Riftbound's First English Regional Qualifier (and other OP Updates!)

Hey Riftbounders, 

We’re hot off the press with some news about our first English Regional Qualifier, plus some juicy new details about the world of Riftbound Organized Play (OP). So let’s make like Teemo when he sees some brush and get into it! 

Our First English Regional Qualifier: Houston!

Mark your calendars, because we’re coming to Houston, Texas from Friday, December 5 through Sunday, December 7 and we’re bringing everything Riftbound with us.
We’re arriving with a LOT of things to do, but the star of the show is the Regional Qualifier. But what is a Regional Qualifier, you ask? Regional Qualifiers are open tournaments where anyone with a deck and a dream can come to compete for glory and prizes, plus a chance to qualify for the Regional Championship. These events will feature cash prizing and special prizes awarded to the top performer with each specific champion legend.
This event will be at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX and will feature our main competition, dealer booths, side events, and more! 

Ticket Pricing

We’ve got a different ticket for each type of Regional Qualifier attendee. Which one are you? 

Competitor Badge: 

This badge will get you entry into the main qualifier event, with 2 vouchers for side events. If you’re a talented Riftbound player on the rise, this badge is for you. 

Premium Competitor Badge: 

Gets you into the main qualifier event, with vouchers for 4 side events, a booster box, and promo swag. You’ll also receive a 1/300 2x2 Commemorative Riftbound Cardback sheet, which is perfect for collecting Dev, Influencer, and fellow competitor autographs throughout the weekend! If you’re ready to go all in, you’re a Premium Competitor. 

Spectator Badge: 

This badge gets you access to the event hall, where you can take in all the action, plus a voucher to 1 of the side events. If you wanna dabble, come hang with the best and check out the scene, consider the Spectator Badge. 

You can purchase your tickets to be a part of the action here.

Houston Competitive Events

Let’s talk about the main event: our Regional Qualifier! On Saturday, we will start by hosting 9 rounds of Swiss Play. These rounds will be played Best of Three with sideboards, allowing players to adjust their decks between games of the same round. 

In Swiss Play, players are not eliminated after a defeat, but instead play a set number of rounds. This means that even if you don’t make the top 64, you’re still guaranteed a full day of Riftbound play in a competitive environment! Test your deck and grow your skill, because there will be plenty more Regional Qualifiers ahead of us.

On Sunday, the top 64 players from the previous day will compete in Elimination Play, where players will compete for cash prizes, cool cards, and of course, glory. By the end of the day on Sunday, we’ll have our first EN Riftbound Regional Qualifier Champion.

Tune in From Home

If you’re interested to watch the action but can’t make it to Houston, worry not. We’ll be broadcasting the event online with casters on site to explain all the action, with special cameos from devs and competitors for a peek behind the curtain!

Regional Qualifier Prizing

For those of you who participate in the Regional Qualifier, some very exciting prizes await. And the higher you place, the better they get. 

If you’re among those skilled and talented individuals who find themselves in the top echelons of players, you’ll walk away qualified to attend a Riftbound Regional Championship. These events are for the best of the best Riftbound players in the region and will have some of the fiercest competition.

Prizing extends beyond the main event, too! 

In addition to the various rewards offered for side events, the Houston Regional Qualifier will see the debut of something we think is very exciting: Best-Of Prizing. 

Each deck running one of the 16 Champion Legends from Riftbound: Origins or Proving Grounds with the highest win rate will receive a unique reward: a holographic metal Champion Legend card with 3D elements that bring that Legend to life. And get this: these bad boys are tournament legal. Talk about blinging out your deck!

For example, if you don’t win it all, but you are the Yasuo player with the best win rate, you’ll be going home with the holographic metallic Yasuo card. 

Side Competitive Events

The qualifier isn’t the only game in town, check out all the ways you can play Riftbound when you visit. Get a load of these side events:

Pre-Regional Challenge (Friday)

Test your mettle before the event begins with this competitive event designed to give you a chance to prepare for the big event. Mucho prize wall tickets and even byes to the main event are up for grabs!  Jump right into the Regional Qualifier (RQ) and potentially earn a Round 1 bye on Saturday! 

Premium Sealed (All Three Days)

Love a challenge? Compete in premium Sealed events throughout the weekend for your shot at big prize wall rewards.

Conquest (Saturday and Sunday)

Step up to compete with your three favorite Standard decks in an alt-format event unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else!

