KARDS eSports

The thrill of competition

About Kards Esports

The KARDS eSports scene features a highly competitive and active community of players, dedicated to becoming the best in the world. With a diverse range of regular tournaments with various formats and enticing prizes, KARDS eSports offers players of various backgrounds an opportunity to test their skill and push themselves in battles against the best of the best. Featuring regular broadcasts with the top players in each tournament, analyzed and cast by KARDS experts, viewers get the chance to get a glimpse of the decks and tactics employed by some of the most elite KARDS players worldwide.

KARDS eSports features four main tournament tracks in 2023.

The Officer Club Championship (OCC) is a series of elite tournaments and features two major parts: OCC: Clash and OCC: Ultimate. The OCC: Clash event is a monthly tournament between the highest rated players on the seasonal ladder in the previous month. The top 6 players on the ladder are guaranteed a spot in the top 8 and will duke it out for their cut of the diamond and gold prizes. The next 32 players fight for the remaining two spots among the top 8 players. Through participation in OCC: Clash events, players also gather OCC Points. The top 8 battles in OCC: Clash tournaments are shared via YouTube videos the following weekend. The 8 players with the highest number of points following three OCC: Clash events participate in the quarterly OCC: Ultimate tournament, where these 8 most elite KARDS players of the previous three months battle it out for their share of a 3,000 USD prize pool, an event that is broadcast with a full production.

The KARDS Open is a quarterly tournament that anyone can enter. This tournament format will see some adjustments throughout 2023, with the first Open of the year featuring a 1,500 USD prize pool. Players qualify through two Swiss qualifiers, with the top players moving into a top 16 player single elimination bracket. The semi-finals and finals of each KARDS Open is broadcast with a full production.

The KARDS Special Operations are a series of quarterly tournaments featuring alternative rulesets (e.g. Pauper or Singleton). This tournament is played in double elimination format and has a very limited 32 player participation, with the final 4 broadcast on KARDS channels. These tournaments feature diamond and gold prizes and can be a good opportunity for those who like to test their deck building skills with alternative formats as well as those with less complete card collections to join the eSports scene and earn some prizes to boost their collections further. The semi-finals and finals of each KARDS Special Operation is broadcast with a full production.

The World Championship is an annual tournament where we crown the KARDS World Champion. Competitors qualify through ladder based qualifiers in the game client. The top 128 players move on to a round robin group stage, with the top 32 moving on to a double elimination bracket. The final 4 competitors join us in Iceland to play a Double Elimination format in a LAN environment with the hopes of earning the title of KARDS World Champion and the lion’s share of the 10,000 USD prize pool. This two day event is broadcast on KARDS channels in an epic show occurring in early December.

The Officer Club Championship

The Officer Club Championship is a monthly competition between the highest ranked players in the game which is split into two main parts. The top 38 players at the top of the in-game ranked ladder each month qualify for a chance to win some diamond and gold prizes and earn OCC Points to qualify for the quarterly OCC: Ultimate. The 8 players in the OCC: Ultimate fight for their share of a 3,000 USD prize pool in a show that is live broadcast on KARDS channels.

The OCC: Clash is a 38 player tournament. All OCC: Clash matches are a best of three series, except the Grand Finals, which are a best of five series.
The top 6 players on the in-game ladder are automatically qualified for the OCC: Clash round of 8. The remaining 32 players will face off for the remaining two spots.
The qualification for the remaining two spots is done through two 16 person double elimination brackets, seeded based on ladder position.
Each player will bring 3 decks to the OCC: Clash tournament with different main nations.
Videos with all the matches from OCC: Clash events are premiered on the KARDS YouTube channel the weekend after they are played, with commentary.
Through OCC: Clash events, players earn OCC Points. The 8 players with the highest number of OCC points after a 3 month period compete in the OCC: Ultimate, a quarterly tournament featuring the most elite KARDS players of the three previous months.
The OCC Points board will be updated on the kards.com website on a monthly basis, following OCC: Clash video publication.
OCC: Clash tournaments feature diamond and gold prizes for the top 8 participants.
For the OCC: Ultimate tournament, players bring 4 decks from 4 different main nations. All OCC: Ultimate matches are a best of five series.
Seeding for the OCC: Ultimate is based on the OCC Point system (i.e. the first place player faces off against the eighth, the fourth against the fifth, and so forth).
The OCC: Ultimate tournament features a 3,000 USD prize pool and is broadcast live on the KARDS Twitch channel.
See more details about OCC Points and the current OCC Point standings, updated monthly, here: OCC Points
Catch all previous Officer Club Championship shows on the KARDS YouTube channel.

