Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

European Regionals closed events ?

M

Michel

New Member
From different sources I've heard that Regionals run in Europe in 2006 would be closed events (for national players only).

If this is right, CC's would be the only opportunities for players to play tournaments out of their country, except the Benelux Cup for the qualified players from Belgium and Holland.

Are there plans for large international events ? As far as I know, nothing is planned at all.

Closing Nationals and Regionals will, IMO, make of Pokemon nothing more than a local game, like I already said in other topics.
Is that the best way to develop the game in our countries ?

Will the US Regionals and States be closed events too or will a player have the opportunity to play where he wants ? :confused:
Sure the USA are not Europe, but that kind of decision is perfect to increase the gap between US and European players.

While other games are more and more concerned by International events, Pokemon should take the other way and seems to be in favor of a restriction of the events a player can play.

I don't even talk here about prizes, invites or trips, but once again just about the fun to play abroad and meet our friends.

We planned to go to a Regional in the UK, but I'm afraid we'll not be allowed to. Belgian players are not welcome in events in Europe ... times are changing. I remember Rainham, London, ... :rolleyes:


There have been discussions last year about the legality of prices for national players only. I wonder if it's legal, in Europe, to prevent someone of doing an activity because of their origin, residence or nationality. That kind of discrimination could be against the free circulation of goods and people which is one of the basic concepts of the European Community.

Any info about it ?
 
It's very odd that Europe is supposed to have one large free economy and yet there are half a dozen different Distributors for different countries/groups of countries.

It would be as if we had one distributor for California and a different distributor for TX, OK, and New Mexico, and so on.
I imagine that if we had that situation, we would also have restrictions on where players could live for each event. After all, the distributor doesn't want to spend their budget money on a player that is going to be buying some other distributor's product.

This, of course, is not a good thing for the overall game.
One can only hope that PUI gets to revamp the international design.
 
This is the first that I've heard that the UK regionals will be closed events.

UK regionals are organised and funded by the usual suspects ie us. Prize support and trophies are provided by the LD but that is all. If I was organising a regionals tournament I would be unhappy about ANY exclusions.



[edit to remove some ambiguity in my English]
 
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I do agree with you Pop.
What would US players say in such a situation ? :confused:

If I may understand that trip+invite to Worlds is reserved for a local player at the Nationals in order to have at least one player of each country at Worlds, I can't follow PUI (as it seems that the decision comes from PUI) on closing other events.

When there is talked about restrictions on events, the same excuse comes over : the LD want to protect his own market. But :

- it has been said many times that the players are a very small part of the global Pokemon market
- who is sure that the players buy in their own country and not abroad or on the web ?
- Europe is a free market where market protection is illegal
- who travel for the game ? Most of these players are those who're the most involved in the game as LL, TO, ... (ok, not me, I agree). Some of them do even organize travel for other and new players.
- the players who are ready to travel for an event are ready to put money in the game (travel, hotel, ...) and show that the game is an important part of their life. The 'thank you' for that is a 'stay at home, you're not welcome' ... nice on a commercial and marketing point of view

If the LD may protect the market, why is it forbidden to my local shop ?
It would be logical too that a shop owner who runs a league every week and who runs tournaments want to see his customers take the prizes at his events instead of players who never buy in his shop ... so closing local events to local players is as logical as closing other events.
When will we see that ? :eek:


This said, I'm a player.
I'm not involved in business/money aspects of the game, and I'm not involved in all the different links or contracts between people or companies.

Last year I've been told ... you may play but you'll not win a trip to Worlds if you're not a national player.
This year I'm told ... you may not play the Nationals anymore (except yours), but above that Regionals are not for you.
What about next year ?

So, in 2006, what can I play ?
- local events
- CC's which are now the most competitive events as foreign players are allowed
- regionals with the same players as those of the local events
- National with always the same players

'Pop, you're talking about the USA ?
How many big and competitive events will have the US players the opportunity to play this year ?
How many opportunities will they have to win boosters, scholarship, trips to Worlds ?
How many times will they have the opportunity to meet their friends and spend a great 'Pokemon time' ?

