Riftbound 2027 ranked ladder explained: Ladder Points, ranks, tokens and Grandmaster /

By Ron Cruz · Published October 27, 2026

Riftbound is getting a ranked ladder in 2027. In its 2027 Premier Play announcement, Riot says four kinds of events will give you Ladder Points based on where you finish: the new Challenge Series at select stores, the Showdown Series, Regionals and Continentals. Your points set your rank: Aspirant, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. At the end of the year, the top 50 players become Grandmasters. Pre-Rifts, Nexus Nights and the new Nexus Cup don’t count toward any of it.

Your Ladder Points don’t earn you a badge or a Day 2 spot on their own. Riot didn’t want the ladder to reward playing every event you can, so free entries come from tokens you earn with strong finishes and from two Top Finish Races that only count your best results.

The events that give Ladder Points

• Challenge Series: a new competitive event at select local stores, starting with Legacy in January. It’s the only store event that gives Ladder Points. Our Challenge Series and Nexus Cup guide covers how it works.
• Showdown Series: tournaments run by Riot’s partner organizers. Riot is aiming for 30 to 40 of them each season. Each one’s tier depends on how many players actually compete, not just how many badges sold: Tier 1 has 512 or more players, Tier 2 has 256 to 511, and Tier 3 has 129 to 255.
• Regionals: this year’s Regional Qualifiers under a new name, now three days long.
• Continentals: Riot’s four biggest tournaments of the year, one for each set, open to anyone.

A Challenge Series gives 20 points for 1st, 18 for 2nd, 15 for Top 4, 10 for Top 8, 5 for Top 16 and 3 for Top 32. Here are the points at Showdown Series events.

And at Regionals and Continentals:

Regionals and Continentals have a Day 2. At a Regional, you need a 5-2 record or better on Friday to come back Saturday. You only earn points at those events if you make Day 2, and making it is worth at least 10. Riot says it’s fairly confident in these numbers but could still adjust them before 2027 starts.

Riot will show your points and rank on PlayRiftbound.com during 2027 and explain at the start of the year how to keep track before that’s ready.

Five ranks, from Aspirant to Platinum

Riot hasn’t said how many points each rank takes. Here’s roughly how big it wants each one to be among players who play competitive events. It’s a target, not a cap.

Ladder Points reset every year. You get a rank the moment you reach it, and you keep its benefits for the rest of that year and all of the next. To keep them after that, you have to reach the rank again. Riot’s example: reach Gold in June 2027 and you have Gold benefits right away and through 2028. If you only reach Silver in 2028, you head into 2029 with Silver benefits.

Riot says ranks will come with exclusive promos and other swag. The only Gold and Platinum benefit it has confirmed so far is early badge sales.

Gold and Platinum players can buy badges early

A competitor badge is your entry to the main event at a Regional or Continental. Every Regional and Continental splits its competitor badges into two pools:

• Pool A is sold to everyone.
• Pool B is held for players who earned a badge or redeemed a token for that event.

Whatever is left in Pool B goes on sale early:

• Platinum players can buy 48 hours before the public sale.
• Gold players can buy 24 hours before the public sale.
• Anything still unsold joins Pool A.

Tokens get you free badges and Continental Day 2 spots

Tokens are digital, and you earn them with a strong finish. You then pick which event to use them at:

• Regional token: a free competitor badge at one of the next six Regionals after you earn it.
• Continental Day 2 token: a free spot in Day 2 at one of the next two Continentals, so you skip Friday.

Riot will publish the full token rules before the end of 2026, including whether a token earned one weekend can be used at an event the next weekend.

Top Finish Races only count your best results

The two Top Finish Races are leaderboards that only count a set number of your best finishes, so you don’t have to play every event to keep up.

The Seasonal Top Finish Race runs from one set’s release to the next. It adds up:

• your best three Challenge Series or Showdown Series results
• your best Regional or Continental result

Riot’s example: a player has a Challenge Series 2nd (18 points), a Challenge Series Top 8 (10), a Tier 1 Showdown Top 64 (30) and a Tier 2 Showdown Top 16 (35). The best three count, so the 10 doesn’t. They also have a Regional Top 128 (35) and a Continental Top 256 (40), and only the better one counts. That’s 18 + 30 + 35 + 40 = 123.

When the next set releases, Riot gives a Continental Day 2 token to the top 50 players in the race who didn’t already earn one that season.

The Annual Top Finish Race runs for the calendar year. It adds up:

• your best 12 Challenge Series or Showdown Series results
• your best five Regional or Continental results

The top 50 in the Annual race become Grandmasters, and the top 50 who aren’t already qualified for Worlds get invited.

Grandmaster goes to the top 50 players of the year

At the end of 2027, the top 50 players in the Annual Top Finish Race become Grandmasters for 2028, and the same happens every year after. Grandmasters are Platinum players with extra benefits. Riot has named two:

• a free competitor badge for every Regional
• a free competitor badge and a Day 2 spot at every Continental

How you get to Worlds in 2027

Invitations to the 2027 World Championship go to:

• every Regional winner
• every Continental Top 8 player
• every China Major winner
• top finishers at the 2027 China Regional Championship
• the top 50 players in the Annual Top Finish Race who aren’t already invited
• top finishers in the Korea and Taiwan regional tournaments

Riot hasn’t announced when or where the 2027 World Championship is. This season ends first, with the 2026 World Championship Showcase in Shanghai on January 23 and 24, 2027.

What changes if you played in 2026

This year’s path: a Summoner Skirmish win got you a bye at a Regional Qualifier, a Top 64 finish at a Regional Qualifier got you a Regional Championship invite, and a Regional Championship Top 8 got you to the World Championship Showcase.

In 2027:

• Store wins give tokens, not byes. The Challenge Series winner gets a Regional token. If you have Summoner Skirmish byes left over, here’s what to do with your Summoner Skirmish byes.
• Tokens replace direct invites. A Top 64 finish at a Regional earns a Continental Day 2 token. Riot says tokens are what it was already doing for each Regional Qualifier’s Top 64, now with a formal name.
• Regionals start Friday. The main event now runs Friday to Sunday. Our 2027 Regionals and Continentals schedule has every date and how the three days work.
• 2026 results don’t carry into a 2027 rank. Everyone starts the ladder at zero.
• Best-Of prizes are staying. Best-Of prizes go to the best finisher with each Legend. After changing the Regional Championship prizes on October 15, Riot said it intends to keep Best-Of in the future, though it’s still discussing whether the way it works will change.

Riot says parts of the 2027 system aren’t final yet, including the token rules and the point totals for each rank.