MagicCon wraps up in downtown Atlanta with $1M tournament

I want to take you live to downtown Atlanta now, where a trading card game is bringing fans and some serious competition to the Georgia World Congress Center. Our Austin Hager joins us now live at Magic Con, and today's the final day. Tell us and show us around, Austin. Hey Tyler, good morning to you. Again, we're down here at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Falcons are going to play the Chiefs next door, but we're going to have hundreds of people playing Magic the Gathering, the beloved card game, here in the Georgia World Congress Center here today, the last day of the three-day convention. I've got my friend Brandon here with me to talk to. Us about the show. Brandon, how you doing? Talk to us about what's going on here this weekend. I'm doing great. We're so excited to be back in Atlanta for our second show. This is the 13th MagicCon, but it's the biggest one this side of the Mississippi. And it's sold out early. We actually have over 20,000 Magic the Gathering players here that have gathered to celebrate their favorite game. And talk to me about that key word, the gathering. I mean, what's it all about? The friends, the family that come along the way? Absolutely. I mean, games bring us together and none do it as well as magic. You're having fun playing with the person across from you in groups of two or four or larger and it Everyone that comes here, we want them to leave with a new friend, with somebody that they get to play with. So it really is about the gathering. Gotcha. And there's also like a tournament going on, right? So talk to me about that. Oh, yeah. It's the World Championship. And we've got over 100 players at a huge stage over there that are playing against each other for a million-dollar prize purse. So this is the culmination of everyone's professional career, and one winner will emerge. Gotcha. And I'm looking, we've got some putt-putt going on back here. We've got some family-friendly events back here, right? Oh, absolutely. MagicCon isn't just playing Magic. Of course, that's a huge part in why we get together. But it's having fun with Magic, its characters, its stories, the different planes and environments in a ton of different ways. We've got stage shows. We've got mini-golf. We've got immersives. We've got themed shops. We have an arcade. So there's something for everyone. Gotcha. And just, you know, somebody's coming down today. How long are you guys open here today? Are tickets still available, I guess is what I'm asking. Unfortunately, we did sell out over a month in advance. MagicCon is getting more and more popular, so if you want to go to a future one, buy your tickets now. But it ends at 6 today, so we're just going to enjoy our day three and go out with a bang as we announce the winner of the World Championship and have a little bit more fun playing Magic together. And gotcha, the winner of that championship, I mean, what are they going home with? It's a million-dollar prize purse overall, so they get a huge cash prize, of course, trophy, and the most important part, the glory of being the greatest Magic player in the world this year. I got you. And so it's a relatively new thing to the city of Atlanta, so talk to me about that. It's the second year here in Atlanta? That's right. It's the second year. We've done 13 of these all over the world. We just announced that we're doing one in Japan. We're doing one in Amsterdam. We do one every year in Las Vegas. But we're always excited to come back to our favorite city here in Atlanta. Right on. All right. Thank you, Brandon. Guys, MagicCon, it's epic. I saw people lining up super early to come to the show and be a part of the gathering, if you will. And we're going to have more for you at 11:45. And, yeah, Tyler, we're going to send it back to you. Austin, let me ask you this real quick. So he was saying that they're doing this all over the world. I think he said Japan. Have you met people who have traveled far distances to be here? Can you hear? I've seen people from all over. I mean, I was in a line, and there was a gentleman who was speculating on what the World Congress Center was about. He was like, I think the Congress meets here. And I was like, no, no, no, no. We just do conventions here in Atlanta. He was from New Jersey, so not too, too far. But still, we've got people, again, flying in from all over the country and from out of the country to get exclusive cards and to see the tournament that Brandon was mentioning just a few short seconds ago. I mean, a million-dollar grand prize. I was not really familiar with the Gathering until a couple years ago. Years ago, one of our co-workers here at Fox 5 plays Magic the Gathering and I had no idea about it. He tried to explain it to me. I mean, it just has a huge following and as you said, they go all around the world with something like this and it's the second time that they're here in Atlanta and behind you it just looks like so many people are there. How many people are you estimating who's there right now? We've got thousands. We've got thousands here at the World Congress Center. We've got some overflow again from next door at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Falcons game. So parking was a, you know, it's tight over here, but hey, we're having a good time. People are all in good spirits, as you saw some of that video I shot earlier. People are just ecstatic, and everybody I've met playing Magic the Gathering are some of the nicest people and friendliest people. They'll show you how to play and that kind of thing. So it's just, again, a great gathering here, if you will, here in Atlanta. Austin, do you play? Oh, yeah. Oh, come on, Tyler. You know I play. Yes, of course. Yes, I've got my... Once we get done... Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, me and that producer who shall remain unnamed, we both play pretty consistently. I've got friends that are here, and we're going to... Matthew, yes, yes, there we go, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, we've got a ton of folks down here. I'm going to be doing some playing here in just a few short minutes or maybe an hour or two after we get done with the next live hit. But, yeah, we love Magic the Gathering. It's a good time every time. Look at you having a good time working and playing. Austin Hagan, we'll check in with you in just about an hour at 1145 for the latest. Thanks so much for joining us from the Georgia World Congress Center.