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Pokémon Championship Series has big changes in 2017

J

JoeM86

Member
So this just came up for the next year's circuit and it has some huge changes
Get ready for an epic year of competitive Pokémon TCG and video game battling at all levels—including the Championship Series—with all-new events in the 2017 Play! Pokémon season. We're making significant changes to the program to improve players' chances to compete and win across the world. Take a look.

This year, we're introducing a new Championship Series event in each of the four core rating zones. The European Championships, North American Championships, Latin American Championships, and Asia Pacific Championships will take place throughout the season and are open to all players worldwide. These amazing events will feature high Championship Point payouts and a total prize pool of nearly $250,000 per event. In addition, Travel Awards and Stipends will be available to players worldwide based on Championship Point performance in their home rating zone. Travel Awards and Stipends available for each of these events may vary by rating zone and by age division. Stay tuned for more details closer to the events.

Pokémon Regional Championships will now be open to players around the world and will feature bigger prizes. Every Regionals will offer more than $50,000 in prize money, scholarships, and Travel Certificates based on attendance. These competitions will be spread more evenly throughout the 2017 Championship Series season instead of clustered over several weekends during the year, making it easier for players to attend multiple Regionals throughout the season. There are no residency restrictions for 2017 Pokémon Regional Championships; players are free to travel to foreign events. Travel Certificates earned at Regionals will be deposited to a travel account that winners may use as they wish.

City Championships will now be known as League Cup events. Participating hobby stores will be eligible to host one League Cup event per quarter, giving Pokémon TCG players more opportunities to play in their local area. The Championship Points structure for top finishers at a League Cup event will be the same as for the former City Championships. Also, Pokémon League Challenges will return as entry-level events, giving Pokémon TCG players a great place to get started and even more opportunities to compete in local events.

The Premier Challenge and Midseason Showdown events will return in the 2017 Championship Series season as local events for Pokémon video game players. Premier Challenges will provide players with frequent opportunities to play at local events and to try out new strategies in smaller events. Midseason Showdowns are larger events that will give players the opportunity to compete for a greater number of Championship Points in their local area.

At every event listed above, players can earn Championship Points to qualify for the most prestigious event in the Championship Series: the Pokémon World Championships. Championship Point totals needed to qualify for the 2017 World Championships will be announced in September.

Play! Pokémon will no longer host Pokémon State or National Championships. The Play! Pokémon team may approve independently operated National Championships on a case-by-case basis. The Championship Points and prizes available at these events will vary.

We look forward to seeing you at Play! Pokémon events during the 2017 season. Good luck throughout the year on your climb toward the title of Pokémon World Champion.

Stay tuned for more information on specific events during the 2017 Championship Series season.
Click to expand...
http://www.pokemon.com/uk/pokemon-news/big-play-pokemon-changes-on-the-way-for-2017/

tl;dr:

National Championships are gone.
Replaced by one of four big championship events: European Championships, North American Championships, Latin American Championships, and Asia Pacific Championships
Prize Pool of $250,000 total for each of the four
More spread out Regional Championships with better prize pools
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
RIP States

Other than that, all-around good news. TBH I felt that some of the Nats were a bit... Out there.

I do wonder if they'll raise the VG's CP bar this year. In certain regions the number of invitees was kinda... Crazy. Wouldn't be surprised if having way more invitees than they anticipated when booking their location is part of the reason why they sent out that notice regarding spectators.
 
J

JoeM86

Member
PreyingShark said:
RIP States

Other than that, all-around good news. TBH I felt that some of the Nats were a bit... Out there.

I do wonder if they'll raise the VG's CP bar this year. In certain regions the number of invitees was kinda... Crazy. Wouldn't be surprised if having way more invitees than they anticipated when booking their location is part of the reason why they sent out that notice regarding spectators.
Click to expand...

Yep. Excluding Japan and Korea (I couldn't find a confirmed list of invites), between TCG, VGC and Pokkén there are 2998 invites to Worlds this year. It's no wonder there are talks of concerns about capacity
 
R

RedZaraki

Banned
Now they just need to balance around singles and make that their main event.

The FIRST question (and first complaint) most casual viewers always have: "Why are they playing doubles?"
 
C

Cloggerdude

Member
JoeM86 said:
Yep. Excluding Japan and Korea (I couldn't find a confirmed list of invites), between TCG, VGC and Pokkén there are 2998 invites to Worlds this year. It's no wonder there are talks of concerns about capacity
Click to expand...

Wow, that's crazy high. For some reason I thought people were concerned about the new point limits being too hard to reach, but maybe I'm thinking about a prior year.
 
