| Event | 2023 Utrecht Special Event |
|---|---|
| Location |  Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Date | 18–19 March 2023 |
| Capacity | 600 VGC spots (536 MA, 32 SR, 32 JR) |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2023 Season – VGC Series 2 |
| Format | Swiss rounds + top cut single elimination, as per attendance Open team lists |
| Organizer | TournamentCenter |
Check the organizer’s website here for further info!
Table of Contents
Sign-up instructions
Sign-ups for the event are done through RK9 Labs platform, and you will first need to set up your RK9 profile and have a Play! Pokémon Player ID. All players must comply with the Play! Pokémon COVID-19 Protocols.
Sign-ups are free for all age divisions, so tickets will go out in several waves to ensure a high participation:
- First wave: sign-ups for all available spots will open on 17 January 2023 at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC). In order to confirm participation, all players who claimed a ticket will be required to submit a preliminary team list by 22 February 2023 at 19:00 local time (18:00 UTC). Players who fail to do this will free their tickets for the second wave.
- Second wave: sign-ups for all available spots will open on 22 February 2023 at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC). In order to confirm participation, all players who claimed a ticket will be required to submit a preliminary team list by 8 March 2023 at 19:00 local time (18:00 UTC). Players who fail to do this will free their tickets for the third wave.
- Third wave: sign-ups for all available spots will open on 8 March 2023 at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC). The organiser asks the players that can no longer participate to contact customer support to free their tickets for other players.
There are 536 spots available for Masters players, and 64 for Seniors and Juniors players.
Spectator passes can be obtained through RK9 Labs.
Sign-ups close 1 hour and 45 minutes before the event starts.
For registered players, team list submission opens in Rk9 Labs on 12 January 2023. Team lists must be submitted 45 minutes before the event starts, by 25 February 2023 at 7:30 am local time (12:30 UTC). Paper team lists can also be found here.
Venue and schedule
The tournament will be held in the following location:
Jaarbeurs
Jaarbeursplein, 6
3521 AL Utrecht
Players must be in the venue by 18 March 2023 at 10:00 local time (09:00 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts right thereafter with the Swiss rounds.
The top cut will be played on the following day.
Prizes
This event is part of the 2023 official TPCI circuit and thus it rewards Championship Points (CPs).
Players could purchase a “Special Upgrade Package” to get a promo card, a side-event voucher, a string bag, an Ultra PRO sponsored item and a TournamentCenter mystery event goodie.
The best-placed players will receive the following prizes depending on final attendance:
| Placement | CP | Prize money | Pokémon TCG booster packs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 200 CP | – | – |
| Runner-up | 160 CP | – | – |
| Semifinalists | 130 CP | – | – |
| 5th to 8th | 100 CP | – | – |
| 9th to 16th | – | – | – |
| Placement | CP |
|---|---|
| Winner | 200 CP |
| Runner-up | 160 CP |
| Semifinalists | 130 CP |
| 5th to 8th | 100 CP |
| 9th to 16th | 80 CP |
| Placement | CP |
|---|---|
| Winner | 200 CP |
| Runner-up | 160 CP |
| Semifinalists | 130 CP |
| 5th to 8th | 100 CP |
| 9th to 16th | 80 CP |
| 17th to 32nd | 60 CP |
| Placement | CP |
|---|---|
| Winner | 200 CP |
| Runner-up | 160 CP |
| Semifinalists | 130 CP |
| 5th to 8th | 100 CP |
| 9th to 16th | 80 CP |
| 17th to 32nd | 60 CP |
| 33rd to 64th | 50 CP |
| Placement | CP |
|---|---|
| Winner | 200 CP |
| Runner-up | 160 CP |
| Semifinalists | 130 CP |
| 5th to 8th | 100 CP |
| 9th to 16th | 80 CP |
| 17th to 32nd | 60 CP |
| 33rd to 64th | 50 CP |
| 65th to 128th | 40 CP |
If prize money is $5000 or more, it will be given as a choice of scholarship (in all cases) or cash (for minors, as a Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card). For lower prizes, it will be given as cash (for minors, as a Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card).
Streaming
It is not yet confirmed whether there will be a stream for this event.
CP standings
Season standings
The following are the Europe Championship Point standings before and after the event.
Top 16 players at the end of the 2023 season get Day 2 invites to the 2023 World Championships.
