Riot Games has posted a job listing for a publishing product manager on an unannounced new digital game, asking for trading card game knowledge and mobile experience, and Casanova thinks it is the Riftbound digital client we have been asking for since before the game launched. Blevins, Casanova and Charmer read the post line by line, work out how soon a client could realistically arrive, and argue about whether it helps or guts the local game store.Then Barcelona. Casanova calls it the worst Regional Qualifier that has ever happened for attendee experience, and explains why: a venue at 85 to 90 degrees, players stuck outside for hours, side events gone in minutes, and on demand events that never fired because there was no room to run them. After that, the fun part: an Aggro Ornn deck most people had written off as a D tier legend won the entire event in Manland's hands, and we go through the official Day 1 and Day 2 metagame numbers to work out how it happened. Kennen was 13% of the field, near prime Draven numbers, and still could not close it out.

So many Riftbound showdowns from this past weekend - what does that mean for us? Statistics. Lots and lots of statistics. In Episode 60 of the Winning Point, we cover decks and legends seen from Convergence #2, Riftbound Showdown in Speyer, 10K Showdown in Auckland, Ottawa Showdown, and Gen.G LA Showdown (did we catch them all?). We also delve into what goes into streaming these tournaments, and include a snippet of an interview we did with Tayfun from Battle Bear, who ran the Riftbound Showdown in Speyer. If you're watching/listening to this upon release, we're also at Barcelona, so come and say hi if you see any of us! We have new playmats available for preorder! https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/🃏 SPONSOR: VEGAS SINGLESOur partner for the whole month of August. Singles, trade-ins and a buy list worth actually reading. Use code **TURN5** for 5% off your singles order, free tracking on every package, free US shipping over $50.→ https://vegas.singles/collections/riftbound-singles?bg_ref=lOW1wb5iTD

Riftbound Showdown Ottawa gave us the first real look at the Vendetta metagame, and Prismaticism took the whole thing down on Rengar with a 25-1-1 record in games before telling everyone not to play the deck at their RQ. Kennen was the most represented legend in the room, Rek'Sai put three copies in the Top 8, Master Yi is still posting an absurd win rate with no Best-Of on the line, and Diana is stuck at 51% while everyone keeps calling Blue Purple the boogeyman.Blevins, Casanova, Charmer and Pastry break down the Ottawa Top 8 and the win rates, argue about what a stock Kennen list is even supposed to look like, make the case that somebody is about to crack Mel, then recap Dual Queue, the 2v2 tournament we ran on this channel, where Helm of Suppression turned out to be format warping and one Otterpus denied three points in the grand final. Plus the updated RQ prizing with the Jayce champion promo, the Wuhan Regional exhibition between the English and Chinese scenes, and the mailbag returns with a Crash Out Corner about sets designed for draft.⏱️ Timestamps0:00 Intro1:15 Announcements 4:10 Ottawa Showdown 32:27 2v2 Magma Chamber 41:43 Updated RQ Prizing46:45 Wuhan Riftbound Regional Exhibition48:28 Mailbag🎮 WATCH THIS WEEKENDRift Atlas Convergence #2: Saturday August 15, $5,000 prize pool, 256 players, sold out with a waitlist. Streaming right here.Dual Queue, the Magma Chamber 2v2 tournament, is already up on the channel if you missed it.🃏 SPONSOR: VEGAS SINGLESOur partner for the whole month of August. Singles, trade-ins and a buy list worth actually reading. Use code **TURN5** for 5% off your singles order, free tracking on every package, free US shipping over $50.→ https://vegas.singles/collections/riftbound-singles?bg_ref=lOW1wb5iTD📊 Best-of decklists, tier list & event coverage: https://turnemsideways.gg/🛒 Playmats, dice & merch: https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/

