he World Riichi Championship returns to New York in 2028. The American Riichi Association has published a national route combining open qualifiers, points standings, and an Invitational. In the minutes of its August 17, 2026 meeting, WRC representative Dave Bresnick says he expects around 40 United States seats, with about eight through the ARA system, eight reserved for WRPM, and the remainder through the World Riichi League. The minutes explicitly present these figures as a personal expectation, not a final allocation.
Two stages before the WRC
Stage one consists of Open Qualifiers held between January 1, 2025, and November 30, 2027. Eligible players earn Qualification Points, or QP. Stage two is the 2028 ARA Invitational, which will be used to form the proposed United States slate for the world championship.
The Invitational is tentatively scheduled for January 15 to 17, 2028. ARA’s August 17, 2026 meeting minutes state that the association’s qualification system will be honored. The United States quota and its distribution remain estimates.
The six best results count
A player’s QP Score is the sum of their six best Open Qualifier results. Playing more events can create new opportunities to improve that total, but a seventh result is not automatically added. It replaces one of the previous six only when it is better.
The formula rewards higher finishes and accounts for field size with diminishing returns. A large open therefore awards points to more players without making a strong finish at a smaller event irrelevant.
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Sixty players, then four ARML selections
At the end of the open period, the 60 eligible players with the highest QP Scores will be invited. Four additional players are to be selected by the American Riichi Mahjong League. The Invitational therefore has 64 places if every invitation is accepted.
The Invitational is meant to form the proposed United States slate for the world championship. The 64 invitees therefore take part in that national stage, and the number does not correspond to WRC seats.
Qualification Points eligibility
Eligibility requires United States citizenship or primary residence in the country, with no attempt to qualify through another national quota. Players must also register in the ARA database and validate their eligibility. Foreign players may enter some opens, but their places do not pass points down to the next United States player.
An Open Qualifier must have at least 24 players, run over two consecutive days, and offer at least eight rounds. A geographic region may host only two qualifiers per calendar year. These rules govern both player access and the work of organizing clubs.
Riichi Nomi as a concrete example
The 2026 Riichi Nomi Open shows the system at a large scale. With 256 participants, its rules award QP to the top 64 eligible places. That number describes the event’s points distribution, not direct qualification for the WRC.
ARA standings are read after results are certified, with each player keeping their six best scores. The world event itself, in New York in 2028, remains distinct from this United States national route.