J

JoeM86

Member
RedZaraki said:
Now they just need to balance around singles and make that their main event.

The FIRST question (and first complaint) most casual viewers always have: "Why are they playing doubles?"
Click to expand...

Doubles requires more skill and strategy than Singles. It's a far better format than Singles.
 
N

Nightbird

Member
So instead of one National Championship there will be multiple City Championships?

That sounds a fuckton better. Looks like i'm getting back into competetive Pokémon Baby!
 
L

lupinko

Member
JoeM86 said:
Doubles requires more skill and strategy than Singles. It's a far better format than Singles.
Click to expand...

Doubles is also more exciting and let's you use more combinations.

If this year was singles, then people would just pick Mega Rayray and be done with it, but in doubles Mega Rayzilla doesn't steamroll everybody with ease.
 
V

vgamer1

Member
I just bought a pokemon XY trainer kit - I'd like to play the actual TCG as I've only ever collected before. I got the Pikachu Libre/Suicune pack to try it out. Didn't know it came with a virtual set of the cards online!

What's the best way to get into the TCG? The app seems like it's the way to go.
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
Battle Spot Singles is a pretty legit format, but it can be a pretty slow format at times so it's often not that fun to watch (it's all fun and games until someone busts out the Fissure Gliscor) and people would just bitch about it being 3v3 instead of it being doubles.

I say just stick to Doubles. I think it's overall more interesting as long as the format isn't a POS and we'll probably be saved from VGC '16 this January so that shouldn't be an issue anymore.
 
S

Saren is Bad

Member
vgamer1 said:
I just bought a pokemon XY trainer kit - I'd like to play the actual TCG as I've only ever collected before. I got the Pikachu Libre/Suicune pack to try it out. Didn't know it came with a virtual set of the cards online!

What's the best way to get into the TCG? The app seems like it's the way to go.
Click to expand...

There is a good thread in the OT about Pokémon TCG that I recommend (I would link but I'm on mobile)
 
G

Griss

Member
JoeM86 said:
Doubles requires more skill and strategy than Singles. It's a far better format than Singles.
Click to expand...

Agreed, which is why doubles should be how you play the main game or singles should be fixed.

The fact that what you do in the 60+ hours of the game and what you end up watching (or competing in) is so different is definitely a flaw.
 
E

EndlessSky

Member
Amazing news! Especially so since I want to get back into the VGC scene after being away for a few years. And I've been taking pokken pretty seriously lately.
 
T

TreIII

Member
Griss said:
Agreed, which is why doubles should be how you play the main game or singles should be fixed.

The fact that what you do in the 60+ hours of the game and what you end up watching (or competing in) is so different is definitely a flaw.
Click to expand...

I can understand that they don't want overwhelm kids or new players starting out, but it would be nice if they just had another mode of play that was built around doubles and could be more challenging to boot.
 
Xion_Stellar

Xion_Stellar

People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
I guess I got spoiled by Smogon rules for so long but one thing I never liked about the official tournaments is seen a bunch of people using Ubers (specifically the legendary Pokémon).

I'm actually preparing to start playing in the TCG Pokémon League starting with the new rotation in September so I guess these changes will affect the TCG too?
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
Xion_Stellar said:
I guess I got spoiled by Someone rules for so long but one thing I never liked about the official tournaments is seen a bunch of people using Ubers (specifically the legendary Pokémon).

I'm actually preparing to start playing in the TCG Pokémon League starting with the new rotation in September so I guess these changes will affect the TCG too?
Click to expand...

The ubers are usually not allowed, it's just every few years they allow a certain amount of restricted legends (Ones with BST higher than 600) to be used. Other legendaries like Zapdos or Thundurus are fair game, but remember that those legends are technically weaker stat wise than stuff like Garchomp or Dragonite anyways
 
Xion_Stellar

Xion_Stellar

People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
Aaronrules380 said:
The ubers are usually not allowed, it's just every few years they allow a certain amount of restricted legends (Ones with BST higher than 600) to be used. Other legendaries like Zapdos or Thundurus are fair game, but remember that those legends are technically weaker stat wise than stuff like Garchomp or Dragonite anyways
Click to expand...
This year for example Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde are allowed and I don't know.. it just rubs me wrong that they are allowing things like Mewtwo,ORAS Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza while advocating fairness and banning other Mythical Pokémon.

But at the end of the day it doesn't matter as long as any legendary is allowed I have no interest in joining the official VG League so I will stick to the TCG for now if I can.
 
C

Carl7

Member
RedZaraki said:
Now they just need to balance around singles and make that their main event.

