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Riftbound World Showcase: three decks, early Legacy and $100k

Riot has revealed how Riftbound's first World Championship will work. Now called the Riftbound World Showcase, it takes place in Shanghai on January 22-23, 2027, with 24 players and a $100,000 prize pool. The twist is the format: every competitor brings three decks with no shared Domains, and they can use Legacy, a set that doesn't hit stores until January 29. For European players there is only one way in, and it opens tomorrow: a Top 8 finish at the Stuttgart Regional Championship.

by Riccardo Emanuele Eustor3 min read

Riftbound World Showcase in Shanghai: format and prizes of the first World Championship
World Showcase starts in
in …

The formatThree decks, six Domains

Each player registers three decks, labelled A, B and C, under one simple but demanding rule: no Domain can appear in more than one of them. Domains are the game's six colour identities, and every deck plays the two that its Legend allows. With three decks, that effectively means each player has to cover all six Domains exactly once. No running three copies of the best deck in the room: if you love Fury, you have to pick which of your three lists gets it.

At registration, one of the three must be named the Playoff Deck. That's the one used in the Top 4.

The roundsNine Swiss rounds, then a Top 4

The event runs nine rounds of Swiss, where players are paired against opponents with similar records and nobody is eliminated. Decks rotate every three rounds. During the first three, played with Deck A, nobody faces the same opponent twice; from round four onwards, rematches are possible. After Swiss, the top four play single elimination, best-of-three matches, for the title.

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World Showcase schedule
DayRoundsDeck
Day 1Rounds 1-3 (Swiss)Deck A
Day 1Rounds 4-6 (Swiss)Deck B
Day 2Rounds 7-9 (Swiss)Deck C
Day 2Top 4, single elimination, best of threePlayoff Deck

LegacyA new set, played before anyone else

Legacy releases on January 29, a week after the World Showcase, but the 24 competitors get the complete card list two weeks before the event, while public previews are still under way. In other words, the Shanghai stream will feature cards the rest of us haven't seen yet, making it the first real look at Legacy in action.

PrizesWhat's on the line

everyone

Trip and promo

An all-expenses-paid trip to China, a premium goodie bag and a serialized English promo numbered 1 to 24, handed out by final standings.

at stake

$100k and a trophy

A $100,000 total prize pool and the World Champion trophy.

There's also a draft of Overnumbered Foil Plated Legends, picked in order of final standing, with every Legend available, Legacy included. Riot notes they differ from the Regional Championship versions and carry no promo stamp.

The datesJanuary 22-23 or 23-24?

One detail worth flagging: Riot's 2027 Premier Play article, published on October 26, listed the event for January 23-24. Today's announcement, the more recent of the two, says January 22-23. We're going with today's date, which is also what our countdown uses. The broadcast will be on Twitch and YouTube; times haven't been announced yet. Shanghai is seven hours ahead of Central European Time.

Why it matters to us. For players in Italy, the road to Worlds runs through Stuttgart on November 6-8: make Top 8 there and you're flying to Shanghai. And a three-deck, six-Domain format rewards people who know the whole game rather than one deck, so it's worth watching Stuttgart for the less popular lists too. Our first story on the World Championship is here, and the new 2027 system is here.

In short

  • Riftbound World Showcase in Shanghai on January 22-23, 2027 (Riot said 23-24 on October 26), 24 players, $100k.
  • Three decks with no shared Domains, Legacy cards allowed even though the set releases January 29.
  • Nine Swiss rounds, then a best-of-three Top 4 with the Playoff Deck.

Source: Riot Games, "Riftbound World Showcase"; earlier dates: Riot Games, "Riftbound 2027 Premier Play". Images: Riot Games.

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