Pokemon Championship Season 2016 Details Released

UPDATE: From original time of writing, The Pokemon Company International have since revised the point allocations for the Video Game Championships to reflect feedback from the community. The points are now much more generous and less top heavy. For reference, the original article containing the old points system remains untouched. The correct and current point allocations for the 2016 Video Game Championship series have been amended to the end of this article.

It was a long and grueling year for Pokemon trainers across both championship formats in 2015, but in a surprisingly quick turn around The Pokemon Company International have released the point structure and series event details for the Pokemon Video Game Championship and Trading Card Game Championship 2016 season. It looks like TPCI have taken some feedback from this years season, lowering best finish limits, but have also made it so you are going to need to perform very well at these tournaments to have a chance at receiving an elusive Worlds invite.

Let’s start with the Video Game Championship details, taken straight from the Pokemon website. As you can see there are still different series for the US and the rest of the world. Unfortunately seasonal regionals seems to still elude the international series. However we do have a new new event type in the Midseason showdowns, which do look to be similar to regionals. The season will continue to use the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Pokemon games for the Nintendo 3DS system.

2016 VGC US Season Outline

September–November 2015: Premier Challenge Sceptile Series
October 2015: Autumn Regional Championships
December 2015–February 2016: Premier Challenge Blaziken Series
February 2016: Winter Regional Championships
March–May 2016: Premier Challenge Swampert Series
March – April 2016: Midseason Showdowns
May 2016: Spring Regional Championships
July 2016: Nationals Championships
August 2016: World Championships

2016 VGC International Season Outline

September–November 2015: Premier Challenge Sceptile Series
September 2015–May 2016: Regional Championships
December 2015–February 2016: Premier Challenge Blaziken Series
March–May 2016: Premier Challenge Swampert Series
March – April 2016: Midseason Showdowns
April–July 2016: National Championships
August 2016: World Championships

And now for the point breakdowns of what each event will be worth.

Select Online Competitions

Play! Points: 1
Best Finish Limit (shared with VGC Premier Challenge and VGC Premier Challenge (Elevated)): 6
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points
1	45
2	28
3-4	16
5–8	10
9–16	6
17–32	4
33–64	3
65–128	2
129–256	1

VGC Premier Challenge

Play! Points: 2
Best Finish Limit (shared with Online Competitions and VGC Premier Challenge (Elevated)): 6
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker
1	30	0
2	12	0
3–4	4	0
5–8	2	16
9–16	1	32

VGC Premier Challenge (Elevated: 65 or more total players)

Play! Points: 2
Best Finish Limit (shared with Online Competitions and VGC Premier Challenge): 6
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker
1	30	0
2	18	0
3–4	12	0
5–8	6	0
9–16	4	0
17–32	2	0
33–64	1	128

VGC Midseason Showdowns

Play! Points: 3
Best Finish Limit (shared with VGC Regional Championships): 3
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker
1	90	0
2	54	0
3–4	34	0
5–8	20	0
9–16	12	32
17–32	8	64
33–64	4	128
65–128	2	256

VGC Regional Championships

Play! Points: 3
Best Finish Limit (shared with VGC Midseason Showdown): 3
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker
1	150	0
2	92	0
3–4	56	0
5–8	32	0
9–16	22	0
17–32	12	64
33–64	8	128
65–128	5	256

VGC National Championships

Play! Points: 5
Best Finish Limit: 1
Championship Points:

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker
1	600	0
2	360	0
3–4	220	0
5–8	132	0
9–16	84	0
17–32	48	0
33–64	18	128
65–128	12	256

As you can see the competition is now a lot more top heavy and winning an event will be the key to securing an invite. For an example of this change, placing anywhere between 17th and 32nd at this years Nationals netted you a hefty 150 points, however this season the same feat will only see you receive 48 points. On a much more happier note, it seems the Video Game Championships will be adopting a similar Championship Points bar as the Trading Card Game did last year, meaning you will know exactly how many points you need to receive an invite as opposed to relying on leader board results to try and make the cut off position for your country. The amount of points needed for each region has not yet been set.

For a few term clarifications, a kicker is the amount of people that need to attend the event before those points are awarded. For example in the above table, if less than 256 people rock up to the event, no one will get the 12 points for finishing between 65th and 128th. As for best finish limits, that is the limit of how many of that event type will count. For example, if you attend two national tournaments only your best score will count as the best finish limit is 1.

Now for the Trading Card Game 2016 event schedule.

2016 North American TCG Season Outline

August 2015–July 2016: League Challenges (Standard or Expanded format)
October 2015: Autumn Regional Championships (Expanded format)
November 2015–January 2016: City Championships (Standard or Expanded format)
February 2016: Winter Regional Championships (Expanded format)
March–April 2016: State/Province Championships (Standard format)
May 2016: Spring Regional Championships (Expanded format)
June–July 2016: National Championships (Standard format)

2016 International TCG Season Outline

August 2015–July 2016: League Challenges
October–December 2015: Regional Championships
December 2015–February 2016: City Championships
March–April 2016: Regional Championships
May–June 2016: National Championships
August 2016: World Championships

And the TCG point chart.

League Challenge

Best Finish Limit: 6
Play! Points: 1

Placement	Points	Kicker
1	15	0
2	12	4
3–4	10	8
5–8	6	32
9–16	4	64
17–32	2	128

City Championships

Best Finish Limit: 4
Play! Points: 2

Placement	Points	Kicker
1	50	0
2	40	4
3–4	30	8
5–8	20	32
9–16	10	64
17–32	5	128

Regional and State/Province Championships

Best Finish Limit: 4
Play! Points: 3

State/Province Championships

Placement	Points	Kicker
1	100	0
2	90	4
3–4	70	8
5–8	50	32
9–16	30	64
17–32	15	128
33–64	10	256

Regional Championships

Placement	Points	Kicker
1	150	0
2	135	4
3–4	105	8
5–8	75	32
9–16	45	64
17–32	30	128
33–64	15	256

National Championships

Best Finish Limit: 1
Play! Points: 5

Placement	Points	Kicker
1	500	0
2	400	4
3–4	300	8
5–8	200	32
9–16	100	64
17–32	80	128
33–64	60	256
65–128	40	512

2016 World Championships

Best Finish Limit: 1
Play! Points: 5

Placement	Points
1-4	Qualification level for 2017 World Championships
5-8	100
9-16	80
17-32	60
Remaining Day Two Competitors	40

It’s a tough road ahead so good luck to all Pokemon trainers across both formats. Will you be taking part in the 2016 season aiming for a Worlds invite to San Francisco next year? Let us know in the comments below.

UPDATE: The correct and current Championship Point allocations for the 2016 Video Game Championship series.