The FIRST question (and first complaint) most casual viewers always have: "Why are they playing doubles?"
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with doubles, it's is a faster format that works well for tournaments. Some megas and legendaries though are totally uncompetitive and should be banned.
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
Xion_Stellar said:
This year for example Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde are allowed and I don't know.. it just rubs me wrong that they are allowing things like Mewtwo,ORAS Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza while advocating fairness and banning other Mythical Pokémon.

But at the end of the day it doesn't matter as long as any legendary is allowed I have no interest in joining the official VG League so I will stick to the TCG for now if I can.
Click to expand...

Mythical Pokemon being banned is more a matter of availability than power tbh. That said, I don't get why Deoxys was banned with the rest given it was easily catchable in ORAS delta episode
 
R

RedZaraki

Banned
You want to know why competitive Pokemon isn't wildly more popular than it is?

Or how it's mostly tossed to the side?

It's because the format is confusing and weird and different than the games themselves.

Yes, you guys SAY it is more strategic, and maybe it is in some ways. But the use of super OP things that are broken beyond belief, along with a format most casual viewers are completely unfamiliar with makes it a very awkward watching experience.

As an outsider looking in, it's arbitrarily weird. It will constantly be a hurdle for it's popularity. Sure, it will constantly have a niche following, but catering to one hardcore audience is not how you expand. So don't be surprised when only one super hardcore group even keeps up with this.

Edit: Also, Singles doesn't NEED to be slow. Make it like Stadium. You see each other's team and then you pick 4 Pokemon to deploy.

And add strict turn timers. Like 20 seconds to lock in. That's it.
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
RedZaraki said:
Also, Singles doesn't NEED to be slow. Make it like Stadium. You see each other's team and then you pick 3 Pokemon to deploy.
Click to expand...
That's what the format I called slow does.

Cresselia Toxic-stalling is boring to watch no matter what you do TBH, along with other similar scenarios, like Perish Song Mega Gengar or a bulky mon with Rocky Helmet spamming a recovery move while Mega Kanga slowly offs itself.
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
Firemind said:
Toxic stalling Cresselia lol
Click to expand...
#1 player in BS Singles last season used one.
And 8th place

Of course, this format is almost entirely played by Japanese players (basically the Japanese tend to play this format while the West tends to play Smogon AFAIK) so who knows how a Western meta would develop.

EDIT: Like I like Battle Spot Singles but I don't think it would have much of an impact on player count. Doubles is fine as long as it's not a shitty format like VGC '16. IIRC the game was growing just fine until this abomination of a season happened.
 
D

Daemul

Member
RedZaraki said:
"Why are they playing doubles?"
Click to expand...

Because Singles is shit and allows the existence of Stall. I mean have you seen the sort of shenanigans that go on among the top players at the top of the OU ladder on Smogon? Believe me when I say that VGC being Doubles is for the greater good.
 
R

RedZaraki

Banned
Daemul said:
Because Singles is shit and allows the existence of Stall. I mean have you seen the sort of shenanigans that go on among the top players at the top of the OU ladder on Smogon? Believe me when I say that VGC being Doubles is for the greater good.
Click to expand...

Well then I guess competitive Pokemon is just never going to be that popular until they actually balance their game. That's on Nintendo.
 
S

Sami+

Member
Wish they'd stop tryna be cute with their Doubles VGC stuff and just balance their game around the Smogon ruleset.
 
S

Sandfox

Member
Cool Guy Sami said:
Wish they'd stop tryna be cute with their Doubles VGC stuff and just balance their game around the Smogon ruleset.
Click to expand...

They wouldn't do that and some of the reasons were already mentioned in this topic. The Smogon format doesn't lend itself well to this kind of thing and VGC is arguably more strategic without having to ban a ton of things.
 
citroen-e402

citroen-e402

Member
The 2016 Spring regional championships was quite boring, because almost everyone played the same team. Kangiskhan, Cressila, 3rd gen fire legendary, etc.
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
RedZaraki said:
Well then I guess competitive Pokemon is just never going to be that popular until they actually balance their game. That's on Nintendo.
Click to expand...
VGC was pretty well balanced in both Gens IV and V, aside from '11 which from what I've heard was a very questionable format choice (Unova Dex). (well, in regards to the standard 3v3 singles and 4v4 doubles formats at least, which are the standards in Japan)

It's really only Gen VI that has been shit TBH and the game was still growing pretty well in both '14 and '15 IIRC. VGC '16, though...

But if they learned the obvious things from Gen VI then Gen VII should be fine.
 
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