Stuttgart Regional Championship: the complete guide

by Riccardo Emanuele Eustor·Riftbound Zone

From November 6 to 8 Messe Stuttgart hosts Regional Championship Europe, the biggest Riftbound event of the year on this continent: a $50,000 prize pool, $10,000 for the winner, and around thirty side events open to everyone. Riot has been releasing the details piece by piece, and I covered them one at a time; here they are all in one place, from the schedule to the prizes, from the new rules to what you will find at the venue.

The basicsWhere, when and who plays

The event runs in halls 8 and 10 of Messe Stuttgart (Messepiazza 1), a few minutes from the airport and connected to the city centre by public transport. Times are local (CET). The main event is for qualified players only; everything else, side events included, is open to anyone with a weekend badge. If badges sell out there is a waiting list, which closes before the event.

The main eventThree days, twelve rounds and a Top 8

Friday starts at 10:00 with six Swiss rounds: nobody is eliminated, and each round pairs you with players on the same score. Matches are best of three (Bo3), 60 minutes per round plus three extra turns when time runs out. On Saturday the players who made the Friday cut play six more rounds from 9:00; on Sunday eight remain, with quarterfinals, semifinals and the final, untimed.

More in the article on the schedule and prize pool.

New rulesOpen decklists and new prizes

From Stuttgart on, Regional Championships use open decklists: every list is public, so you know your opponent’s deck before you sit down. The Overnumbered Foil Plated Legends change too: instead of going to the best player on each Legend, the top 58 finishers pick them in order starting from the winner. The Best-Of prize stays, as the regular Foil Plated Legend, for the highest day 2 finisher on each Legend from Unleashed, Vendetta and Radiance. There are also explicit rules against selling matches, with immediate disqualification.

In the side events Riot tests two rules for the player going second: at Friday’s Radiance Standard Challenge they draw an extra card after channelling runes, at Sunday’s they score a point. I explained them in the articles on open decklists and the test rule.

The moneyHow the $50,000 is split

For everyoneSide events from €10 to €75

Around thirty events open to anyone with a badge. High/Competitive events are long, with decklists and Bo3 matches; Low/Casual ones last a few hours and are single games. Prizes are Prize Wall tickets, not cash.

On Friday at 19:30 there is the Super Nexus Night: €25, three 30-minute rounds, up to 4,000 players and a Nexus Night pack for everyone. All day there are also €10 on-demand events (Constructed, Free for All, 2v2), a €25 Radiance draft and a free Learn to Play table.

Full schedule and ticket payouts in the side events article.

For your countryThe Nation Clash

The weekend’s new idea: every match you win earns points for the country on your badge, and on Sunday a nation is crowned. The event itself is on Saturday from 9:00 (8 rounds, Bo3, €50, Top 8 on Sunday at 10:00), but every main event day 2 player scores for their country too. The highest average wins, not the total, and a country needs at least five players. Full rules in the Nation Clash article.

The prizesThe Prize Wall

Full list in the Prize Wall article, the ten Radiance Battlefields in their own piece.

At the venueBeyond the tournaments

• A free pack with every badge, opened on camera at Ripper’s Bay.
• A Biergarten for open play with beer and pretzels, the Funfair and free popcorn.
• A flag sticker for your country at badge pickup.
• An Artist Alley with ten community illustrators.
• On-site PCG grading from €25 to €60, with a Regional Championship 2026 label you can only get there. Slabbed Legends are allowed in the main event.

More: free pack, Biergarten and Funfair, Artist Alley, PCG grading.

Source: Riftbound Organized Play (schedule, rules, prizes and Prize Wall price list), as covered by Riftbound Zone between October 15 and 24. Image: Riftbound Organized Play.