Official news on the Championship Points (CP) payouts and Best Finish Limits (BFL) of events in the 2020 Play! Pokémon season have been revealed by The Pokémon Company.
The dates and places of the first International Championships have also been revealed. Are you ready to kick off your journey to the 2020 World Championships?
Update August 16: As announced by Mr. Masuda at the 2019 World Championships, Pokémon Sword/Shield will be used during the 2020 Play! Pokémon season, starting on January 4, 2020.
Update August 27: qualification periods for International Championships and major events schedule for Europe have been added.
Summary of the changes
- Format shift on January 4, 2020, to VGC20 rules played on Pokémon Sword/Shield. Until then, VGC19 Ultra Series ruleset.
- Local events (Premier Challenge and Midseason Showdown) go back to the yearly BFL of 6 events each, meaning your 6 best results on each event type will count towards your 2020 Worlds invite, regardless on the time of the season you play at them. Both events will continue to have a separate BFL, and series will be divided as follows:
- Autumn Series (OCIC Qualification Period): Sep. 1, 2019 to Nov. 17, 2019
- Winter Series (EUIC Qualification Period): Nov. 18, 2019 to Feb. 23, 2020
- Spring Series (NAIC Qualification Period): Feb. 24, 2020 to Apr. 19, 2020
- Summer Series: Apr. 20, 2020 to Jun. 21, 2020
- Regionals and Special Events still share BFL, but it has been decreased from 8 to 6. Entry fees depend on each event’s organizer.
- No changes on the International Championships.
- BFL of 4.
- Same order as in the 2019 season: Latin America, Oceania, Europe and North America.
- Same qualification period and travel award process (read below).
Major events schedule
Internationals
| Date | Event | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-17 Nov 19 | Latin America Internationals |  | São Paulo, Brazil | VGC19U |
| 21-23 Feb 20 | Oceania Internationals |  | Melbourne, Australia | VGC20 |
| 17-19 Apr 20 | Europe Internationals |  | Berlin, Germany | VGC20 |
| 26-28 Jun 20 | North America Internationals |  | TBA | VGC20 |
Europe
| Date | Event | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-8 Sep 19 | Sheffield Regionals |  | Sheffield, England | VGC19U |
| 28-29 Sep 19 | Köln Regionals | | Köln, Germany | VGC19U |
| 2-3 Nov 19 | Paris Special Event |  | Nanterre, France | VGC19U |
| 11-12 Jan 20 | Bochum Regionals | | Bochum, Germany | VGC20 |
| 7-8 Mar 20 | Malmö Regionals |  | Malmö, Sweden | VGC20 |
| 2-3 May 20 | Liverpool Regionals | | Liverpool, England | VGC20 |
North America
| Date | Event | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17-18 Ago 19 | DC Open | | Washington D.C. | VGC19U |
| 28-29 Sep 19 | Atlantic City Regionals | | Atlantic City, NJ | VGC19U |
| 12-13 Oct 19 | Knoxville Regionals | | Knoxville, TN | VGC19U |
| 2-3 Nov 19 | Richmond Regionals | | Richmond, VA | VGC19U |
| 9-10 Nov 19 | Portland Regionals | | Portland, OR | VGC19U |
| 30 Nov-1 Dec 19 | Daytona Beach Regionals | | Daytona Beach, FL | VGC19U |
| 7-8 Dec 19 | San Diego Regionals | | San Diego, CA | VGC19U |
| 18-19 Jan 20 | Dallas Regionals | | Dallas, TX | VGC20 |
| 28 Feb-1 Mar 20 | Collinsville Regionals | | Collinsville, IL | VGC20 |
| 14-15 Mar 20 | Mississauga Regionals |  | Mississauga, ON | VGC20 |
| 21-22 Mar 20 | Charlotte Regionals | | Charlotte, NC | VGC20 |
| 4-5 Apr 20 | Salt Lake City Regionals | | Salt Lake City, UT | VGC20 |
| 9-10 May 20 | Albany Regionals | | Albany, NY | VGC20 |
| 23-24 May 20 | Santa Clara Regionals | | Santa Clara, CA | VGC20 |
| 23-24 May 20 | Fort Wayne Regionals | | Fort Wayne, IN | VGC20 |
| 6-7 Jun 20 | Milwaukee Regionals | | Milwaukee, WI | VGC20 |
Oceania
| Date | Event | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 19 | Melbourne Open (Spe.) | | Melbourne, Vic | VGC19U |
Championship Series Events
Local Events
Premier Challenge
Midseason Showdown
Select Online Competitions
Premier Challenge
- Best Finish Limit: 6 (only your 6 best results throughout the whole Season will be taken into account)
- Max CP obtainable (2020 Worlds Invite): 180 CP
- Premier Challenges will take place in different series of the season:
- Autumn Series: September 1, 2019 to November 10, 2019
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 CP | 0 |
| 2 | 16 CP | 0 |
| 3-4 | 12 CP | 0 |
| 5-8 | 8 CP | 24 |
| 9-16 | 6 CP | 48 |
| 17-32 | 4 CP | 100 |
Midseason Showdown
- Best Finish Limit: 6 (only your 6 best results throughout the whole Season will be taken into account)
- Max CP obtainable (2020 Worlds Invite): 300 CP
- Midseason Showdowns will take place in different series of the season:
- Autumn Series: September 1, 2019 to November 10, 2019
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 CP | 0 |
| 2 | 40 CP | 0 |
| 3-4 | 32 CP | 0 |
| 5-8 | 25 CP | 24 |
| 9-16 | 20 CP | 48 |
| 17-32 | 16 CP | 100 |
| 33-64 | 13 CP | 200 |
Select Online Competitions
