NRG Champs is a two day invite only tournament with an incredibly unique structure designed to provide the highest level of competitive play. Champs will be streamed at twitch.tv/NRGSeries. Each game's Championship works a little differently, you can expect detailed tournament structure announcements before our last event on Nov 21-22.
NRG Champs is hosted at the Nerd Rage Gaming store in Buffalo Grove, IL. 1361 W Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
NRG Champs: Magic Dec 12-13. 24 players, $35,000, and a Pro Tour Invite
NRG Champs: Riftbound Dec 19-20. 16 players, $15,000, and the FIRST ever NRG Champs Riftbound.
-NRG Champs: Magic 2025
-2025 Champion Matt Sikkink Johnson
NRG Champs celebrates the best of the best of the NRG Series, preparing players for pro level play. One benefit of being a pro, is you are treated like one. Each player at NRG Champs receives the following perks:
Custom NRG Champs Jacket
In classic NRG black and orange with your name and the year. This jacket is a sign to others that you are the makings of a pro player.
-Charlie Dusterberg sporting their new NRG Champs jacket
Custom Shadowbox
With three iconic cards from your top finishes at NRG this year, this item honors the success and glory that got you to this moment.
Guaranteed Match on Coverage
"Look mom, I'm on TV!" Prove to your friends and family that you are cool. Every player at NRG Champs is guaranteed at least one match on coverage, regardless of record.
-Cliff Topher and Fanchen Yang at the Feature Match table
Catered Lunch
NRG provides a catered lunch to all players both days with a scheduled lunch break. A tournament with a scheduled lunch break??? Now that is a luxury experience.
Being an MVP comes with more than just glory. As MVP you will get special perks that will improve your chances of making top 8. Last year, the MVP Grayson Nemets got to choose a player to remove from their draft pod and one player to "dodge" in Swiss rounds. Not to mention your own special trophy! Each game will have it's own MVP Perks detailed in their tournament structure announcement.
The MVP also gets free entry into all NRG Series Main Events in 2027. Now that's value.
The player with the MOST leaderboard points receives the MVP award. For Magic, the MVP will be selected from the Combined leaderboard.
-Grayson Nemets, 2025 MVP
We’re excited to provide two full days of video and social media coverage from #NRGCHAMP live from the floor. Tune in to our video coverage on twitch.tv/NRGSeries for all the early-round action on Saturday, and come back Sunday to help us crown our Champion. Don’t forget to follow us on social media @NRGSeries for updates leading up to the event, and stay in the loop with #NRGCHAMP!
There are two ways to qualify for NRG Champs:
1. Win an NRG Series Showdown.
2. At-large points leaders on the NRG Series Leaderboard.
Number one is self explanatory. Winners are going to Champs. Number two is a race that is decided by single point differences. See the FAQ below for information about qualifications.
NRG Series: Riftbound will award 8 at-large invitations
NRG Series: Magic will award 7 at-large invitations. 2 from the Online only leaderboard, 2 from Paper only, and 3 from Combined.
My leaderboard points, name, bio, entry, etc. is incorrect, how can I fix it?
Send an email to liam@nerdragegaming.com with your full name, email address associated with your leaderboard entry, and a description of the error.
There is a duplicate entry of me on the leaderboard, what happened?
Your leaderboard entry is tied to your email, it is likely that you used a different email when enrolling for an event. Send an email to liam@nerdragegaming.com with your full name and email address associated with your leaderboard entry and we will merge it for you.
In what order are at large invitations awarded for the MTG leaderboards?
At large invites are awarded in the following order: Online only, Paper Only, Combined.
What if someone who is already qualified is an at large leader?
When determining at-large invitations players with direct qualifications or who already received an at large invitation from a previous leaderboard are skipped.
There is a point tie on the leaderboard, what is the tie breaker?
A players highest NRG tournament finish is the tiebreaker. If both players involved in the tie have the same highest finish, their total number of NRG top 8 finishes is the next tiebreaker.
Example: Liam Shannon and Mark Mason both have 42 leaderboard points. Mark's highest finish was 3rd place, Liam's was 4th place. Mark wins the tie and will occupy the higher slot on the leaderboard.
If someone declines their spot in Champs who gets their invite?
If a player declines a spot in Champs an additional at large qualification is added to the pool. For MTG, this will be awarded to the Combined leaderboard.
When will at large qualifications be awarded?
After NRG Elmhurst Nov 21-22, the NRG team will take about a week to upload those tournament results, double check the leaderboard for accuracy, and give players the opportunity to review their entries. NRG will make an announcement when leaderboard invitations have been awarded, at this point all points and positions on the leaderboard are final.
Where is Champs held?
Champs is held at the Nerd Rage Gaming store in Buffalo Grove Il. 1361 W Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
When is Champs?
NRG Champs: Magic is Dec 12-13.
NRG Champs: Riftbound is Dec 19-20
Can I qualify for both champs?
Heck yeah you can!
What pro tour does NRG Champs: Magic qualify for?
You will qualify for the next pro tour being held at MagicCon Detroit Feb 26-28.
We are so excited for NRG Elmhurst Nov 21-22 to bring a thrilling conclusion to the race for Champs. If you have any questions, join our Discord and ask there! Keep your eyes out for another article that will explicitly detail the tournament structure, formats, and prize breakdown. Thanks for reading!
Check out the NRG Leaderboards here!
Published
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Last week