Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

The Big Events Are Coming. Play To Win.

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Flaming_Spinach

Flaming_Spinach

Feature Editor
States are over...Regionals are coming up very fast. What does this mean for you?

You must play to win. PUI has decided this year that the winners of Regionals, Gym Challenges, and even US Nationals get a huge bonus in prizes over those that come in second. Let's take a look at the numbers:
(For simplicity, I concider each payed trip is about $1,000, and each box of cards is $70.)

At Regionals:
For the Winner:
$2,000 Scholarship
Trip to Nationals ($1,000)
A box of cards ($70)
TOTAL: $3,070

For Second Place:
$1,000 Scholarship
A box of cards ($70)
TOTAL: $1,070

Wow, that's a diference of $2,000 in prizes between first and second place. That's pretty bad...But wait, it gets worse...

At US Nationals:
For the Winner:
$5,000 Scholarship
A trip to Worlds ($1,000)
A Pokemon: XD game package (~$1,000)
2 Boxes ($140)
TOTAL: $7,140

For Second Place:
$2,500 Scholarship
A trip to Worlds ($1,000)
A box of cards ($70)
TOTAL: $3,570

Wow. That's exactly half of what the winner gets. So the winner of Nationals wins $3,570 in EXTRA prizes, just for winning the final match. Does that make sense to you?

But wait, there's still one more. And this one is the worst of all...

At Gym Challenges:
For the Winner:
A trip to Worlds ($1,000)
A box of cards ($70)
TOTAL: $1,070

For Second place:
Half a box of cards ($35)
TOTAL: $35

Alright. I don't get that. The winner gets 31 times the number of prizes that the runner-up gets. How does this make any sense? And there are only 49 of these events in the United States, so most people will be able to make it to one, maybe two this year. You can't afford to play half-heartedly.


Alright, I guess it all comes down to this...YOU MUST PLAY TO WIN. IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PLAY YOUR HARDEST, DON'T EVEN TRY. SOTG BE DAMMED, YOU MUST WIN!

That's what this game is coming to this season, and I hate to think of all the situations that will arise when one person thinks another cheated, or won dishonestly (stalling anyone?). Get ready for alot of complaints this year.


I'm not writing this to be an ***, or to advocate "unfair" play. I'm writing this article to give all the judges, TOs, and PUI staff fair warning. There will be problems this year. Prepare yourself now.
 
SOTG be Dammed?

Just from IL states, and Kansas States, I have a few people who are on my....hmmm....watch list.

Like I said to the nice player who tried to get his opponent penalized, explaining "well, I am running out of technicalities"....it was worth a stern warning, and did not happen again.

I am not sure how other regions will take hold, but come to Chicago or St. Louis for Regionals....my staff will not only be ready, but will be armed with what we are looking for.

Games are to be decided on the table....

Stalling is the toughest of all calls, and will be watched for...but simply, you think your opponent is stalling, call a bloody judge, at least that will get you noticed.

Complain that your opponent was stalling and you did not call a judge, well, that kind of foolishness is well, your own bloody fault. Don't complain when you do not call a judge.

Talk to you all soon.

M45
 
Sorry if I rise the the Challenge as issued by Spinach...

As a judge on Vince's Regional staff and a head judge for a Gym Challenge, I would come prepared to play nice and within the SOG that so many have expressed their disdain....

Last years Mississippi Valley regional in Memphis--1 1 year suspension issued

Tennessee States--Unfortunately I had to issue a GAME LOSS to my own daughter for a major procedure error...

So bring your best behavior and SOG to our tournaments. We are fair and we let you play, but if you push it, we will follow the letter of the law and take care of business accordingly.



Clay Mitchell
 
Did nobody but me notice that this guy valued the trips to nationals and worlds as the SAME DOLLAR VALUE?
FYI, you do not get a "trip" to nationals. You get a $300 travel stipend, or whatever the word they used to describe it was. There's quite a big difference between the real $300 and the $1000 you put down.
In addition, I'm willing to bet 2 plane tickets and a hotel room for 3 nights costs more then $1000, but I may be wrong.

