Riot Games have years of experience running competitive circuits and massive tournaments, so Riftbound is planning to start off strong. The game has a structure in place already for every level from weekly casual events, all the way up to World Championships.
Riot have partnered with UVS games to deliver the Riftbound Organized Play, with a number of events already in the works. There’s a clear path of progression, and players can win promotional prizes, exclusive cards, and even cold, hard cash.
Before we dive into the tiers of play, there are two unique events happening to mark the start of the game.
Demo Events
Though we haven’t seen dates yet, there are demo events planned, with demo decks to be made available. Press, influencers, and some local stores were invited to a press event in the US recently. Four demo decks with “SAMPLE” text over the top featured Viktor, Jinx, Yasuo, and Volibear in simple cardboard boxes.
GenCon in Indianapolis will be the first major expo to feature these events. The free events run from July 31st to August 3rd, with 1 hour learn-to-play slots available for 1v1 or 4-player games. There will also be similar demos at the LoL 2025 Mid-Season Invitational, at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver from July 27th.
There could well be further events at other conventions or local stores closer to the release date. The trial decks are similar to the decks in the Proving Grounds box set, but not the same.
Origins Release Event
For the first set, Riftbound: Origins, there will be a unique release event. It’s meant to be “low stakes, focused on participation”, and will likely feature players using starter decks combined with a few booster packs. Events like this are common for new games.
Local Events
There are two levels of organized play. Local events are run at your local game stores, some of which can link in to premier events which are larger, officially-run tournaments.
Nexus Nights
These are weekly, casual events held at local stores, aka weeklies. Have fun, meet other players, and form a crew for events. Players typically use their own constructed decks, but these events do not link into the higher levels of the competitive structure
Summoner Skirmish
Twice per set release, those same local stores can hold Summoner Skirmishes: one near the start and one near the end of the season. You can get promos and other prizes for winning or just participating.
Winners get better promos and an interesting extra reward of a bye in round 1 at the next Regional Qualifier. They can sit out the first round of this larger event, counting the match as a win. Getting a free win and an hour extra to prep/eat/sleep in a long tourney is really good.
Prerelease Event
For sets after Origins, special prerelease events will take place at local stores before the official set launch. Players sign up to get a prerelease kit with a set amount of packs they’ll use to build a deck. This is a really common way for other TCGs to celebrate new sets and for fans to try new cards.
Premier Events
Players start off at open Regional Qualifier events, where they can qualify for Regional Championships. A Riftbound World Championship is planned for “as early as” 2027, with competitors needing to place high in Regional Champs to secure invites.
Regional Qualifier
Anyone lucky enough to get a ticket can attend these large-scale open events, which could be a few hundred to 1,000+ players, depending on the area. All participants get rewarded with promos, with more rewards the better you do.
There are some fun ideas here, with prizes awarded to the “best of” players per Champion, encouraging off-meta picks. The top players overall get an invite to their choice of…
Regional Championship
While most players need to get an invite to these, there will be Last Chance slots available to some players attending. The Regional Championships come with even more promos and prizes, as well as the chance to earn cash prizes.
Riftbound World Championship
The pinnacle of the Riftbound Organized Play structure is the Riftbound World Championship, which serves as the final level of competition. The first event could run as early as 2027, but nothing about a location or date has been confirmed.
Promo Cards
Everyone loves a promo with unique alternate art, special borders, or different foilings. They’re coming to Riftbound, and it looks they’re being done the right way. The team have said that Promotional cards awarded through organized play are not mechanically unique.
This mean promo cards are the same names/stats/rules as the ones from main sets, only the decoration changes. That means you won’t have to attend events (or pay a tonne to people who did) to get unique cards for their abilities.
Rotation 2028
Rotation is already planned for the game and should happen no earlier than 2028. That means early sets will “rotate” out of play, so powerful cards from years ago make way for new ones. This is common in TCGs, and makes sure the meta of a game doesn’t become stale.
It’s telling of Riot’s experience that it’s not only planned, but being advertised well ahead of time. It shows they know meta and balance is important in TCGs, but also respects the playerbase. So, we know rotation won’t happen out of blue, but we aren’t going to be stuck in a meta for too long.