Before the event
Standings will be updated after Bochum Regionals.
| # | Player | CP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Andrea Olea | 200 |
| 2 |  Rafael Busutil | 160 |
| 3 |  Thomas Gravouille | 130 |
| 4 | Florian Henry | 100 |
| 5 |  Baris Akcos | 100 |
| 6 |  Andrea Cassinese | 80 |
| 7 | Bas van der Heijden | 80 |
| 8 | Giuseppe Cangemi | 80 |
| 9 | Fabian Braun | 80 |
| 10 | Eliott Legroux | 60 |
| 11 | Alessio Y. Boschetto | 60 |
| 12 |  Benjamin Soh | 60 |
| 13 | Giovanni Piscitelli | 60 |
| 14 | Francesco Pero | 60 |
| 15 |  Alexander Mengarelli | 60 |
| 16 |  Ben Markham | 60 |
| 17 | Adam Cherfaoui | 50 |
| 18 | Sebastian Li | 50 |
| 19 | Rebecca Dixon | 50 |
| 20 | Jesús Jiménez | 50 |
| 21 | Mateus de Moura P. | 50 |
| 22 | Mattia Cipro | 50 |
| 23 | Alejandro Ramos | 50 |
| 24 | Antonio M. Rodrigo | 50 |
After the event
Standings will be updated after the event.
| # | Player | CP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Olea | 200 |
| 2 | Rafael Busutil | 160 |
| 3 | Thomas Gravouille | 130 |
| 4 | Florian Henry | 100 |
| 5 | Andrea Cassinese | 80 |
| 6 | Bas van der Heijden | 80 |
| 7 | Giuseppe Cangemi | 80 |
| 8 | Fabian Braun | 80 |
| 9 | Eliott Legroux | 60 |
| 10 | Alessio Y. Boschetto | 60 |
| 11 | Benjamin Soh | 60 |
| 12 | Baris Akcos | 60 |
| 13 | Giovanni Piscitelli | 60 |
| 14 | Francesco Pero | 60 |
| 15 | Alexander Mengarelli | 60 |
| 16 | Ben Markham | 60 |
| 17 | Adam Cherfaoui | 50 |
| 18 | Sebastian Li | 50 |
| 19 | Rebecca Dixon | 50 |
| 20 | Jesús Jiménez | 50 |
| 21 | Mateus de Moura P. | 50 |
| 22 | Mattia Cipro | 50 |
| 23 | Alejandro Ramos | 50 |
| 24 | Antonio M. Rodrigo | 50 |
NAIC Travel Award standings
This event counts towards the North America International Championships (NAIC) Travel Award standings. It is the second of three Regional-level events held in Europe to count!
Top 4 players at the end of this period (20 February to 16 April 2023) will receive a $3500 Travel Award ($5000 for minors), while players ranked 5th to 8th will receive a $1000 Travel Stipend.
Before the event
Standings will be updated after Bochum Regionals.
| # | Player | CP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Visishtah Vasudevan | 100 |
| 2 |  Peng Chongjun | 100 |
| 3 |  Luca Paz | 100 |
| 4 | Wolfe Glick | 80 |
| 5 | Wang Bingjie | 80 |
| 6 | Collin Heier | 60 |
| 7 | Stefan Mott | 60 |
| 8 | Justin Burns | 60 |
| 9 |  Abe Brath | 60 |
| 10 | Kevin Swastek | 60 |
| 11 | Devon Singh | 50 |
| 12 | Jeremy Gross | 50 |
After the event
Standings will be updated after the event.
| # | Player | CP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visishtah Vasudevan | 100 |
| 2 | Peng Chongjun | 100 |
| 3 | Luca Paz | 100 |
| 4 | Wolfe Glick | 80 |
| 5 | Wang Bingjie | 80 |
| 6 | Collin Heier | 60 |
| 7 | Stefan Mott | 60 |
| 8 | Justin Burns | 60 |
| 9 | Abe Brath | 60 |
| 10 | Kevin Swastek | 60 |
| 11 | Devon Singh | 50 |
| 12 | Jeremy Gross | 50 |
Overview
The Utrecht Special Event is an official TPCI Regional-level event for Pokémon VGC, TCG and Pokémon GO. It is the fourth Regional-level event in the 2023 season in the European circuit, the third in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet and the second in the NAIC travel award race.
The ruleset is VGC Series 2 and it will be played using open team lists.
A little bit of history
The Netherlands has been part of the Europe region of the official TPCI circuit for many years. It has hosted a few major events, including Regionals and Special Events. The Netherlands’ greatest VGC success was Bram de Jonge‘s second place at the 2018 World Championships in the Seniors division.
The most recent tournaments held in the Netherlands was the 2017 Dutch Open, played in Leiden in the VGC Sun & Moon VGC17 ruleset in January 2017. Dutch Rob Akershoek defeated fellow countryman Andres Escobosa in the finals.
Teams and results
Top cut
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Further standings
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Usage stats
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