background noise into a full-blown esports thrill. Thank you for reading, and until the next blog post.