RQ Los Angeles: the Radiance panel opens preview season
The last Regional Qualifier of 2026 takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center from September 25 to 27, with a $25,000 prize pool and Regional Championship invitations on the line. Riot has confirmed that on Friday afternoon a four-developer panel will formally kick off Radiance preview season, unveiling a batch of new cards on stage. The same announcement takes an unusually direct stance on the organisational problems of the last two Regional Qualifiers. Watching from Italy, coverage starts at 7 PM.
The panelRadiance’s first cards, Friday night
The date to circle is Friday, September 25 at 3 PM in Los Angeles — midnight between Friday and Saturday in Italy. Riot frames it as the opening whistle of the fifth set’s preview season, which makes it the first substantial batch of Radiance cards after the three already shown over the past months.
On stage: Dave Guskin (game director), Jon Moormann (Radiance lead designer), Brice Cox (creative director) and Michelle Mauk (the set’s art director). Anyone not in California is covered too — the panel will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube afterwards, so staying up until midnight is optional.
The sore spotRiot owns up to the last two RQs
The most unusual part of the announcement sits under the heading “Addressing Player Concerns”. Riot writes that “the past two Regional Qualifiers have had their share of problems for players attending the show”, and says it has worked with event partner UVS on three fronts: more play space, reworked logistics for the prize wall and merch store, and a review of judge staffing and policies. It also concedes that some fixes will take longer and will land at future events rather than in Los Angeles.
$25,000
Paid down to Top 128, with $6,000 for the winner and Regional Championship invites from Top 64 upwards.
33 Legends
Best-Of Foil Plated Legends from Spiritforged, Unleashed and Vendetta — one per eligible Legend, to its highest-placing pilot.
PrizingWhat is on the line, bracket by bracket
Season 4 prizing has been updated and revolves around Jayce, Brilliant Inventor, which in Los Angeles appears as a small family of promos carrying the Vendetta and Regional Qualifier foil stamps.
| Placement | Headline rewards |
|---|---|
| Top 128 | Lux, Crownguard (Crystal Rose) playmat + Jayce alt-art promo |
| Top 64 | The above + 40 Prize Wall Tickets, Regional Championship invite, future RQ Competitor Pass |
| Top 32 | The above + $250 |
| Top 16 | The above + $500 |
| Top 8 | Top Cut playmat, exclusive-art Top 8 promo and $1,000–$3,000 |
| Champion | Winner’s playmat and promo card + $6,000 |
On the product side, the Secret Garden bundle will be on sale at $70 for the English version, but limited to one per event badge and while supplies last. The merch booth opens on Thursday at 2 PM local time during badge collection, and a valid event badge is required to buy anything.
Coverage runs on YouTube and Twitch from 10 AM Los Angeles time, with Julian Carr, Alex Coccia, Silverfuse, Charm3r, Ursiiday and Barrett Bryant on the desk. One caveat on the clock: the official page lists “6:00 PM CET”, but Italy is still on summer time on September 25, so the stream actually starts at 7 PM local. Results, bracket updates and interviews run on @RiftboundOP.
Why it matters to us. Two very concrete things. First, Radiance previews start here, so from Saturday morning the new cards are public material for everyone, including those who never set foot in California. Second, Los Angeles is the last high-level snapshot of the Vendetta meta before the European Regional Championship in Stuttgart on November 6–8. The lists coming out of this weekend are the ones qualified Italian players will be preparing against, and live coverage lands at 7 PM Italian time — a civilised slot at last, after the Singapore all-nighter.
The short version
- RQ Los Angeles runs September 25–27 at the Los Angeles Convention Center — the final Regional Qualifier of 2026.
- Friday at 3 PM local (midnight in Italy) the developer panel opens Radiance preview season; it will be uploaded to YouTube afterwards.
- $25,000 prize pool, 33 Best-Of Legends and Jayce, Brilliant Inventor promos; live on YouTube and Twitch from 7 PM Italian time.
Source: PlayRiftbound — All Eyes on Los Angeles. Images: Riot Games.
Spotted an error?
To send a report you must first log in or sign up: it only takes a few seconds.