2015 Pokémon World Championships Location & Qualification Info
The site of the 2015 Pokémon World Championships has finally been announced alongside qualification info! Keep an eye out for flights as it will take place in Boston, MA, USA from August 21st to 23rd at:
Hynes Convention Center
900 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-954-2000
There will be no Last Chance Qualifier this year. You must qualify for the invite-only World Championships to play in the main event. Spectators are welcome to attend and watch the most exciting matches of the season! As always, there will also be all sorts of side events and activities to do as a spectator including autograph signings by key Pokémon staff and the chance to purchase exclusive merchandise that will never be released again.
Qualification
The top players from each region as determined by Championship Points will receive an invitation for the Pokémon World Championships. To earn Championship Points, you must attend events throughout the year including Premier Challenges, Regional Championships, and National Championships. The higher you place, the more points you earn at each event.
| Masters Division | Senior Division | Junior Division | |
| US and Canada | Top 40 | Top 40 | Top 24 |
| Europe | Top 60 | Top 60 | Top 36 |
| Latin America | Top 18 | Top 18 | Top 10 |
| Asia Pacific | Top 18 | Top 18 | Top 10 |
| South Africa | Top 2 | Top 2 | Top 2 |
As you can see, Asia Pacific has been added to the list of regions this year! Mexico has been separated from the USA and Canada and added to the new Latin America region as well. We should see plenty of new faces at Worlds this year. Japan and Korea will have separate qualification requirements as they have had in previous years.
Invitations will be finalized on July 13th, 2015. All issues with accounts must be reported by June 1st.
Tournament Structure
The players who qualify for the 2015 Pokémon World Championships will play off in the first day of competition on Friday, August 21st. All players who finish with two or fewer losses will move on to Day 2 of the competition. The top players from each region will be seeded directly into Day 2 of the competition and receive Travel Awards covering their flights and accommodations:
- The Top 8 players from the US and Canada rating zone
- The Top 16 players from the Europe rating zone
- The Top 2 players from the Latin America rating zone
- The Top 2 players from the Asia Pacific rating zone
Players in Korea and Japan will have their own ways of qualifying for both Day 1 and Day 2 of the competition that will be announced later. Players with invitations from the 2014 Pokémon World Championships will play in Day 1 unless they earn a bye into Day 2 this season through Championship Points.
Schedule
Again, there is no Last Chance Qualifier. Only those who have qualified for the World Championships will be able to play in the main tournament. Side tournaments will run all weekend for those looking to compete with other players for smaller prizes!
Friday, August 21st, 2015
Players who have an invitation to the 2015 Pokémon World Championships but did not earn a bye to day 2 by finishing near the top of their region will play off in a number of best-of-three Swiss rounds determined by attendance. All players with two or fewer losses move on to the second part of the competition on Saturday.
Saturday, August, 22nd, 2015
Players who made it past the Friday segment of the tournament will join those who were automatically seeded into the Saturday segment in another best-of-three Swiss tournament. Players can change their teams between Friday and Saturday. Scores from Friday will be reset, so everyone starts Saturday with a fresh slate.
After the Swiss rounds are over, the top eight players will face off in a single elimination best-of-three bracket until only two players are remaining.
Sunday, August 23rd, 2015
The finals for each age division will be played in sequence.
Prizes
All players who have an invitation to the World Championships will receive an exclusive Pokémon World Championships Welcome Kit as an acknowledgement of their accomplishments during the season. Players must be on site to receive the Welcome Kit.
The top 16 finishers in each of the three age divisions receive the following scholarship awards:
- 1st: $10,000
- 2nd: $7,500
- 3rd and 4th: $5,000
- 5th–8th: $3,000
- 9th–16th: $1,500
1st and 2nd place also receive:
- A Pokémon World Championships Trophy
- A Travel Award for the winner (and parent or legal guardian for players considered minors) to the 2016 World Championships
- An invitation to the 2016 World Championships
- Two boxes of the most current Pokémon TCG expansion
3rd and 4th place also receive:
- A Pokémon World Championships Trophy
- An invitation to the 2016 World Championships
- Two boxes of the most current Pokémon TCG expansion
5th through 16th place also receive:
- Two boxes of the most current Pokémon TCG expansion
About the Author
Firestorm is one of the co-founders of Nugget Bridge and the Community Manager for eSports Tournament Platform Battlefy. He has been playing Pokémon since 1999, competitively since 2007, and attending tournaments since 2010. He lives in Vancouver, Canada with a degree in Interactive Art & Technology + Communications. You can follow him on Twitter at @rushanshekar.
