A look back at the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series, Season 1 Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs)
Top players from local Magic: The Gathering qualifiers in the EMEA region competed in nearly 500 Regional Championship Qualifier events for a chance to advance to the Pro Tour and World Championship. The winners of Season 1 RCQ events will move on to the Regional Championship in Lille this November (tickets on sale here).
Season 1 Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs)
The Regional Championships 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 serve as an important stepping stone, giving players a chance to advance to the elite Pro Tour or the esteemed World Championship.
Season 1 of the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series saw nearly 500 RCQ events run in 219 different game stores across 30 countries in the EMEA region in the May-July 2024 period. The winners of the Season 1 RCQ events have earned their seats at the Ultimate Guard – European Magic Series Regional Championship Lille (8-10 November 2024 – packages and tickets on sale here!).
Here are some of the highlights of Season 1.
Format
For Season 1, game stores could choose to run RCQ events in either Pioneer or Limited format. Pioneer proved to be the most popular format, with over 80% of game stores opting for this format.
Season 2 offers a change of pace for players with both Modern and Limited format events available.
Breakdown by country
Season 1 RCQ events were run in 30 different countries in the EMEA region. Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom made up the top 3 both in terms of number of participating game stores and number of reported RCQ events.
| Country | Number of participating game stores | Number of reported RCQ events |
| Italy | 63 | 143 |
| Spain | 39 | 96 |
| United Kingdom | 24 | 41 |
With over 900 sanctioned events for Season 2, we look forward to seeing even more game stores and players being involved in RCQ events in the future.
Destination Qualifiers
Working with our partners, Season 1 saw six different Destination Qualifiers across six different countries.
| Event | Format | Slots Available |
| Axion Now | Mega Modern | 4 |
| Dutch Open Series | Modern, Sealed, Pioneer | 3 |
| JK Entertainment – 20 Year Anniversary Event | Modern, Sealed, Pioneer | 8 |
| Dungeon Street – Paupergeddon Event | Modern | 8 |
| Pan Mysza – Paprykarz Open Series Warszawa | Sealed, Pioneer x2 | 8 |
| Cartapapa – DC National Championship 2024 | Modern | 4 |
Highlights of Season 1 included the Dungeon Street – Paupergeddon Event drawing 638 players. This event was streamed on Twitch and was one of the largest Pauper events of all time.
Check out our Destination Qualifiers Season 1 recap article for pictures and additional info.
Looking at you, Season 2…
Although Season 2 RCQs are well underway, there is still time to get involved. With both local game store RCQ events and Destination Qualifiers still to go, there’s still a chance for players to qualify for the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series Regional Championship in Prague on 24-26 January 2025.
Full details of Season 2 events along with a handy RCQ locator can be found here.
Stay informed of all our most recent updates by joining our Discord community.
Read more Magic: The Gathering articles!
What are the UGEMS Destination Qualifiers?
Learn all about Destination Qualifiers in the Ultimate Guard Magic Series!
Is Avatar: The Last Airbender Coming to MTG?
Teasers for the final Universes Beyond set of the year have us exited! Is ATLA coming to Magic?
UGEMS RC Lille Review and Feedback 2 – Side Events Changes
After making changes to the UGEMS Open, we are announcing changes to the other side events!