Riftbound Adds Ranked Ladder and New Competitive System in 2027

Riot Games will introduce a ranked ladder and an expanded competitive program for Riftbound in 2027. Players will earn Ladder Points based on their final placement at competitive events, with the points determining their position in the rankings.

Points will accumulate throughout the year. Riot may change the proposed point values before the system launches. Players who reach higher ranks will receive benefits including priority registration for Regional and Continental tournaments.

The ladder will have five public tiers: Aspirant, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. A sixth rank will remain undisclosed. Riot estimates that about 11% of active competitive players will reach Aspirant, 50% will reach Bronze, 33% Silver, 5% Gold and 1% Platinum. The company has not announced the point thresholds for the tiers.

Players will receive a rank’s benefits for the rest of the year in which they reach it and throughout the following year. They will need to maintain the rank to keep those benefits afterward. Gold- and Platinum-ranked players are expected to receive priority registration for Regionals and Continentals.

For multi-day events, players must reach Day 2 to earn Ladder Points. Those who qualify for Day 2 will receive at least 10 points based on their final placement. Players who would otherwise earn points but fail to reach Day 2 will receive none.

Riot will use Top Finish Races for additional qualifications. These leaderboards will count players’ best results from selected events and will run on seasonal and annual schedules. At the end of 2027, the top 50 eligible players in the annual ranking will receive Grandmaster status for 2028 if they have not already qualified through another route.

Grandmasters will receive free competitor badges for all Regional tournaments, as well as free competitor badges and automatic Day 2 qualification for all Continentals. Riot has not published the full list of benefits for each rank.

Regional tournaments will expand from two days to three in 2027, running from Friday through Sunday. They will take place in venues larger than comparable Regional Qualifiers held in 2026. Riot also plans four three-day Continental tournaments. Unlike the qualification-based Regional Championships held in 2026, the Continentals will be open to all players.

Riot has not announced the complete Continental format. Players who reach Day 2 through Friday’s competition will have their records reset when they join players who received Day 2 tokens.

The Showdown Series is expected to grow to 30 to 40 tournaments per set season, with events in more regions. Tournaments will be classified by attendance: Tier 1 for at least 512 players, Tier 2 for 256 to 511 players and Tier 3 for 129 to 255 players. They will award Ladder Points and are expected to send about twice as many players to Continental Day 2 as the previous Showdown invitations for Regional Championships.

The new Challenge Series will take place at selected local game stores in the Riftbound Gaming Network. Winners will receive a stamped promotional card and a Regional token. Participants will have opportunities to earn Ladder Points, with events expected to begin appearing in the network in 2027.

Regional programs in France, Korea and Taiwan will continue, with top players receiving a limited number of invitations to the World Championship. China will largely retain its 2026 competitive structure, although its Majors will award invitations to the 2027 World Championship.

The 2026 World Championship Showcase is scheduled for Jan. 23-24, 2027, in Shanghai, China. It will feature 24 players and determine Riftbound’s first world champion. The 2027 World Championship will include Regional winners, the top eight finishers from each Continental, China Major winners, leading players from the 2027 China Regional Championship, the top 50 eligible players in the annual ranking and qualifiers from Korea and Taiwan.

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