Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

2014 Season Updates and Event Dates!!!!!

EeveeLover

EeveeLover

Member Services Administrator
Exciting changes are coming to the Play! Pokémon program. Check out what you can look forward to throughout the 2014 season.

http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/op_2014_season_update-2013-08-21/

Battle Road Tournaments

New for the 2014 season, Pokémon TCG Battle Road tournaments will now be associated with Pokémon League locations worldwide. Active Pokémon Leagues with a Tournament Organizer on staff will have the opportunity to run a League Challenge tournament at the end of each League season. League Challenge Championship Points awards and Best Finish Limits will not be affected.
This change will give more players an opportunity to test their mettle in a Premier Event, as well as give players more opportunities and flexibility to participate in League Challenge tournaments year-round.
League Challenge tournaments will continue to feature Swiss-only play with no top cut. Organizers of League Challenge tournaments will have the option to run best-of-three or single-game Swiss rounds.


Swiss Match Play and Single-Elimination Changes

Beginning in 2014, Play! Pokémon TCG Championship Events above the City Championships level will begin using best-of-three match play in Swiss rounds. Best-of-three Swiss rounds will have a time limit of 50 minutes plus three turns. As we make this move to match play, this also means that ties will be reintroduced into Pokémon TCG tournaments. Be sure to check the updated Tournament Rules documents for details.
Championship events will now also have a maximum top cut of eight players (Top 8). Some larger Premier Events will feature two-day splits, in which players with the top records from the first day’s Swiss rounds move on to play a second day of Swiss rounds prior to the Top 8 playoffs.

Pokémon Video Game Championship Series

Stay tuned for announcements following the release of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y on October 12th, 2013, for additional rules, format, and information regarding Pokémon video game tournaments. The Pokémon Autumn Regional Championships will be the final tournaments featuring Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2before transitioning to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.

Tournament Entry Fees

Beginning in the 2014 tournament season, Pokémon TCG Masters Division players will pay for entry into Premier Events. Fees charged for entry will be determined by the event organizer and will be included in each tournament listing well in advance of the event. Junior and Senior Division players will still pay no entry fees for Premier Events (aside from Prerelease tournaments).
Players in Pokémon video game tournaments will continue to pay no entry fees.

Changes to Tournament Prize Structure

Play! Pokémon will be increasing prize support in the TCG Masters Division to coincide with the change to entry fees. Masters Division booster pack prizes will be increased at City Championships level and above, and prizes will be given to more players lower in the finish order. Four additional World Championships Travel Awards will also be added to the U.S. National Championships Masters Division. On top of that, Tournament Organizers may choose to award additional prizes to one or more age divisions. Be sure to check the tournament listings for details!

Also new for 2014, U.S. National Championships Travel Awards and Travel Stipends will now be awarded to the top TCG performers in the season’s Championship Point rankings. Travel Awards and Travel Stipends will be awarded as follows, based on Championship Point rankings at the end of Spring Regionals:
1st–16th: Travel Award and a $300 Travel Stipend
17th–30th: $750 Travel Stipend
31st–60th: $500 Travel Stipend
61st–100th: $300 Travel Stipend

Pokémon video game players will also earn U.S. National Championships Travel Awards and Travel Stipends based on their season’s Championship Point rankings at the end of the Spring Regional Championships. Pokémon video game Travel Awards and Travel Stipends are as follows:
1st–16th: Travel Award and $300 Travel Stipend
17th–32nd: $700 Travel Stipend
33rd–64th: $350 Travel Stipend

In addition, the 1st-place finisher in each video game division at each Regional Championships will win a Nintendo 3DS handheld system. Championship Points will also determine which players earn video game Travel Awards to the 2014 Pokémon World Championships. View the Video Game Championship Points page for more details.
Championship Points earned at the 2013 World Championships will not be factored into the rankings until after the U.S. National Championships.

Player Rewards Program

The Player Rewards Program will be discontinued in the 2014 season. We will be reallocating the funds from the Rewards Program into other Play! Pokémon programs throughout the year. Player Rewards for the 2013 season will be shipped out in the 4th quarter of 2013 to all eligible players.

Professor Program

All Tournament Organizer, League Organizer, and Judge roles will now be part of our new Professor Program. Professors will be ranked based on their tenure, activity throughout the year, and the exams they choose to take. Professor ranks will determine the rewards that can be earned and the opportunity provided to staff larger events, and will eventually dictate the prize support available for the events that they help organize and run.
The changes to the Professor Program will be introduced as the season progresses. Keep an eye on Pokemon.com for additional information as it becomes available.

