Your First One Piece Regional: Registration to Top Cut

Regionals are where the One Piece Card Game gets big. They are part of Bandai’s Championship series, the Professional level in the Tournament Rules Manual, and they feed straight into the season’s Finals. They are also open events: you do not need an invite to play in one. If you have played store events and a Store Championship, a Regional is the next step.

This lesson follows Bandai’s Regionals Season 2 page and the Tournament Rules Manual.

Registration

Each Regional is run by its own tournament organizer, with its own registration page linked from Bandai’s list. For Season 2, Bandai listed advance application dates months ahead: for example, applications for December 2026 events opened on September 27, 2026. The exact date and time can vary by organizer, so watch the organizer’s page.

Popular Regionals can fill. Put the registration date on your calendar the day you choose an event.

If the Regional is at a convention, you may also need a convention badge. The August 2026 Regional in Indianapolis, for example, was part of Gen Con.

Before the day

• Deck list. Every Championship level event requires one, with each card’s collector number and full name. Some events ask for it before the event. Check the organizer’s page.
• Photo ID. Required at events with an invitational structure or age limit, and you may be asked for it anywhere.
• Bandai TCG+. Your account, logged in, on your phone for check-in, pairings, and results.
• Sleeves. Fresh, opaque, identical, with spares. Players in feature matches may be asked to use different sleeves or a standard playmat.
• Food and water. No eating or drinking at the tables, so plan to eat between rounds, away from the play area.

How long the day is

The number of Swiss rounds depends on how many players register. From the Tournament Rules Manual:

Qualifying rounds are best of one, with 30 minutes plus 5 of extra time in the manual’s standard structure. Bandai’s Regionals page does not list a round time, so listen for it at the players meeting, where the organizer announces it before round one. With pairings, breaks, and the occasional long round, a large Regional is a full day, and some run over two days. Penalties from the first day carry into the second.

The rounds

Swiss gives 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. You keep playing whatever your record. Ties in the standings are broken first by your match win rate, then by your opponents’ average match win rate. That second tiebreak means the strength of your opponents matters, which is one more reason not to drop early if you can still finish well.

Report your result promptly. The winner of each match is responsible for reporting it.

The top cut

Make the cut and the event changes:

• Best of three, with 60 minutes plus 10 of extra time.
• Seeding. The cut is paired by standing, highest against lowest. The higher seed chooses first or second for game one.
• Next games. The loser of each game chooses for the next.
• No draws in single elimination. If time runs out, the end of round procedure decides it.
• Deck checks are expected when an event moves from Swiss to the top cut, so keep your deck matching your list.
• The final has no time limit.

There are still no side decks. Your 50 cards play every game of every match.

What is at stake

In North America and Europe, the top 16 at a Regional earn an invite to that season’s Finals, and Regionals with 800 or more players give 32. Invites go only to players from the region, and they cannot be transferred or sold. Season 2 Finals are scheduled for January 2027.

Every player also receives participation prizes, and Bandai’s page lists more for each finishing tier. Side events run alongside many Regionals, and some take on-site registration on the day. Treasure Cups run as side events at some Regionals too, with their own registration through the organizer, if you want more games after an early drop or a second shot at a prize.

Near Indianapolis

Indianapolis hosted a Season 2 Regional at Gen Con on August 1, 2026, and Peoria, Illinois, has a Regional and Treasure Cup listed for December 6, 2026. Check Bandai’s page for the next season’s list. And join the Indianapolis list for first word on local learn-to-play nights as The Ludarium grows.