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With four tournament events happening over the weekend, we finally have a chance to look at the Riftbound metagame outside of China. Indeed, if we combine the SCG Vegas $10k, the CCS Atlanta $12k, the Enter the Battlefield's Oakville $5k and the Riftlab Contenders in London, almost 800 players competed last weekend.
Arguably, this is just another week for Chinese tournaments, as the eight City Challenges brought about 900 players to the table. Yet, if we combine both regions, we have a ton of data to look at, and finally different perspectives to feed it.
So, is anything different with America also playing Riftbound in high stakes environments?
- Annie is looking much stronger all of a sudden, finally living up to her Dark Horse status with a win in the largest tournament in America.
- Sett managed to snap its recent decline, winning the other big US tournament while claiming two city challenges.
- Master Yi still looks fantastic in China, but failed to do much in the English-speaking part of the world.
- Legends we can consider for high stakes environments are starting to be pretty clear, as 7 of the 16 total legends failed to be in a top cut amongst the 12 total tournaments considered for this report.
Obviously, one thing has remained the same : OGN-247.
To be fair, although she remains the undisputed best in the game, the Daughter of the Void might have posted one of her worst weeks in a long time. Indeed, OGN-247 won the tournament in Oakville, but failed to do so in Vegas, London, and Atlanta, although she was the most popular in Top 8 or Top 16 cuts.
The same can be observed in China, with OGS-019 claiming three City Challenge wins against Kai'sa only two, an upset considering the Fury-Mind legend typically won more than half of those tournaments every week.
Most of the community is already looking at Spiritforge, which will release in China soon. Yet, either the product shortage forced some changes, or the Origins metagame we saw in China might not be as set in stone as we believed.
Happy Tier List Everyone!
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Kai'Sa |
| Tier 1 | Master Yi |
| Tier 1 | Sett |
| Tier 1 | Annie |
| Tier 2 | Viktor |
| Tier 2 | Teemo |
| Tier 2 | Miss Fortune |
| Tier 2 | Yasuo |
| Tier 2 | Ahri |
| Tier 3 | Darius |
| Tier 3 | Leona |
| Tier 3 | Volibear |
| Tier 3 | Lux |
| Tier 4 | Jinx |
| Tier 4 | Lee Sin |
| Tier 4 | Garen |
- S Tier - Undisputed strongest legend based on results, whether we look at Best-of-1 or Best-of-3 events. There is no winning a tournament without going against it multiple times.
- Tier 1 - Great performer and strong presence in the metagame. Top cut placements or wins in the previous week across multiple events.
- Tier 2 - Recent results and solid track record. Able to perform in competitive environment, but likely struggling in larger events, or against some legends ranked in the higher Tiers.
- Tier 3 - Results in smaller events, such as a taking down a Nexus Night requiring to win 3 to 4 matches in a row. Struggling to post good results once on a bigger stage, or to keep its momentum from a week to another.
- Tier 4 - No results lately, either because it was not a popular pick, or because it failed to reach the top cut of any reported tournament.
S Tier
Kai’Sa
This week proved OGN-247 is fallible, although she still won the popularity contest when it comes to top cut appearances across the world. Plus, OGN-247 is the only legend to make it into all four top cuts from English-speaking tournaments, while also winning two City Challenges this week.
Then, this weaker showing might prove OGN-247 isn't broken enough to win a match against a better player on another legend. However, a lot more needs to happen for the Daughter of the Void to lose her Tier S status.
Tier 1
Master Yi
Compared to its Chinese accomplishments, OGS-019 is struggling in the rest of the world, failing to win anything but City Challenges while also being entirely out of the SCG Vegas tournament top cut.
Its three City Challenge wins and multiple appearances in the other three tournaments' top cuts allow OGS-019 to keep its spot as #2 in the game. Yet, the competition has never been this close from shaking what was considered an immovable top 2.
Sett
Annie won the bigger tournament, but OGN-269 won more events with the win in Atlanta, London and two City Challenges in China. Then, The Boss gets to be ranked #3, although these two will likely appeal to different players.
Featured above is the winning list from Atlanta. Not only did it go undefeated on the tournament, the list is also interesting because it runs neither OGN-235 nor OGN-244, two hyped cards in OGN-269 lately.
For more info, Challengertcg shared their insight and tournament run in a YouTube video.
Annie
The trophy in Las Vegas, the biggest tournament on US soil at the moment, finally gives OGS-001 the big win many players claimed she was capable of. Add to that three players reaching Atlanta's top 16 and a rare win in a City Challenge, and the results finally match the hype.
Now, the Dark Child has no reason not to keep posting convincing results, especially in Houston soon, to cement her top 5 status for this first Riftbound set.
Tier 2
Viktor
Amongst the winless legends, OGN-265 is the one with the most top cut appearances. Once again, this shows the Herald of the Arcane is great in a diversified field, but struggles once top tier talent is piloting the opposite deck, and only the best legends remain.
I am very curious to see how OGN-265 will fare in Houston for the first Regional tournament outside of China. That tournament could be make or break for the Order-Mind legend.
Teemo
OGN-263 has been struggling with consistency for a while now, and this week has to go in the bad column. Indeed, with a top 8 in Vegas, but nothing in Atlanta, London, and Oakville, alongside just three top 8 appearances in City Challenges, OGN-263 suffered the most from OGS-001 and OGN-269 posting solid results across the board.
Miss Fortune
OGN-267 had one of her best weeks in a while, reaching the top cut of three tournaments on English-speaking soil, while she also racked up four top 8 in City Challenges.
Arguably, this is as high as OGN-267 can go at the moment, as her track record isn't good enough to overtake OGN-263 or OGN-265 just yet. Still, after two weeks with the bare minimum to be considered competitive, the Bounty Hunter is showing more promises in the global metagame.
Yasuo
OGN-259 failed to do anything outside of Nexus Events up until now, limiting the legend to a fine but barely competitive pick. Arguably, this is still how Yasuo deserves to be considered, as it failed to top in both Vegas and Atlanta, the two largest tournaments this weekend. Yet, OGN-259 at least managed to reach the finals in Oakville, the Top 4 in London and a Top 8 in a City Challenge.
Once again, it is enough to be ranked in the competitive tiers, but not enough to be considered a serious threat.
Ahri
Whenever she manages to build some momentum, OGN-255 finds a way to fumble it all with a catastrophic week. The last time was on China's biggest stage, when OGN-255 posted the worst win rate across all legends.
This week, with no top cut appearance across all four English-speaking tournaments, and just two top 8 recorded in China, OGN-255 ruined her reputation again, going back to an unreliable pick once the stakes get higher than your local store tournament.
Featured above is one of the two Ahris who made it into a top cut this week. Yet, it might be safer to go with the list from last week, as it was a much better period for OGN-255 then.
Tier 3
None of the seven legends we have left to talk have managed to make it into a Top 8 across the 12 tournaments played this week. Then, Tier 3 and 4 are mostly based on last week's results, giving a pass to those with a recent track record. In that mix, OGN-253 is the biggest loser, once again failed to repeat after a convincing weak.
With no lists to update them with this week, check out their dedicated pages, or last week's report to find more info about those legends.
Darius
Leona
Volibear
Lux
Tier 4
Three legends had no results reported over the past two weeks and have not been ranked as a result.
Check out their dedicated pages to find out more about them:
