Martin-Eric Gauthier is the first of two Magic Online Championship Showcase winners this weekend after defeating Daniel Goetschel in straight sets today.
The MOCS season two winner took home $20,000 after a strong run through the six-round tournament. Gauthier also earned an invitation to the Strixhaven Championship on June 4 to 6. Three rounds of Vintage Cube Draft and three rounds of Modern determined the tournament winner.
Gauthier qualified for the finals by going undefeated in the Vintage Cube Draft rounds and put up two wins in the Modern portion with his Selesnya Company deck. His only Modern loss was in a Selesnya Company mirror match. He faced Goetschel and his Jund Shadow list in the finals.
Gauthier took game one against Goetschel by developing the powerful Selesnya Company engine with Heliod, Sun Crowned as a key piece. Goetschel was playing from behind for most of game one. Game two wasn’t much closer as Goetschel stumbled out the gate, which allowed Selesnya Company to slowly acquire card advantage and find its pieces.
Goetschel entered the modern rounds with his back against the wall after a winless Vintage Cube performance. Down three wins, he needed to sweep Modern to keep himself alive for a finals opportunity. He met Antonio Del Moral Leon in the last Modern round for a finals berth.
The pair split games but it was Goetschel who came out on top of the semifinal battle by navigating an awkward-looking hand into a game-winning sequence. A final Lightning Bolt to the face pushed Goetschel into a finals matchup against another Selesnya Company deck, this time piloted by Gauthier.
The Magic Online Championship Showcase continues tomorrow at 12pm CT with the season three finals. Six rounds split between Vintage Cube Draft and Modern will crown the second champion of the weekend.