Look forward to the 2014 Play! Pokémon season, with more opportunities to play, more prizes, and more fun for everyone! Keep checking Pokemon.com for updates as the season gets under way.



Also, adding in all the dates for events:



POKÉMON TCG LEAGUE CHALLENGE

Dates

North America2013-2014
The Pokémon League Challenge takes place at participating Pokémon League locations as an end-of-season tournament. League Challenges give players an opportunity to experience competitive tournament play in a relaxed environment. Visit a local Pokémon League to get involved.




TCG AUTUMN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

North AmericaWeekends of October 12th, 19th, and 26thInternationalVarious dates from October 26th through December 1st
The Pokémon TCG Regional Championships are high-level events that award big Championship Points towards players’ World Championships invitation levels. Other great prizes include Pokémon TCG booster packs and cool Pokémon merchandise!




TCG CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

North AmericaNovember 23rd, 2013–January 5th, 2014InternationalDecember 7th, 2013–February 23rd, 2014
Pokémon TCG City Championships are an excellent opportunity for new players to check out the Championship Series, and for new and experienced players alike to earn some Championship Points along the road to the World Championships.




TCG WINTER REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

North AmericaWeekends of January 11th, 18th, and 25th
The Pokémon TCG Regional Championships divide the U.S. and Canada into large regions, giving players three opportunities to earn a Travel Award to their respective National Championships!




TCG STATE/PROVINCE/TERRITORY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

North AmericaMarch 8th, 15th, and 22nd, 2014
State/Province/Territory Championships tournaments are another high-value Championship Points event that can help players earn that coveted invitation to the Pokémon World Championships! As with other Championship Series events, players can also earn Pokémon TCG booster packs and cool Pokémon merchandise.




TCG SPRING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

North AmericaWeekends of April 5th, 12th, and 19thInternationalVarious dates from March 1st through April 27th
The Pokémon TCG Regional Championships divide the U.S. and Canada into large regions, giving players three opportunities to earn a Travel Award to their respective National Championships!




TCG NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

Indianapolis, INJuly 4th–6th, 2014InternationalMay 3rd–June 30th, 2014
The Pokémon TCG U.S. National Championships is a sanctioned title event open to U.S. resident players who have earned the requisite amount of Play! Points.




TCG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates

Washington, DCAugust 15th–17th, 2014
The Pokémon TCG World Championships is THE Premier Event of the year!

http://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/championship-series/


 
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EeveeLover said:
...and prizes will be given to more players lower in the finish order.
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:cool: This is important. The prizes should be going deeper into the finish order to be more proportional to the attendance.

I like the new emphasis on leagues. That one will need some thinking to make work. The leagues I know, they all don't have the time needed to run a swiss tournament.
 
To be brutally honest, this whole entry fee thing is the biggest load of crap I have seen in a long time. Masters only? Why Masters only? Why not the other three divisions? What makes them exempt from paying? What about VGC? Why do they get to play for free? The Masters all ready spend so much money on the game, now you make them pay more?!?!

How about the new players? Why the heck would anyone want to join a game that they have to pay a fee just to play?

IMO, this is just bad for the game. Either make it so that all three divisions get to pay or none at all. Singling out a single division and making them pay is just straight up dumb. I have not been so ticked off about a decision made by Pokemon in a very long time.

It's also crap that people will have to drive for hours or fly to some events just to have to pay a fee. Pokemon has always been free to play, and there is no reason to change that.

Just my thoughts.
 
I'm completely ok with charging a fee to play at events. I see nothing but good that can come out of it for the upper level events.

My issue comes in with store owners deciding fees for the lowest level tournaments. That seems like it could end poorly. It also opens up the possibility of price discrimination favoring locals.

Additionally, one thing that I am a bit confused on: Do I have to actively participate in a league to attend BR's now? Particularly those that are awarding CP?
 
I have to disagree

Vablakes said:
To be brutally honest, this whole entry fee thing is the biggest load of crap I have seen in a long time. Masters only? Why Masters only? Why not the other three divisions? What makes them exempt from paying? What about VGC? Why do they get to play for free? The Masters all ready spend so much money on the game, now you make them pay more?!?!

How about the new players? Why the heck would anyone want to join a game that they have to pay a fee just to play?

IMO, this is just bad for the game. Either make it so that all three divisions get to pay or none at all. Singling out a single division and making them pay is just straight up dumb. I have not been so ticked off about a decision made by Pokemon in a very long time.

It's also crap that people will have to drive for hours or fly to some events just to have to pay a fee. Pokemon has always been free to play, and there is no reason to change that.

