The Riftbound European Regional Championship runs November 6 to 8, 2026, at Messe Stuttgart in Germany, the first Regional Championship Europe has ever hosted for this game. Fifty thousand dollars is on the line, the champion takes ten thousand of it, and the Top 8 earn a seat at the first Riftbound World Championship. If you qualified at a Regional Qualifier anywhere in the world, this event is open to you no matter where you live, and for UK and European players it is the first time reaching a Regional Championship does not mean crossing an ocean.
Page last updated: August 6, 2026.
What Is the European RC?
This is Riftbound’s first European Regional Championship, and only the second Regional Championship confirmed for 2026 anywhere in the world. Riot Games built it on the same template as the North American Regional Championship at Convergence Fest: a $50,000 prize pool, Worlds invitations for the Top 8, and a three-day structure reserved for players who have already proven themselves at a Regional Qualifier. Riot announced Stuttgart as part of a wider August 2026 update to Riftbound’s organised play system, which also confirmed the competitive scene is shifting to a Continentals structure from 2027 onward. That change does not apply to this event, and the difference matters, so more on it below.
Who Can Attend?
Any player who finished in the Top 64 at a Regional Qualifier has earned an invitation. The important detail is that invitations are not locked to a region. A player who qualified at a North American RQ can use that invitation in Stuttgart, and a European player who qualified can use theirs in Las Vegas. If you have qualified more than once, through separate RQs, you are free to attend both Regional Championships. There is no separate application process beyond the RQ result itself, so if you already have a Top 64 finish sitting in your record, this event is already yours to attend.
Thinking about taking your Vendetta deck to competitive play? See
how to qualify for a Riftbound Regional Championship.
The Format, What to Expect
The weekend is split across three days, each with a distinct purpose. Day 1 and Day 2 are Swiss rounds, Day 3 is the elimination bracket that produces a champion.
| Day | Date | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Friday, November 6 | 6 rounds of Swiss. 12 or more match points advances you to Day 2. |
| Day 2 | Saturday, November 7 | 6 further rounds of Swiss, cutting to the Top 8 for elimination play. |
| Day 3 | Sunday, November 8 | Quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. The champion is crowned. |
The event is played in the Standard format and is Radiance-legal, meaning cards from Riftbound’s fifth set are tournament-legal at Stuttgart even though Radiance only releases on October 23, two weeks before the event starts. If you are not yet familiar with what Radiance adds, the Radiance hub covers everything confirmed so far. And if your current pool is still built around Vendetta, our Vendetta booster display buying guide is a sensible place to fill gaps before you start layering Radiance cards into a competitive list.
What You Can Win
Every qualified competitor leaves Stuttgart with something, and the rewards scale sharply the further you advance.
| Achievement | Reward |
|---|---|
| Participation (all qualified competitors) | Commemorative playmat and a special promo card |
| Reach Day 2 | Exclusive Day 2 promo card, plus Best-Of plated card eligibility |
| Top 8 | Additional exclusive playmat and promo card |
| Champion | Exclusive champion playmat and promo card, plus $10,000 |
| 33rd to 64th place | $250 each |
The full breakdown between 2nd and 32nd place has not been published yet. Riot has confirmed the champion’s $10,000 and the $250 paid from 33rd to 64th, but the exact figures in between are still to come, so treat any number outside those two confirmed points as unofficial until Riot releases the complete table. Every legal Legend is also available as a plated Best-Of card with Overnumbered artwork, but reaching that prize requires advancing to Day 2 first. Top 8 finishers earn a Worlds invitation, up to eight from this event alone.
Getting to Stuttgart
This is where the European RC has a genuine advantage over its North American counterpart for UK and mainland European players. Messe Stuttgart sits 14km from Stuttgart Airport, connected directly by the S2 and S3 S-Bahn lines, so the trip from landing to the venue is straightforward.
| From | Best Route | Approx Time |
|---|---|---|
| London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester) | Direct flight to Stuttgart Airport (STR) | About 2 hours |
| London (rail alternative) | Eurostar to Paris, then TGV to Stuttgart | 5 to 6 hours total |
| Frankfurt | Direct rail | About 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Munich | Direct rail | About 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Zurich | Direct rail | About 3 hours |
| Paris | Direct TGV | About 3 hours |
Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, and Prague are all reachable as a same-day train trip if you would rather not fly. The dates themselves are convenient too. November 6 to 8, 2026, is a standard weekend across the UK and most of Europe, and it falls well clear of UK half-term, which lands the week of October 26. There is nothing on the calendar competing for your travel budget that weekend.
Spectator and general admission details for Stuttgart have not been announced. If you are hoping to attend without a competitor invitation, check playriftbound.com for updates rather than assuming general admission will be available.
Sharpen Your Pool Before Stuttgart
If you are still filling out a competitive Vendetta collection ahead of the Radiance shift, singles are the fastest way to get there.
Final Verdict
If you qualified at any Regional Qualifier, anywhere in the world, and Stuttgart is a shorter trip for you than Las Vegas, take the invitation here. The direct flights from the UK and the fast rail links from most of mainland Europe mean this event is genuinely accessible without intercontinental travel, and the format and prizing are identical to the North American event, so you are not settling for a lesser version by choosing Stuttgart.
One thing to be clear on: the Open Day 1 structure, where any player can walk in and compete without a prior qualification, belongs to the 2027 Continentals system, not this event. Stuttgart 2026 still requires a Top 64 finish at a Regional Qualifier to enter. If you have not qualified and were hoping to buy your way into the competition on the day, that route does not exist here yet.
If you are a European player who has not qualified, the honest answer is that spectating is currently unconfirmed. Do not book travel assuming you can walk into Hall H as a fan. Watch playriftbound.com for the general admission announcement, and if it does not come, the broadcast is still the way most of the community will experience this one.