How Online Riftbound Tournaments Work: Battlefy, TCG Arena, and How to Join One
Riftbound exploded as a paper TCG, but one of the most exciting things happening in the game right now is online competitive play. You can battle players from anywhere in the world, on a real bracket, with real prizes, without leaving your desk. If you have never played in an online Riftbound tournament, this guide covers exactly how they work and how to get into one.
The two tools every online Riftbound tournament uses
TCG Arena is where the games actually happen. It is an online tabletop client where you build your Riftbound deck digitally and play matches against a remote opponent. If you know your deck in paper, you know it in TCG Arena; the rules and card pool are the same.
Battlefy is where the tournament happens. It handles registration, check-in, Swiss pairings, round timers, match reporting, and the Top 8 bracket. When people say “the bracket is on Battlefy,” they mean you will report your wins and find your next opponent there, while playing the actual games on TCG Arena.
So a typical online tournament day looks like this: check in on Battlefy, get paired, meet your opponent on TCG Arena (usually coordinated through the event’s Discord server), play the match, report the result on Battlefy, repeat until the Swiss rounds end, and then the top finishers play out a single elimination bracket.
What Swiss rounds and a Top 8 cut mean
Most Riftbound tournaments use the Swiss system: nobody is eliminated during the early rounds, and each round you are paired against someone with the same record as you. Win or lose, you play every Swiss round. The number of rounds scales with how many players enter.
After Swiss, the eight players with the best records advance to the Top 8, a single elimination bracket where one loss sends you home and the last player standing takes the title. It is a format that rewards consistency and still delivers a dramatic finish.
How entry and prizes usually work
Online events typically charge a small entry fee, and the best ones put most of it right back into the prize pool. When you register for an event with a percentage based pool, the prizes grow with every player who signs up, so the community literally builds the payout together.
One thing to read carefully on any event page: how your paid entry converts into a tournament seat. Many events (including ours) use Battlefy join codes. You buy your ticket, receive a unique code by email, and use that code to register on Battlefy. Your code is your seat, so keep an eye on your inbox after checkout.
Join one: The Champion Classic, presented by ORB
We are putting all of this into practice. ORB Trading Cards has partnered with Rift with Friends, the Riftbound podcast and casting crew, to present Rift with Friends: Champion Classic on Saturday, July 11, 2026. It is a fully online Riftbound tournament: $20 entry, 1v1 Swiss rounds into a Top 8 cut, played on TCG Arena with brackets on Battlefy, and cast live by the Rift with Friends team.
80% of every paid registration goes straight into a cash prize pool, with first place taking 32% of it. Check-in opens at 9:00 AM PT and Round 1 fires at 10:00 AM PT.
Full details, FAQ, and registration live on the event hub: orbsportscards.com/rwf.
Earn a free entry at the shop
If you play at ORB in Oregon City, there is a free path in: win any of our weekly Riftbound Nexus Nights or the monthly Summoner’s Skirmish between now and July 11 and ORB pays your entry. One free entry per player. Check the event calendar for upcoming Nexus Nights.
Tips for your first online tournament
- Join the event Discord early. That is where pairings get coordinated, questions get answered, and delays get sorted on game day.
- Test TCG Arena before tournament morning. Build your deck in the client ahead of time and play a few practice games so the interface is muscle memory.
- Do not skip check-in. Registering is not the same as checking in. If check-in opens at 9:00 AM PT, be there, or the bracket starts without you.
- Know your deck inside out. Round timers are real. If you are still deciding what to play, start with our Riftbound tier list or the complete Riftbound guide.
- New to the game entirely? Our beginner’s guide to Riftbound will get you from zero to your first match.
Online tournaments are the fastest way to get more competitive reps in Riftbound, and the scene is young enough that new players make Top 8 runs all the time. Grab a deck, grab a seat, and we will see you in the bracket on July 11.