Just my thoughts.
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Until now battle roads was nothing more than a points tourney. At least for me... The closest BR was 1 1/2 hr drive. I dnt drive 1 1/2 just to win 4 packs and a useless promo for 1st place. Also I think it's perfectly fine to not make juniors and seniors pay. Why you gotta hate? I'm pretty sure their prize support will prolly stay the same and if not it still doesn't bother me. I've gone to many Br where all a junior or senior has to do is show up and they make top4. They just dnt have the attendance numbers to make it worth charging. Also since they are deciding to make BR more local the money you save on gas can be used to enter. I've always thought pokemon should charge for tourneys to make them more worth while. And now you have more reason to play because now you can win travel awards to Nats! What's not to like? I was kinda down because I live in Cali and worlds is in DC but now I'm way more excited for this season. I think it's a great move by them and will attract more competitive players.
 
Vablakes, Masters price increase corresponds with a Masters prize support increase.

Only thing I dislike is that the League Challenge thing helps areas with more leagues be more competitive then those of us out in the middle of nowhere, but that's life I guess.
 
We have 0 TO's in my area. I just applied for 2nd league in area so now to become a TO i guess otherwise we wont have any BR.
 
I have a huge mix of emotions right now, so I won't go into anything specific.

HOWEVER, I have one major frustration right now. Do we really only have 1 potential BR (or, well, League Championship or whatever) each league season? If so, then we will have a very LONG dead area for tournaments around right now.

Of course, I haven't attended league in a long time, so I may be misunderstanding things. Do different leagues have the option of starting/ending league seasons within a certain time frame? Then I guess there would be multiple tournaments. Either way, won't the first League Championship not happen for a long time? I don't believe there is a currently active season? Do we not have any tournaments until late October? That really sucks if that's the case.
 
Wonder how much the entry fees will be. Hopefully not too much, either way, excited for more prize support.
 
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As a person who lives in a state that does not have 100's of players.. this kinda sucks. I just had to apply to become a TO so that we can have 1 League Championship Battle Road.. aside from that.. We just dropped from 9 tournaments a year in Nevada... to 3. I understand how all of these changes are good for the game and all that.. I am just sad to see that our player base (that was just building up to something great.. Spring BR's had our biggest non-States turnout of any event ever) will most likely diminish to nothing. Hopefully we can still have a state Championship.

*Note: I am not asking for anyone to reply and tell me how I am wrong or that I should be grateful... etc. I have played for 10 years, judged for 6.. I know how great this game is.. just some venting going on here.
 
Can I just say that the changes to the prize structure are AWESOME. Charging an entry fee for increased prize support is what the Masters have been asking for the past several years! If you can pay for gas and cards, you can afford a nominal entry fee!

Also loving that even 100th place in the US can get a $300 stipend to Nationals! I love the direction Pokemon is taking!

However, I don't like the 50 minute best of 3 swiss rounds and splitting some tourneys up into 2 days. What if I live a couple hours from the tourney? They expect me to drive there and back TWICE over the weekend, or shell up money for a motel?
 
Each paragraph made me go 'woah'. Big changes, big shakeups.

I'm sad to see Player Rewards go, but happy to see best 2 of 3 in Swiss.
 
pankanese said:
However, I don't like the 50 minute best of 3 swiss rounds and splitting some tourneys up into 2 days. What if I live a couple hours from the tourney? They expect me to drive there and back TWICE over the weekend, or shell up money for a motel?
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2 Days for Regionals has been true for quite awhile...


California's Regional page stated $20 for entry at one point, but this has since disappeared...
 
My biggest dislike for the Pokemon Season is the 3 State Championships in back to back to back weekends, wish they could spread them up a little bit more.

Other than that. Love everything.
 
Amazing changes. My area only had 3 Spring and 3 Fall Battle Roads. Now we can have 4 each league season so potentially 32 entry level tournaments! Entry Fee to increase prize support sounds great as well. Something I know a lot of Masters level players have been asking for a while now. Looking forward to the new season!
 
King Piplup said:
California's Regional page stated $20 for entry at one point, but this has since disappeared...
Click to expand...

Eek, I was just about to edit my post saying ~$5-10 is acceptable, but driving a long way and having to drop $20 per person is a buzz kill to say the least. Needless to say I will still be attending either way though :p After looking over everything I think I'm liking it. Hopefully I'll be able to make some of the League Challenges. :D

Did they add more tournaments? I swear I don't remember this many Citys/States/Regionals when I used to play. Not complaining about that!
 
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