And on another note, you are a jerk. "YOU MUST PLAY TO WIN." :nonono:
I cannot believe I'm the one saying this, but that is an idiotic statement that shows only your own incompetance. I have several friends who only play for fun-at ANY event, ranging from local weekly tournaments to regionals, gym challenges, and nationals. They do not 'have to play to win'. Your reasons should be your own. So what if big prizes are on the line? The REAL winners are the ones who HAVE A GOOD TIME.
MAN that sounded corny.
 
Nice - I have no problem with the winner getting more, but when it is THIS MUCH more, I think we have a problem.

Meganium45 - You are one of the smartest TOs I know. I agree with you virtually all the time. So you should know that you will have to watch people in the upcoming months. WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS: You are going to have to watch those people even more. They will be trying everything. Be prepared.

BT - Please do research so you know what you're talking about. Winners of STATES get a $300 TRAVEL ALLOWANCE. Winners of Regionals get a FULL PAID TRIP. I estimated that at $1,000 because it varies depending on what part of the country you are flying from.
 
Flaming_Spinach said:
Nice - I have no problem with the winner getting more, but when it is THIS MUCH more, I think we have a problem.

Meganium45 - You are one of the smartest TOs I know. I agree with you virtually all the time. So you should know that you will have to watch people in the upcoming months. WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS: You are going to have to watch those people even more. They will be trying everything. Be prepared.

BT - Please do research so you know what you're talking about. Winners of STATES get a $300 TRAVEL ALLOWANCE. Winners of Regionals get a FULL PAID TRIP. I estimated that at $1,000 because it varies depending on what part of the country you are flying from.
Click to expand...

Please refer to the quote in several people's signatures where I say "You know claiming things I have no proof of is one of my specialties!"
Anyways, I still think $1000 is a bit much to value it at. And it most CERTAINLY would not be the same value as worlds.
If an anonymous player lives the exact same distance between Columbus and Anaheim, the plane tickets may or may not be identical price (still, probably not...but roughly the same I would assume). So yes, the airfare would be the same.
The worlds trip, however, includes 3 days of hotel. Or, let me guess, you're going to say that that gets paid for for the nationals trips as well?
Even if it does, I'd be willing to bet that Anaheim hotels would be more expensive then Columbus hotels, Anaheim being in california and such. Also, the average travel cost for Columbus would be much less then that for Anaheim, as Ohio is fairly close to the center of the USA, and Anaheim is on a coast.
And we're not even considering foreign players when it comes to comparing costs. A trip to worlds for a player from another country would CERTAINLY be more then $1000.
 
Yeah, I know what ya mean, Flaming. Last year at regionals, the first/second place difference was only about $600, but this year it's absolutely nuts! What I don't get though about regionals is this...

1st: $2000 and trip
2nd: $1000
3rd/4th: $750

Why is there such a HUGE difference between first and second, yet the one between second and third is almost nothing in comparison? Maybe I'm just a fool spouting off too much, but wouldn't...

1st: $1500/trip
2nd: $1500
3rd/4th: $750

By taking away $500 of first place's scholarship, that instantly makes the drop-off between first and second that much more even, as well as the drop-off between 2nd and 3rd. Maybe scholarships were done the way they were to discourage people from going around to every regional just to get 2nd place (read: one-and-done rule), but the difference is still huge.

Also, $1000 seems like a fine median to value trips at, since 2/3's of all trips will be for two people (11-14 , 10-, and the young 15+). Even if it's to Columbus, a less attractive location than Anaheim (Columbus in the Summer probably costs significantly less than LA in the summer), a 15-17, 11-14, or 10- is getting TWO tickets, plus free hotel. We know how much airfare costs, so $1000 may actually undervalue it :p
 
I think the worst thing about the system is that you can win Regionals and not go to Worlds, but win a GC and go. I guess taking down an 80-man Regional doesn't qualify you as a World-class player, but tackling some 25-person dog show does.

