UGEMS Antwerp 2025 - A Modern (Magic) Gathering for the Ages
With three days full of Magic, competitive events, flashy cards, and so much more, players in Antwerp and following the broadcast experience an exciting three days of MTG.
Alex Kivitz
As we round out the year and gear up for Magic Spotlight: The Avatar in Lyon, we want to take some time to reflect on one of the largest Magic: The Gathering events of 2025. The Ultimate Guard European Magic Series – Regional Championship Antwerp was the kind of weekend that reminded us why we pack our bags, sleeve up our decks, and travel across borders for the game we love.
The Omenpaths - Exploring The Expo Hall
The Ultimate Guard European Magic Series has been doing a stellar job at giving us the opportunity to take any city and bring Magic: The Gathering to life, transforming exhibition halls and venues into absolute spectacles. Walking into Antwerp Expo, you really felt the energy and excitement from the players.
Dice rattled across tabletops. Sleeves snapped as decks came out for the first round. The building was filled with that hustle and bustle that we’ve come to love from these Magic: The Gathering shows. Rows of tables ran deep into the distance, but despite the size of the hall, the event never felt overwhelming.Movement between vendor areas, tournament sections, and side events flowed easily.
Players met with friends they hadn’t seen in months. Cameras and phones were out, capturing the best moments of the weekend, and our allstar casting team were socialising with the crowd before giving it their all in front of the cameras. Ultimate Guard came through with the Meat and Beat stand, where players could challenge Magic: The Gathering legends to a game and get some amazing goodies. Ultimate Guard even brought in a laser to specially engrave your own Boulder Deck Boxes to commemorate the event.
Artist Alley
All through the weekend we had a packed list of guest artists, showing their talents, and letting players create their own personal pieces of Magic: The Gathering lore. We saw plenty of signed cards, amazing artist proofs, and customised deckboxes all across the tables. We have such amazing talent show up at Regional Championship Antwerp, with Steve Argyle, Iris Compiet, Jason Engle, Martina Fackova, Gaboleps, Ralph Horsley, Marta Nael, Chris Ostrowski, Mila Pesic, and ShivanArt all with their own stands. We also have Rebecca Guay and Scott Fischer come all the way from the United States just to meet with all the players here.
Some players gathered in groups, quietly gold fishing opening hands, rehearsing lines they may only get one chance to execute. The atmosphere was competitive, yes, but it carried a sense of shared understanding. Everyone in that room knew why they were there.
Market Connections - Vendors, Merchandise, and Side Quests
Stepping away from the buzzing of matches, we saw beautiful event exclusive merchandise, vendors who would sell you any card you heart desired, and a 3-day long schedule full of Side Events for whichever format you wanted to play.
The host of Side Events also ensured that nobody felt left out or was without anything to do. Whether or not you simply wanted to crack some packs of Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender, or try out your latest Commander deck, there was always something running.
On top of just the regular Side Events, we also held larger competitive Side Events that could even get you a spot at UGEMS Regional Championship Prague next year! There were even Last Chance Qualifiers for the main event, and the Open on Sunday. All these events brought with it the chance to win some amazing prizes, earn qualifications, and play some of the best players in the world. Entering all of these events also scored you some of the hottest event exclusive deckboxes and playmats as well.
A Modern Metagame for a Modern Tournament - The Main Event
We had an amazing turnout for UGEMS Regional Championship Antwerp. With only qualified players being eligible to enter the event, we saw an amazing turnout of nearly 1200 players battling for the Regional Championship title. We saw the best of the best from not just across Europe, but around the world. The format showed up in force with decks representing every archetype and play style imaginable.
Boros Energy continued to show up as the second most played deck of the tournament, only being narrowly beaten out by Jeskai Blink. However, day 2 told us a different story. Boros Energy had the highest number of players converted, as well as boasted the highest win rate during day 1. However, it was an overall diverse metagame with most archetypes representing a near 50% winrate.
Champions of the Planes - The Top 8
We saw 6 different decks make it into the top 8 with Pierre Liebsch ending Swiss as 1st seed with their Ruby Storm. Guglielmo Lupi and Robin Courtiat came in as 2nd and 3rd seed on Amulet Titan and Jeskai Blink respectively, both being the only undefeated players at the end of the Swiss rounds.
As the elimination rounds began, the hall began to file slowly towards the coverage viewing area. With an impressive Top 8, we saw nailbiting games each round. And after 3 days of Magic: The Gathering, with 14 rounds of Swiss and a grueling top cut, we had one final match to go. Daniel Toledo on Boros Energy going up against Guglielmo Lupi who maintained his incredible undefeated run all the way through to the finals. After one of the best games of Magic we’ve seen in recent history, Daniel Toledo emerged as our UGEMS Antwerp Champion.
End Step - What Comes After
UGEMS Antwerp was the kind of tournament that brought out the best of the Magic: The Gathering community, and showcases just how the game holds such importance and brings people together. It was a show that brought people together, not solely for prizes or prestige, but for the moments where you can get together with your friends and celebrate your victories, games, and memories of the game that we love. It was a weekend to remember, and what a way to round out 2025. Thank you all for coming, and we look forward to seeing you all at Magic Spotlight: The Avatar in Lyon in January.
Looking for more impressions? Check out the UGEMS RC Antwerp photo album.
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