Related Posts
Nugget Bridge Update →
GS Cup Announced as Pokémon’s 2016 Ruleset →
2016 Pokémon World Championships Date & Location Surfaces →
NPA News: Season 4, Week 1 →
47 Responses to 2015 Pokémon World Championships Location & Qualification Info
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I’m really excited for this year, even if I don’t make top 40 I probably will still fly out to Boston and do a couple side events and cheer people on! Makes for a great vacation
Same here! I am willing to fly to Boston no matter what my result is. As an avid Baseball fan, I am looking forward to visiting Fenway Park for the second time. Regardless of the interest in Baseball, it is a must-visit place in Boston as the park being the oldest and close to the Convention Center.
Oo, wi-fi tournaments will be great for New Zealand players. As far as I know, we only get 1 regionals per year here, and that only started last year (I could be wrong on that).
If Asia-pacific is: NZD, Aussie, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, and other Asia based countries – does that mean like the best 2 people from each country in the region will get a chance for worlds, or will it be for the entire region? I could see some issues where some countries that get more events, will make it a lot harder for the smaller area’s with less events to get anywhere, unless the wi-fi battles come in early enough (start of 2015).
@alphazealot There is a guy in one of the NZD pokemon facebook groups that I am a part of, that organizes tournaments on a weekly basis, both TCG and VG. I don’t think they play for CP but they do have prizes like booster packs and stuff. I think he has been hoping to try help get more official VGC tournaments into NZD. I am not sure how you guys choose / find organizers for events, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to point that out in case you are looking for some people here
I really would like to see VGC grow in smaller countries like NZD that find it very difficult to get events, but I know wifi battles will, or should, help ALOT with that
I’m excited to see the changes to the worlds tournament structure and what it could mean for players who go from day 1 to day 2.
For those of us in the Asia/Oceania region we’ll just have to get our butts into gear and get more events organized I guessed. More events = more player support = bigger player base. I’m not 100% sure that throwing Australia/NZ in with South East Asia is the best thing, but, I can see why it was done. Hopefully we get more events from all respective parties involved so that it doesn’t become one country dominating the region over another. Wi-Fi tournaments may definitely help with this region, but we’ll only be able to tell once it goes live and is tested. 😀
Hopefully, us lower key countries can show the world what we made of, not just in the local scene for our region but the world when it comes time. ^_^
For side events maybe there could be a Pokemon Contests tournament. The other obvious choice is a Multi battle tournament with VGC rules. My only concern with this is the 3DS’s wireless is kinda flaky when there’s lots of wireless interference so it might not be possible to hold 4 player activities.
I do hope they include something to qualify in Latin America. Something like Battle Spot Doubles ranking + Nats in Brazil would be nice. Past time Nintendo recognizes us.
You have Premier Challenges in Latin America including Brazil.
Seriously? Where can I find dates/locations of them, since they are new?
http://nuggetbridge.com/forums/topic/10527-vgc-premier-challenge-in-brazil/
Depending on if you want an attendance level similar to last year, having an at worlds PC would definitely help out. Other than that and Singles/Doubles tournaments and various TCG stuff, I agree with Team Rocket Elite that a set of Contest Tournaments (one or two per type) would be pretty cool to set-up and participate in.
Outside of the games the only thing that comes to mind would be a costume contest, given at how people do regularly show up in-costume to events already.
I am really looking forward for CP and Invites in SE Asia Region!
Adding to like a constume contest and multibattle VGC, maybe some more exclusive things that aren’t VGC related. I think Worlds would be ideal to show of some Pokkén Tournament as well, if there is even playable stuff by then. I know itll be tested in JP arcades like so many other fighting games but I think it would be nice if Pokémon players could get a handson with it as well. Other then that, nothing much more on side event related stuff.
Hey someone know if Puerto Rico classify in Latín América or US and Canada?
My gut instinct tells me US, considering y’all are a US Territory
Puerto Rico last season was in the North-American zone with US, Canada and México. The only change this season is México went instead to Latinamerican Region, so PR should stay with the US-Canada zone.
Oh ok I was thinking the same thanks guys!
I need to find a good tournament near montreal that will acutally be worth it this year….
Does this mean Hoenn Pokedex Pokemon will be eligible after New Year’s Day?