How does that make sense? If you win a huge tournament like a Regionals, you've obviously proven yourself one of the best in the World. If GCs stay roughly the same size at the States they were held in, we're looking at some potentially laughably small turnouts at some. I'm positive there WILL be Regionals winners sitting at home during Worlds (albiet $2k richer), and that's really a shame.
 
Flaming_Spinach said:
Nice - I have no problem with the winner getting more, but when it is THIS MUCH more, I think we have a problem.
Click to expand...
I agree. The prizes are (most likely) not proportional to the amount of effort the 1st place and 2nd place players put into trying to win. If you've ever been to a Premiere Event, and seen the T2 playing against each other, usually they're putting roughly the same amount of effort into winning.

Obviously, 1st place should get more than 2nd place, but this is definitely too large a difference. I guess they can only give the trip to one person for regionals, but perhaps they could just not give the 1st place any cards (Don't you think an invite to Nationals and $2,000 scholarship is good by itself?) and give that box of cards to 2nd place instead.

Moss Factor said:
I think the worst thing about the system is that you can win Regionals and not go to Worlds, but win a GC and go. I guess taking down an 80-man Regional doesn't qualify you as a World-class player, but tackling some 25-person dog show does.
Click to expand...
And how many GC winners actually win Worlds?
 
ninetales1234 said:
And how many GC winners actually win Worlds?
Click to expand...

Only talking about 15+ here None.

Both winners won thier invites from other countries,unless you count jpn holding thier natl's here.
 
Man...have you folks gotten spoiled

Before you start complaining about how poorly PUI treats its people with prizes, please do a little research into other comparable games and see how GREAT you have it.

I understand its not optimal and that the prizes are not what they were last year...but we STILL have it tons better than other so called "more popular" games have it in terms of the opportunities to win great things.

Clay M
 
Other games like MTG, Yugioh and VS? Hmmm...

EDIT: And for the record, I'm not complaining about a lack of prizes. Coming from the WotC days, what we have is amazing. What I do want is to play Pokemon. I like playing Pokemon. I think PUI is making it really hard to play Pokemon at Worlds for people in highly-competitive areas like the Midwest, Northwest, and Socal. I want to be able to play Pokemon at Worlds and its very difficult to do so under the current system.

ANOTHER EDIT: changed Northeast to NorthWEST!
 
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...am i the only one who sees the tv and pokemon xd game pointless?
granted, i thought it was one of the BEST GAMES FOR GAMECUBE EVER. but...if you wanted it, then you would have it by now, right? and please--don't give me that you "didn't have the money." the game has been out for about SIX MONTHS. and don't tell me that some people couldn't afford it--if that were the case, then they wouldn't be playing the tcg, now would they? the tv is rediculous aswell. the person who will probably win the tv will can probably afford it already.
i have to say, i really am disappointed that the 10 and under age group got increased prizes. i really don't think that will attract more players--the cards attract more players. last year, i didn't get an invite to worlds. now, it's going to be even harder.
 
Highly competitive like the northeast? What, Maine? Or New York, with a 25 person states. The northeast is a joke.

And yeah, VS/YGO/MTG all have better prizes, I play pokemon because I like the game, not for the prizes.
 
Yeh I am Gonna Play To Lose?? :confused: How Does That Make Any Sense?? The Only Time It Is Good To Come In Last Is Worlds, Cause They Give A Lot of Stuff Cause They Feel Bad For You....

IMO, I think that for Events With Big Fields, (Other Than Worlds) They Should Give Something To The Players Doing The Worst, I also think that Prizes For 10- Should Be More Than The Other Age Groups, Since It Will Encourge Them To Get Better/Play More... Since They Are Winning No Matter Where They Finish In Some Aspect...
Drew
 
Ya there was a discussion about this in my old thread. I'm going to be interested to see the attendance for Regionals compared to Gym Challenges. I really think Nationals is THE U.S. premier event this year, maybe that's the way it was intended.
 
I agree. With such a huge difference in prize spread, people will be extra willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the ladder. Will probably be cheating, stalling, bribery and collusion abounds, especially in the higher attendance areas. Not looking forward to that kind of unpleasantness.
 
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