KARDS Open Tournament

The KARDS Open is a free to enter tournament open to all who are interested in giving it a go. The early stages of the tournament are meant to be friendly to new players, while also allowing for healthy competition. The KARDS Open tournament is seeing some adjustments throughout 2023, with the first Open of the year featuring a wide range of prizes for all top 32 participants, with the top 4 splitting a 1,500 USD prize pool in a battle broadcast live on KARDS channels. The KARDS Open tournament is held every three months.

The KARDS Open starts with two Swiss qualifiers, held on two different weekends.
For the Swiss stage of the tournament, deck lists are closed and there are no deck requirements. Simply bring your best deck, test your metal, and take your shot at competitive glory!
The top 8 players from each weekend qualify for the top 16.
In the top 16, participants play a Single Elimination bracket with closed deck lists in a best of 5 series. However, each win must be with a deck from a different main nation.
In the top 4, players submit 4 decks from different main nations and continue to play a Single Elimination bracket until we have a KARDS Open Champion. This final part of the Open is played with open deck lists.
The top 4 players split a 1,500 USD prize pool, with everyone else that qualifies for the top 32 earning some diamonds or gold for their efforts.
The top 4 action is broadcast on the KARDS Twitch channel.
Catch all the previous KARDS Open broadcasts on our YouTube channel.

KARDS Special Operations Tournament

The KARDS Special Operations tournaments are designed to give a variety of players the opportunity to test their deck building abilities in a different format and for viewers, a different viewing experience. The first Special Operations tournament will feature a Pauper format, where players’ decks can only include Standard and Limited rarity cards.

Players fight to prove that they are the best in a given format in a 32 player double elimination bracket. This means that participation is limited. Sign-ups for the event are done through challonge.com - keep an eye out on the KARDS Discord and social media channels, where we’ll announce when sign-ups are open. Make sure to secure your spot!
Participants must submit one deck and play a best of one series.
The top 6 players duke it out for the win in a show broadcast on the KARDS Twitch channel.
All top 8 players earn some diamond or gold prizes for their efforts.

The World Championship

Every year, a new KARDS World Champion is crowned. This is our biggest celebration of the passion and competitive spirit of the KARDS community and as such, we take it pretty seriously!

The KARDS World Championship features a 10,000 USD prize pool. In 2023, the top 4 players will be flown out to Iceland, home of the creators of KARDS, 1939 Games. The Grand Finals will be played on location on the top of the world in a LAN environment in the bunker studio!

All players in the game can participate in the open qualifiers for the World Championship directly through the client. During certain qualification periods, a special queue is open to all players where they can earn points towards their World Championship qualification in an effort to earn their spot among the elite 128 players entering into stage two of the World Championship: The Knockout Stage.

Throughout the year, players may earn a pre-qualification to the top 128 player Knockout Stage. The top 4 players from the 2022 World Championship as well as winners of all Officer Club Championship tournaments, KARDS Open tournaments, and in-game seasons from September 2022 through August 2023 are pre-qualified to participate in the Knockout Stage.

During the Knockout Stage of the tournament, the top 128 players are randomly seeded into 16 groups. There, they play a single round robin of best of three series to determine the top two players from each group who qualify for the top 32. These top 32 players face off in a Double Elimination bracket until we get to the top 4 players who will be flown in for an exclusive trip to Iceland to compete for the World Championship in KARDS in a LAN environment.

Once in Iceland, the top players duke it out in a best of 5 Grand Finals series over the course of two grueling days of competition until a victor emerges who is crowned the new KARDS World Champion!