Ultimate Guard European Magic Series, Season 26/27 Round 1 RCQs and Destination Qualifiers recap
As cornerstones of competitive tabletop Magic: The Gathering, RCQs and Destination Qualifiers give players a direct shot at the big stage. Let’s look back at the highlights from Season 2026/27 Round 1.
Ben Short
Season 26/27 Round 1 - RCQs
The Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) are a pivotal part of the Magic: The Gathering tabletop Premier Play system, where top players from local qualifiers come together to compete against each other. These championships are a key stepping stone, offering players the opportunity to qualify for the elite Pro Tour or even the prestigious World Championship.
Season 2026/27 Round 1 of the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series saw over 1000 RCQ events run in 412 different game stores across 34 countries in the EMEA region in the April 2026 – August 2026 period. The winners of the Season 2026/27 Round 1 RCQ events have earned their seats at the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship Ghent (9-11 October 2026)
Format
For Season 2026/27 Round 1, game stores could choose to run RCQ events in either Modern or Limited format.
Modern proved to be the most popular format with 90% of game stores opting for this format.
Breakdown by Country - RCQs
Season 2026/27 Round 1 RCQ events were run in 34 different countries. Italy (348), Spain (111), Germany (78) and the United Kingdom (77) led the way with the largest number of reported RCQ events.
| Country | Number of reported RCQ events in Round 1 |
| Italy | 348 |
| Spain | 111 |
| Germany | 78 |
| United Kingdom | 77 |
Breakdown by Country - Destination Qualifiers
Working with our partners, eight Destination Qualifiers were hosted across six different countries in Season 2026/27 Round 1.
| Event | Slots Available |
| Pan Mysza (Poland) | 8 |
| Games Island (Germany) | 8 |
| Reggio Comics 2 (Italy) | 4 |
| Mythic Goblin (UK) | 8 |
| Lost Town (Italy) | 8 |
| eFantasy.gr (Greece) | 8 |
| Dungeon Street (Italy) | 8 |
| Cartapapa (France) | 4 |
Season 2026/27 Round 2
Season 2026/27 Round 2 RCQs are already underway. You still have the opportunity to qualify for the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship Bilbao (12-14 February 2027) with RCQ events running until the end of November 2026.
Full details of remaining local game store RCQ events and Destination Qualifiers can be found here.
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