When you think of Pokemon now, you will mostly think of Pokemon Go. Well, there are other Pokemon games out there, most famously the handheld entries in the series. So famous, as a matter of fact, that it even has its own Championship Series. The new structure features $250,000 up for grabs across four continental championships.
Other big changes to the Play! Pokémon series today, are international competitions for both the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the video game series, in this case, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby.
This year, the Pokemon Championship Series will be changing the previous format based off National events qualifying players for the World Championship in lieu of four continental championships in Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. On top of the $250,000 prize pool, players will also earn Championship Point awards which qualify them for Worlds.
On top of awarding points, Regional Championships will now also feature more than $50,000 in prizes. They will also be more spread throughout the year instead of last year when they were in a tight schedule. This is meant to allow players attend multiple events with less hassle. There will also be no residency restriction, meaning that players can travel internationally to compete in as many events as they are able to.
The prize money is usually split between the card game and the video game competitions, as well as by age group. Players 18 years and over could receive their prize as cash or a scholarship in last year’s, while younger players chose between scholarship money or travel certificates.
The Regional Championships that have been announced so far are in Phoenix on October 1-2, Orlando on October 15-16, Philadelphia on November 5-6, Dallas on December 31-Jan. 1, St. Louis on March 4-5, Portland from Mar. 25-26, Seattle on May 27-28, and Madison on June 2-4.
Instead of hosting their own State and National events like last year, Play! Pokémon will now permit third-party events on a case-by-case basis, as well as allow them to award Championship Points for the World Championship.
