At the Vancouver Regional Qualifier, Mateusz "Alanzq" Jasiński edged out Sam "Samdsherman" Sherman in a nail-biting final to become the first player to win two RQs in Riftbound's young competitive history. In an interview with Sheep Esports, the two finalists spoke candidly about rules mistakes, variance, their gaming backgrounds, and the future of the tournament ecosystem.

A historic result: the first two-time champion

Already the winner of the Bologna RQ, Alanzq did it again in Vancouver by defeating Samdsherman — himself the champion of the Las Vegas RQ. It is the first time any player has claimed two Regional Qualifiers in Riftbound, a milestone that shows how, even in such a young game, certain names are already establishing themselves consistently at the top. If you want to know who rules the format, take a look at our competitive meta Tier List.

Rules & rulings"We play a ton and we still don't know all the rules"

The most surprising theme of the interview is the admission, from both players, that they made rules mistakes during the final — some of them spotted by the judges. Samdsherman recounted not recognizing an interaction with Targon's Peak that would have let him untap two runes and play Thrill of the Hunt to win game two. Alanzq, for his part, admitted he was "completely lost" in game two, forgetting that same Thrill and setting up the battlefield "in a way that made no sense."

The shared takeaway: Riftbound is a complicated game, there are still many under-specified edge cases, and official clarifications from Riot will be needed before the international competitions.

Skill & backgroundWhich background really helps in Riftbound?

One of the most interesting reflections came from Alanzq, who comes from MOBAs and Legends of Runeterra: in his view, strategic planning matters more than TCG experience. "I'd be far more afraid of a StarCraft player at Riftbound than a Magic player with twenty years of experience," he said. The reason is macro planning: reading the threats and building a plan across several turns is what sets the top players apart, and the RTS and MOBA mindset fits that need perfectly.

Skill expression versus variance

Samdsherman — a Magic player since 1998 — underlined the game's extremely high skill expression: "The consistency we see from the same 10 or 15 players in 2,000-person tournaments is just absurd." At the same time, he acknowledged that the average depth of the field is still lower than in Magic, in part because the large number of casual players thins out the competition at the very top.

EcosystemThe competitive ecosystem: there needs to be a middle ground

Both players talked about the tournament structure. Alanzq pointed to the lack of an intermediate tier: "There needs to be a middle ground" between the small 40-80 person skirmishes and the huge Regional Qualifiers with 1,600-1,800 participants. Samdsherman, meanwhile, criticized the current ticketing system: "You have to wake up at 6 in the morning and click like a madman to buy a ticket, hoping it doesn't sell out." The message to Riot and the organizers is clear: more grassroots tournaments and a fairer ticketing process. On our site you can always find the community tournaments to practice between one major event and the next.

Honest mistakes, not carelessness

The two finalists were keen to stress that the mistakes don't come from poor preparation: fatigue, jet lag, and the game's inherent complexity all weigh on you under the spotlight of the stream. "Riftbound is just a very complicated game and these mistakes are going to happen," Samdsherman summed up. An admission of competitive honesty that, paradoxically, shows just how much room for growth the meta and the players still have.

Source: original interview by Cecilia Ciocchetti for Sheep Esports (June 9, 2026). Translation and adaptation by the Riftbound Zone editorial team.
Special thanks to Yuston for the tip and the contribution to the community. 🎉