Riot dropped the August 2026 State of the Game plus five more articles in a single week, and between them they rewrite competitive Riftbound: Summoner Skirmish is retiring into the Riftbound Challenge Series, RQs become Riftbound Regionals with 16 in 2027, Regional Championships become Continentals with a Friday last chance qualifier, and a Riftbound World Championship finally lands next year.Blevins, Cas and Charmer go through all of it: Legacy being the first set designed for draft, The Minion and the illegal deck problem it fixes, the Ekko reveal from Radiance, the Cho'Gath movie monster posters coming in Reckoning, the trigger arrow and grey targeting backing that should finally make Riftbound cards read the way they work, the plated Legends that may never be awarded, and why Vendetta season is the last one where you can bank byes.⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Kennen should be banned3:09 Dual Queue, Convergence 2 and our new partner Vegas Singles7:48 State of the Game: no more double Legend packs12:39 The trigger arrow, and why reading the card doesn't explain the card19:22 Legacy is the first set designed for draft, and The Minion29:04 Ekko revealed, and the Cho'Gath movie monster posters43:39 Stuttgart, Convergence Fest and the plated Legends nobody may earn53:39 2027: Summoner Skirmish retires and Worlds arrives📰 EVERY ARTICLE WE COVEREDState of the Game, August 2026: https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/organizedplay/august-2026-state-of-play/Products and Sets: https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/announcements/products-and-sets-into-2027/August and Onward Roadmap: https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/announcements/august-2026-roadmap/Creators and Riftbound: https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/announcements/riftbounds-creators-in-2027/Regional Championship Info: https://playriftbound.com/en-us/news/organizedplay/2026-regional-championship-info/🎮 WATCH US LIVE THIS WEEKENDDual Queue, the Magma Chamber 2v2 tournament: Sunday August 9, 11am EDT, $500 prize pool, Vendetta legal. Streaming right here.Convergence 2 with Rift Atlas: August 15, $5,000, 256 player cap. Sign up while there are still spots.🃏 SPONSOR: VEGAS SINGLESSingles, trade-ins and a buy list worth actually reading. Code TURN5 for 5% off your singles order, tracking on every package, free US shipping over $50.https://vegas.singles https://vegas.singles/collections/riftbound-singles?bg_ref=lOW1wb5iTD📊 Best-of decklists, tier list & event coverage: https://turnemsideways.gg/🛒 Playmats, dice & merch: https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/======= SOCIALS =======Follow us for more competitive Riftbound content:🎥 YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@TurnemSideways?sub_confirmation=1🐦 Twitter – https://x.com/TurnThemSide⏲️ TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@turnemsideways📸 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/turnemsideways/🎧 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0qFsptquUddq21pGXu9Thx🍎 Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-winning-point/id1847709608🎮 Discord – https://discord.gg/MNFCaxFGpZ🩵 Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/turnthemside.bsky.social📝 Threads – https://www.threads.com/@turnemsideways

We caught a glimpse of Riftbound's first Vendetta metagame at our CN vs. the World event, and the winning deck was a Diana running Swain, Visionary, and Patched Porobot. In this episode, we're breaking down every piece of the combo, the missed Promising Future in Game 3 of the Grand Finals, and discuss whether or not Lux deserved an emergency ban. Also hot topics for this episode are: results of the Pre-Rifts, where Ambessa is in the current format, how Orange might be the best color, and whether or not our Vendetta predictions came true so far.

Riftbound dropped a ban announcement ahead of Vendetta, removing Aspirant’s Climb and Arena’s Greatest from competitive play. We break down why these battlefields had become nearly mandatory, what their removal means for the game, and whether cards like Star-Crossed, Ferrous Forerunner, Aurora and Ekko should have been targeted instead.We also discuss the move to 10-card sideboards, the possibility of best-of-five tournament matches, our most anticipated Vendetta prerelease legends, and the cards that could define the new Limited environment. With Vendetta fully revealed, competitive Riftbound is about to look very different.Let us know: Did Riot ban the right cards—and is Ekko eventually next?

Vendetta spoiler season is nearly complete, and the new Riftbound legends have given us plenty to argue about.In Episode 55 of The Winning Point, the crew shares their first impressions of Mel, Ambessa, Nasus, Shen and Jayce, discusses the cards that could define their decks, and attempts to determine which new Epic might be the worst in the entire set. We also break down Riftbound’s massive Las Vegas Regional Championship announcement, the return of Best Of promos, and why overnumbered versions could create both an unbelievable prize pool and a serious competitive-integrity challenge.Which Vendetta legend impressed you the most, and which one are you staying far away from?

Riftbound’s Vendetta spoiler season is moving fast, and the first big story is already here: a card is getting banned before players even get to use it. This week on The Winning Point, we talk through the Stealthy Pursuer infinite combo, why the ban happened, and what it says about Riftbound’s future.Then we get into the real chaos: Kennen and Lightning Rush, Akali’s action-speed tricks, Renekton sacrificing resources for explosive turns, Zed’s shadow clone package, new sideboard-style cards, and the T1 collaboration with serialized cards. Spoiler season is here, and Vendetta already looks wild.LAST CALL TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE TOURNAMENT➡️ https://topdeck.gg/event/sideways-showdown-cn-vs-world-qualifiers

Vendetta spoiler season is upon us, the price of an Ahri card, and Korea entering the Rift(bound). All that and more in Episode 53 of the Winning Point! Be sure to check out our stuff: Website: https://turnemsideways.gg/Merch: https://shop.turnemsideways.gg/

Stories from Hartford, Top 8 Recap, and 2v2 discussions -- is there actually something wrong with the 2v2 format or does it get a bad rap? Also, an unexpected Cas crashout.