On Demand Events (All Three Days)

Have some downtime and some friends? Looking to get some games in while meeting new people? Enjoy on demand events all weekend long featuring Standard, 2v2 teams, and free for all.

As if that’s not enough, more side events are coming! 

Registering for Side Events

Registration for side events at the Houston Regional Qualifier will take place on site, at the event. 

Beyond the Competition

The Regional Qualifier is just the tip of the iceberg, there’s a whole world of fun beyond the main event. 

• Dealer Booths -  featuring Riftbound cards, sealed product, and accessories for all of your TCG needs. 

• Trading Area - arrive with the cards you have and swap ‘em with others for the cards you need!

• Free Play Area - Play with friends or make some new ones as you play any format you desire! 

• Prize Wall - after you’ve won games and earned tickets, bring them here for prizes. One ticket will get you one booster pack, or you can trade in your tickets for other prize items. 

Judge Program

As any seasoned TCG vet knows, the backbone of an organized play event is its judges. Since this is the first Riftbound Regional Qualifier, it’s also our first time fielding judges, which means we need some. If you’re interested, here’s how to get involved: 

Application Process

The judge program will go live by November 11th, at which time we’ll share the appropriate link for applications on our socials. (We’ll also add it to this article.) 

The Tier 1 Judge application will feature an entry exam, 10-15 rules questions with automatic feedback. If you aren’t accepted, you’ll be able to try again in 7-10 days. 

If You’re Accepted

Once you’re in, you’ll be invited to a Discord Server managed by UVS. The judge program will have three tiers, and each tier will determine your eligibility to judge different events, all the way up to and including championships.

As a judge, when you adjudicate games at local game stores you will earn points, and these points will help you level up to Tier Two Judge and eventually a Tier Three Judge. 

The Perks

Every job deserves a reward, our first is a special Heimerdinger, Inventor Judge Promo Card. Once Judges adjudicate their first event (and it’s logged in the Judge Center), UVS will mail them the Heimerdinger (foil) promo.

Future Events 

The Houston Regional Qualifier is our first, but it certainly won’t be our last. The next Regional Qualifier will take place in Europe in February 2026. All other details will be announced at the Houston Regional Qualifier, just another reason to show up and be the first to know! 

Store Demos & Events

If you can’t make it to the Regional Qualifier, don’t worry. We’ve got a lot happening at the store level, and we’re excited to tell you about it. 

Store Demos

All over the world, people are learning to play Riftbound at their local game store with the help of our teaching kits. Check with your LGS to see if they’re running demos. Limited Promos have been provided to stores for those who participate in these demos - swing by and get yours while supplies last! 

Store Level Play 

If you’re hungry for competition, there’s plenty happening at your LGS. We’ve got two Riftbound-themed nights comin’ at ya: 

Nexus Night: 

This is open format, store play, every week. Show up and throw down with your friends (and rivals) in 1v1’s, 2v2’s, and 3 & 4-person FFA’s. All participants will receive an Origins Promo pack, every week! 

Summoner Skirmish: 

These are a series of competitive game nights that occur twice per set. For Origins you’ll see them pop up between Nov 24th-Dec 28th and between Dec 29th-Feb 1st. At Summoner Skirmish, players can battle to earn prizes and first round bye’s at the next Regional Qualifiers they attend. 

Release Event

Riftbound releases October 31st, 2025, so you should definitely get your butt to your local game store and be part of the Riftbound Launch. 

Show up and play! Grab a champion deck, crack some packs, and then put your deck to the test against the other Riftbound fans who’ve shown up to throw down and jam. 

For attendees there will be a Participation Promo Prize Pack (say that five times fast), featuring an Origins Legend and a Champion Card. Be sure to show up and get yours! 

Our Hopes for Organized Play

We at Riftbound want The Houston Regional Qualifier to serve as a preview for Riftbound Premier Play in 2026, but we also want to let you know it will be a learning opportunity for Riot and UVS. 

Riftbound is a brand new OP ecosystem that we need to build from the ground up. As an example, at the time of writing this, no judges have ever judged a game of Riftbound, and this is a legitimate challenge for hosting our first event so soon. 

But! Doing this event early in the life of our game helps supercharge its ecosystem, so ultimately, we think it’s a good thing. 

What does this mean for you? Well, it means we're excited to hear your feedback about this event, and afterwards want to hear more from you on how we can improve in 2026. 

That’s all for now! If you’re hungry for more, sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on card reveals, dev videos, and lots of other stuff!  Need even more? Follow our socials for all the latest developments on all things Riftbound.