Like always, I'm very happy for them.
I just don't understand why, in Europe, people are prevented of playing because of their nationality or origin. :eek:

One last word about the 'LD and their own market' idea.

The same LD's, in most of the European countries, distribute Pokemon, Magic and YuGiOh.
Pokemon close more and more events, while Magic and YGO have open events and many international tournaments.
Are Wizards and Upperdeck that stupid ? Has the OP of the 2 most played games taken the wrong option for so many years ?

I'm sorry, and I'm maybe stupid, but there's something I don't understand when we talk about that.

OK NoPoke, we were already really happy to see our UK friends and spend a good weekend with them and some French players who were interested in coming to UK too.
We'll stay at home, and we say a big 'thank you' to the people who take these decisions and who prevent the players to enjoy the game :rolleyes:
 
Michel you are not stupid.
Magic and Yu-gi-oh have International event and for that NO problems (with laws etc) regarding prize awarding. Pokemon is closed due to that?????
 
BTW, just want to ask,
how about the overseas student like me?
Am I being considered as a local player of UK in this situation?
 
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Vincent, you're in the same case as Fireborn and I are. Actually, if you've been living in the UK for at least 6 months, then you're allowed to attend those events (ie. Regionals and Nationals). We should ask for an official answer before though (just in case :biggrin:)...
 
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lev, but if you play closed events in the UK, will you be allowed to play closed events in your country ?

You'll be considered as a 'UK player' and it would be logical that closed events in another country would be closed to you. :tongue:

Aren't you studying in Scotland thanks to an European program of Students ? :lol:


Information for the people who don't really know what's the European reality

If, from my home in Ternat (close to Brussels) I drive 100 miles, I am in Lille (France) or Eindhoven (Holland).
If I drive 150 miles, I am in Utrecht or Amsterdam (Holland), Koln or Dusseldorf (Germany).
If I drive 200 miles, I'm in Paris or Metz( France) or in London (UK) with a 45 minutes boat trip for London.

From Charleroi (30 miles from my home), I have lowcost flights (25 USD one way if you reserve early enough) to :
Dublin (Ireland), Barcelona (Spain), Glasgow (Scotland), Milano, Pisa, Roma or Venezia (Italy) or Stockholm (Sweden).

... and I'm allowed to play premiere events in my country only !
 
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lev said:
Vincent, you're in the same case as Fireborn and I are. Actually, if you've been living in the UK for at least 6 months, then you're allowed to attend those events (ie. Regionals and Nationals). We should ask for an official answer before though (just in case :biggrin:)...
Click to expand...

But how about the invite and the air ticket won in this way? (assume i win the National)
 
vincent0906 said:
But how about the invite and the air ticket won in this way? (assume i win the National)
Click to expand...

No idea... You might not be granted the trip I guess ("Oh, that UK player doesn't sound British at all!!" :biggrin:)...

Michel said:
lev, but if you play closed events in the UK, will you be allowed to play closed events in your country ?

You'll be considered as a 'UK player' and it would be logical that closed events in another country would be closed to you.

Aren't you studying in Scotland thanks to an European program of Students ?
Click to expand...

OMG I didn't realize that!! I think I'm allowed to play the French Nationals 'cause I'm French (cf. my ID)... Otherwise... The chance of winning the Nationals in my own country are by far higher than the chance of winning the UK Nationals so in this case I'd definitely choose France to compete for the trip... I'm being mean, sorry... :rolleyes:

Michel said:
From Charleroi (30 miles from my home), I have lowcost flights (25 USD one way if you reserve early enough) to Glasgow (Scotland)
Click to expand...

