Sandstorm Ekko, an unconfirmed Regional Championship promo
Riftbound Report has posted the artwork for Sandstorm Ekko and describes it as a promotional art card coming to the upcoming Regional Championships. The card is not confirmed by Riot: the official site lists Regional Championship prizing but has not shown any of it yet. For players in Italy the relevant stop is the European one, Stuttgart, November 6-8.
The reportAn illustration, no game text
The post went up on Sunday, September 27, shortly after midday Italian time, from Riftbound Report, the community news account that openly describes itself as a fan account with no ties to Riot Games. The image shows Ekko in profile inside a golden spiral, with the domes of a Shuriman city behind him: full-bleed art, no card frame, no energy cost, no rules text. That matches the wording used in the post, "promotional art card" — a collectible, not something you sleeve up.
The hashtags point at the two events already on the calendar: the European Regional Championship in Stuttgart and Convergence Fest in Las Vegas. Neither comes with a link to an official page, a distribution date, or any indication of which prize tier the card would belong to.
One point in the source's favour is verifiable. In the official Radiance preview schedule Riot published on September 18, Riftbound Report is listed among the channels handed new cards to reveal on October 1 and October 2. This is an account Riot picked for preview season, not a random handle. It is still a single source, though, and for tournament prizing the confirmation has to come from Riot.
The contextWhat Riot has already promised in Stuttgart
The official 2026 Regional Championship page describes the prizing without showing it. Every qualified competitor gets a participation package with a commemorative playmat and a special promo card; players who reach Day 2 receive another promo; the Top 8 adds a further playmat and promo; the champion gets one of their own. Riot writes in as many words that the rewards are still being finished and that the full reveal is still to come. Sandstorm Ekko, if the report is right, would fill one of those slots — the post does not say which.
Stuttgart, November 6-8
Hall H of Messe Stuttgart, Messepiazza 1. Standard format with Radiance legal. Six Swiss rounds on Friday, six more on Saturday, Top 8 single elimination on Sunday.
Las Vegas, December 11-13
The North American Regional Championship runs inside Convergence Fest. Qualified players may pick either one, and anyone holding multiple invitations can attend both.
Qualification still works the way it was announced in August: a Top 64 finish at a Regional Qualifier earns an invitation, and that invitation is not locked to the region where it was won. The Top 8 at each Regional Championship books a seat at Riftbound's first World Championship.
Why it matters here. Stuttgart is the Regional Championship half of Italy can reach in a day, and it is the one most Italian qualifiers will choose. If the card really does land in the participation package, everyone who shows up takes one home, not only the players who go deep: that is the difference between a token prize and a mass one. Until Riot publishes the full prize list, though, nobody knows which tier it belongs to — so this is not the moment to build collecting plans around it.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000 |
| 2nd | $5,000 |
| 3rd-4th | $2,500 |
| 5th-8th | $1,500 |
| 9th-16th | $1,000 |
| 17th-32nd | $500 |
| 33rd-64th | $250 |
The short version
- Riftbound Report shows Sandstorm Ekko as a promotional art card for the upcoming Regional Championships; Riot has not confirmed it.
- The image is artwork only: no cost, no rules text, and no word on which prize tier would include it.
- The European Regional Championship runs in Stuttgart from November 6-8, Standard with Radiance, for a $50,000 prize pool.
Source: Riftbound Report and playriftbound.com. Images: Riot Games.
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