- No Best Finish Limit (all Championship Points obtained during Select Online Competitions will be taken into account)
| Placement | Championship Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50 CP |
| 2 | 45 CP |
| 3-4 | 40 CP |
| 5-8 | 35 CP |
| 9-16 | 30 CP |
| 17-32 | 25 CP |
| 33-64 | 20 CP |
| 65-128 | 10 CP |
| 129-256 | 5 CP |
| 257-512 | 2 CP |
| 513-1024 | 1 CP |
Major events
Special Events & Regional Championships
International Championships
Special Events & Regional Championships
- No residence restrictions, meaning players from all around the world can join them regardless of their location (special regulations may be applied to players from rating zones such as Japan or Russia)
- Best Finish Limit: 6 (only your 6 best results throughout the whole Season will be taken into account)
- Max CP obtainable (2020 Worlds Invite): 1200 CP
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 CP | 0 |
| 2 | 160 CP | 0 |
| 3-4 | 130 CP | 0 |
| 5-8 | 100 CP | 0 |
| 9-16 | 80 CP | 48 |
| 17-32 | 60 CP | 100 |
| 33-64 | 50 CP | 200 |
| 65-128 | 40 CP | 400 |
| 129-256 | 30 CP | 800 |
| Placement | 1-24 | 25-100 | 101-200 | 201+ | TCG* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 | 72 |
| 2 | $250 | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 | 72 |
| 3-4 | – | $250 | $500 | $1,000 | 36 |
| 5-8 | – | – | $250 | $500 | 18 |
| 9-16 | – | – | – | $250 | 9 |
*TCG Booster Packs are given regardless of attendance.
International Championships
- No residence restrictions, meaning players from all around the world can join them regardless of their location (special regulations may be applied to players from rating zones such as Japan or Russia)
- Best Finish Limit: 4 (only your 4 best results throughout the whole Season will be taken into account)
- Max CP obtainable (2020 Worlds Invite): 2000 CP
- Check out information for the Travel Awards down below.
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 CP | 0 |
| 2 | 400 CP | 0 |
| 3-4 | 320 CP | 0 |
| 5-8 | 250 CP | 0 |
| 9-16 | 200 CP | 48 |
| 17-32 | 160 CP | 100 |
| 33-64 | 130 CP | 200 |
| 65-128 | 100 CP | 400 |
| 129-256 | 80 CP | 800 |
| 257-512 | 60 CP | 1600 |
| Placement | 1-100 | 101-200 | 201+ | TCG* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500 | $2,500 | $5,000 | 72 |
| 2 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,500 | 72 |
| 3-4 | $750 | $1,000 | $1,500 | 72 |
| 5-8 | $500 | $750 | $1,000 | 36 |
| 9-16 | – | $500 | $750 | 18 |
| 17-32 | – | – | $500 | – |
*TCG Booster Packs are given regardless of attendance.
Qualification Periods and Travel Awards for Internationals
- During the 2020 Season, players may obtain Travel Awards to International Championships depending on the amount of CP obtained during certain periods:
| Internationals | First Day | Final Day |
|---|---|---|
| LAIC (Latin America) | April 29, 2019 | June 30, 2019 |
| OCIC (Oceania) | July 1, 2019 | November 17, 2019 |
| EUIC (Europe) | November 18, 2019 | February 23, 2020 |
| NAIC (North America) | February 24, 2020 | April 19, 2020 |
- It is yet unknown how many players will obtain an Award and its value.
- Please notice that Travel Awards periods for the International Championships differ from Series BFL in local events.
- This means, for example, that during the 2020 Season only the 6 best results at those local events will be taken into account for the 2020 World Championships CP count, but if that some of those CP are obtained during the Latin American Internationals Travel Award period (shown above) and some during the Oceania one, points will be counted separately towards those awards.
Invites to the 2020 World Championships
Day 1 Invite
Day 2 Paid Trips
Day 1 Invite
| Rating Zone | Juniors | Seniors | Masters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 200 CP | 250 CP | 300 CP |
| US & Canada | 200 CP | 250 CP | 400 CP |
| Latin America | 200 CP | 250 CP | 400 CP |
| Oceania | 200 CP | 200 CP | 300 CP |
| South Africa | 100 CP | 150 CP | 200 CP |
Day 2 Paid Trips
| Rating Zone | CP Requirements |
|---|---|
| Europe | The Top 16 players in the CP leaderboard |
| US & Canada | The Top 8 players in the CP leaderboard |
| Latin America | The Top 8 players in the CP leaderboard |
| Oceania | The Top 8 players in the CP leaderboard |
| Japan | Depending on the 2020 Japan National Championships |
| South Korea | Depending on the 2020 South Korea National Championships |
| D.C. 2019 | The Top 4 finishers for each age division in the 2019 World Championships receive a travel award and a Day 1 Invite at the 2020 World Championships |
So what now?
- Start preparing your first 2020 Season events! Your local Premier Challenges and Midseason Showdowns counting towards Worlds will start on September 1.
- Schedule some major events within your budget and time constraints if you’re looking for a Day 2 invite or some prize money and glory!
- Stay tuned to our social media accounts to hear from the best players at the 2019 World Championships! Their experience will be valuable for your struggle to London 2020!
