Matias Leveratto, the underdog of the top four at the Magic: The Gathering Mythic Championship III, won the whole thing today with Simic Nexus on MTG Arena.
Playing his favorite deck, Leveratto qualified for the MTG Mythic Championship III through the grueling MTG Arena MCQW (Arena Mythic Rank qualifiers for MCIII). Understanding Simic Nexus on a separate level from most pros, Leveratto fought his way through three days of matches to win the MTG Arena Mythic Championship III in Las Vegas.
The top four semifinals upper and lower brackets of MCIII were full of amazing plays and unexpected results, such as Leveratto and his Simic Nexus deck beating Brad Nelson and winning the upper bracket. Nelson wasn’t finished with his amazing run since the start of MPL Weekly War of the Spark split, however, winning against Kai Budde in a head-to-head Esper Hero showdown.
For Nelson to have a shot at being the champion of MTG Mythic Championship III, he’d have to win two best-of-three matches against Leveratto, who only needed to win one. Esper Hero wasn’t going down without a fight, despite being beaten in the upper bracket. Nelson won the first best-of-three match against Leveratto’s Simic Nexus.
Related: The top 4 challengers at MCIII get an auto-invite to MTG Arena Mythic Championship V
Match one of the second best-of-three once again went to Nelson, putting the pressure on Leveratto to win two matches in a row. Working both Teferi’s and Narset, Parter of the Veil in combination with Hero of Precinct one and Oath of Kaya, Esper Hero kept shutting down Simic Nexus at every turn.
But Leveratto refused to give up. Nelson had him at lethal on his next turn and Leveratto was down to his last look for a Nexus of Fate, which he found. After that, the flood gates opened and Leveratto won, taking both players into the final match to determine who would be the champion of MTG Mythic Championship III.
Nelson had the third match exactly where he wanted it, but Leveratto top-decked Nissa, Who Shakes the World and the tide turned in Simic Nexus’ favor. The Teferi’s did what they do best, but Leveratto top-decked a Biogenic Ooze, creating two additional three/three oozes.
Leveratto missed a chance to go lethal, giving Nelson a huge break and another chance to win. The stars aligned for Leveratto, however, and he became the Magic: The Gathering Mythic Champion III champion.
Winning the grand prize of $100,000 and 50 Mythic Points, Leveratto has also earned an invite to the Magic: The Gathering World Championship in December. Because he was also a top four challenger at Mythic Championship III, Leveratto earned an invite to MTG Arena MCV as well.
