In this article, Brian David-Marshall introduces the 2009 Pro Tour schedule. The big update this time around is that in an effort to combine players' interest in Limited play with the larger playing audience's greater interest in coverage of Constructed events, each PT in the coming year will be a hybrid event, featuring a mix of Constructed and Limited rounds.
This seems fine to me, as it will make each Pro Tour more skill testing overall, and I'll still be interested in a significant portion of the coverage. I thought it was interesting that apparently I am not alone in finding Limited coverage kind of unengaging:
Our coverage audience absolutely devours Constructed decklists from top players. The written and video deck tech pieces we do blow away a lot of the other stuff we do on the coverage side, and unfortunately all-Limited events just aren't as captivating to that at-home audience, regardless of how fun they are to play in.
That's Aaron Forsythe. For me, I find Limited coverage less interesting because although one can have a general draft plan (e.g. "value Slivers more than your opponents do"), you don't get to come into a match with as much of a plan. When I'm watching a Limited match and someone wins, the actual cards they use feel fairly random. In contrast, in a Constructed event you get to see a player try to unfurl their plan, adapt it to new situations, and so forth. There's more to latch onto, as a viewer.
Pro Tour Qualifiers will still be single format. Here's the schedule for next year:
Kyoto, Japan (February 27, 2009)
Formats: Standard, Draft
Top 8: Standard
Qualifier Format: Sealed (presumably, Shards of Alara)
Qualifier Dates: October 4 through December 28, 2008
Honolulu, USA (June 5, 2009)
Formats: Block, Draft
Top 8: Draft
Qualifier Format: Extended (the new Extended -- very exciting)
Qualifier Dates: January 3 through April 19, 2009
Austin, USA (October 16, 2009)
Formats: Extended, Draft
Top 8: Extended
Qualifier Format: Standard (awesome)
Qualifier Dates: May 2 through September 6, 2009
Worlds - Rome, Italy (November 19, 2009)
Formats: Standard, Draft, Extended
Top 8: Standard
(As always, you qualify for Worlds via your country's Nationals and rating)