Riftbound European Regional Championship concluded in Stuttgart amid controversies

The Riftbound European Regional Championship concluded in Stuttgart, Germany, on November 9, 2026, and TheGamer reported that the event was considered a success for the game even though two distinct controversies left a mark on many players over the weekend.~|~

TheGamer said a player named Templar faced accusations of slow-playing on day one, the practice of deliberately taking excessive time during matches, to run out clocks so he could score late points and leave opponents unable to respond. Templar reached an 8-1 record with time concerns in every match before disqualification from the event. TheGamer described this as the first flashpoint from the Riftbound ERC involving Templar.~|~

Unsubstantiated rumors on Reddit claimed Templar’s disqualification came from marking cards rather than slow play. TheGamer attributed the alternative rumor to Reddit and noted that most players commenting believed it was slow play and demanded a follow-up punishment.~|~

Players are calling for an example to be made of Templar with a swift, long ban after Koko Lopez was banned last month, and TheGamer connected the Templar case to that previous ban. TheGamer said that if intentional slow-playing by Templar and a deck built for that purpose can be proven, a ban is likely, though it would probably be less than the ban given to Koko Lopez for more flagrant rule-breaking and dishonesty.~|~

Judges faced criticism for how they handled pace-of-play issues in earlier rounds, with players documenting poor handling and repeated warnings to Templar without formal action. Templar questioned the judges’ quality and how the rules came into force during the Riftbound ERC in Stuttgart.~|~

The larger dispute involved Legend deck share, the proportion of players using a particular Legend, resulting in a final eight where two Legends made up seven of the decks. TheGamer compared that concentration to the domination of certain archetypes in Magic: The Gathering in recent years.~|~

Day one saw 126 Riven decks, equal to 43.3 percent of the total field. Day two had 47 Riven decks, still 37 percent of the remaining field.~|~

In the top eight, four players ran Riven decks, bringing the percentage back up to 50 percent. TheGamer said Riven prevalence makes the game look bad externally because it seems to offer little strategic creativity, forcing players to use required cards instead of preferred ones.~|~

Kennen player Evanshrim won the event. Kennen ranked third among Legends at the event and had 44 total decks on day one.~|~

Kai’sa is the remaining top three Legend, and outside the top three Legends few Legends had a meaningful following at the event. TheGamer described the limited diversity of Legends played at ERC Stuttgart as disappointing given the game’s youth.~|~

Dave Guskin, the game director, said Riftbound bans would be announced this Friday with the effective date still to be confirmed. Card bans are expected soon to address the Riven problem before it develops further. Riot plans to balance the meta quickly, especially now that the first full year of tournaments is in the books.~|~