That's true! I had an open return ticket for only £30 (ie. 45€)!! Thanks to you I'll enjoy the Lille CC :thumb:
 
Last I've heard is that regionals will be closed events. I don't know wether this will be the case throughout Europe though.
In my opinion, closed nationals is however not bad, it has both advantages and disadvantages. The problem is the lack of other, non-closed, international events (like for example Magic does have).


For the record though, both Magic & Yu-Gi-Oh! Nationals are closed events (nationals & residents only), and so are most other premier Yu-Gi-Oh! events.
 
I do completely agree with you Jann.

If closing Nationals is not so bad, the main problem is the lack of International (and competitive) events.

I really don't see any reason to close the regionals and, like NoPoke said, it is already confirmed that UK Regionals will be closed.

I don't think France will run Regionals and it would be interesting to know what's announced for Italy (hello Marcello and Prof D), Germany (Glumanda ?) and Norway (Tego ?)

If we look at the prizes, I'm afraid we'll get peanuts compared to the USA. Will we get, like it's rumored for the US Regionals, 2000 USD scholarship for the winner (4500 USD/age group) + 1000 USD for the winner of each age group to travel to the National (or something else to replace it) (PUI's prizes, not LD's) ? :eek:
And probably the opportunity to play more than 1 Regional ... and some of them are complaining :confused:
But that's another subject.

OK about Magic and YGO, but these two games provide a lot af big and international events ... like Pokemon did a long time ago :wink:


lev, if you play closed events in the UK, what about the Equipe de France too ? They've said they didn't take foreigners :lol:
In the USA, some tournaments will be 'one and done' (you win one, you may not play another of the same events). Could be the same for you ... one in the UK and done in France :biggrin:
 
As far as I'm aware the ONLY closed event in the UK is NATIONALS.

UK REGIONALS WILL BE OPEN EVENTS (AFAIK)

so where is the rumor about closed regionals comming from?


======
lev, vincent. I believe that one intention of closed nationals is that players should not get multiple bites at the travel prize. So you should only plan on playing in one.
 
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No, he didn't. He said this:

NoPoke said:
First I've heard that the UK regionals will be closed events.
Click to expand...

With the leading "This is the..." implied.

A statement like that is not an agreement, but an expression of surprize.

If you ever saw the movie "My Cousin Vinnie":
I killed the shop clerk?"
Click to expand...
being taken as a confession.
 
Lev, isn't in the French team anyway. He's not good enough :wink: Or maybe that should be, the team isn't good enough for him :p

Anyway, I've not heard anything about the Regionals in the UK being closed. Prize support-wise it's fair to assume we don't get the scholarships and everything, because Regionals are likely not to be as big in the UK as in the USA (where they only get 13 regionals in a country many times the size of the UK, while the UK gets probably 4+ regionals). They're only called Regionals, but I think they'll be more like Cities, really.

Dutch Nationals is gonna be a closed event as well, btw.
 
With the leading "This is the..." implied.

A statement like that is not an agreement, but an expression of surprize.
Click to expand...

Sorry 'Pop and NoPoke, I didn't understand it like that ... I thought it was an affirmation.
Kind of things that happens when you read something written in your third language :smile:


Lev, isn't in the French team anyway. He's not good enough Or maybe that should be, the team isn't good enough for him :p
Click to expand...

Second idea is probably right, first one certainly not :wink:

It's difficult to compare now between USA and Europe, and even between the European countries, as nothing has been officially announced, except the State championships in the USA.
If I took the example of the rumored US Regional prizes, it was more to say that I'm afraid the global allocation to European players 'CC's to Nationals) will be far less than what they'll have in the USA.

Don't you think our Regionals are closer to the US States than the US CC's ?
 
NoPoke said:
As far as I'm aware the ONLY closed event in the UK is NATIONALS.
lev, vincent. I believe that one intention of closed nationals is that players should not get multiple bites at the travel prize. So you should only plan on playing in one.
Click to expand...

Just curious then ask.

BTW, i don't think i have the power to win the UK National since there are too many strong players there, I'm only a super weak player :lol:
 
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