News

Published on June 26th, 2013 | by Firestorm

35

Official Side Events at US Nationals and Top Cut Expansion

There was a deluge of information on the quickly approaching 2013 Pokémon US National Championships released today! First off, we’ll get to what is probably the most exciting bit of news for the players chasing that shiny Worlds invite: If we reach 350 or more players in any division, we’ll have a top cut of 32 rather than the old limit of 16. The playerbase has been very passionate about the effects of top cut sizes in Pokémon and this should be a welcome change!

For everyone else who doesn’t quite hit the the magic placement after their swiss rounds, TPCi has set up a few large tournaments using alternate formats that will play out on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Aside from the regular On-Demand tournaments you might remember from last year, there will be Pod Tournaments, a Masters Single Cup tournament, and a Triple Cup tournament. All side tournaments will be done as single game, single elimination matches. The finals of the Masters Single Cup and Triple Cup tournaments will be done as a best-of-3 set.

Keep in mind that the Masters Single Cup runs concurrently with the Juniors and Seniors main event. Similarly, half the Pod Events run concurrently with the Masters main event. The Triple Cup tournament on Sunday should be at a time convenient for all age groups.

For full details — especially for those who have not attended a Nationals tournament before — please check out the official page.

Prizes

Masters Single Cup (Max 256 Players)

• 1st place: Nintendo 3DS and 72 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 2nd place: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon—Gates to Infinity and 36 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 3rd – 4th place: Nintendo 3DS Carrying Case and 18 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 5th – 8th place: Nintendo 3DS Stylus Pack and 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 9th – 16th place: 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 17th – 32nd place: 6 Pokémon TCG booster packs

Triple Cup (Max 128 Players)

• 1st place: Nintendo 3DS and 72 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 2nd place: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon—Gates to Infinity and 36 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 3rd – 4th place: Nintendo 3DS Carrying Case and 18 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 5th – 8th place: Nintendo 3DS Stylus Pack and 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 9th – 16th place: 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 17th – 32nd place: 6 Pokémon TCG booster packs

16 Player Pod Tournaments

• 1st place: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon—Gates to Infinity
• 2nd place: Nintendo 3DS Carrying Case
• 3rd – 4th place: Nintendo 3DS Stylus Pack
• 5th – 8th place: 1 Pokémon TCG booster pack

8 Player Pod Tournaments

• 1st place: Nintendo 3DS Carrying Case
• 2nd place: Nintendo 3DS Stylus Pack
• 3rd – 4th place: 1 Pokémon TCG booster pack

16 Player On-Demand Tournaments

• 1st place: 8 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 2nd place: 4 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 3rd – 4th place: 2 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 5th – 8th place: 1 Pokémon TCG booster pack

8 Player On-Demand Tournaments

• 1st place: 4 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 2nd place: 2 Pokémon TCG booster packs
• 3rd – 4th place: 1 Pokémon TCG booster pack

Rules

Masters Single Cup

This tournament will mirror the format used for the Battle Subway but with the addition of Sleep Clause. The absence of Team Preview and the addition of Sleep Clause should be kept in mind when looking at your Singles Global Battle Union teams!

• IR Battles
• Players will use Pokémon in their party (not their Battle Box)
  • No more than 3 Pokémon may be in a player’s party
• Battle for two
• Single Battle
• Players may not use the Wonder launcher
• Players may not put more than one of the opponent’s Pokémon to sleep at anytime
• Pokémon may not hold two of the same item
• Pokémon may not hold the item Soul Dew or know the moves Dark Void or Sky Drop
• Players may not use two of the same Pokémon
• Players may not use any of the following Pokémon:
  • Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Chatot, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect
    Players must make a move selection expediently—a judge may issue a warning or game loss if a player is shown to be stalling excessively. It is expected that a move selection will occur in approximately 30 seconds.
• In the event a player violates one of these rules a judge should be called to moderate the dispute. If necessary, the winner’s battle video should be saved and reviewed. A player violating these rules will be issued a game loss. Players must report any rule violation before the end of their match.

Triple Cup

Unlike the Global Battle Union, there is no Team Preview in this tournament and you will only be using four total Pokémon rather than six.

• IR Battles
• Players will use Pokémon in their party (not their Battle Box)
  • No more than 4 Pokémon may be in a player’s party
• Battle for two
• Triple Battle
• Players may not use the Wonder launcher
• Pokémon may not hold two of the same item
• Pokémon may not hold the item Soul Dew or know the moves Dark Void or Sky Drop
• Players may not use two of the same Pokémon
• Players must make a move selection expediently—a judge may issue a warning or game loss if a player is shown to be stalling excessively. It is expected that a move selection will occur in approximately 30 seconds.
• Players may not use any of the following Pokémon:
  • Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Chatot, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect
• In the event a player violates one of these rules a judge should be called to moderate the dispute. If necessary, the winner’s battle video should be saved and reviewed. A player violating these rules will be issued a game loss. Players must report any rule violation before the end of their match.

On-Demand and Pod Tournaments

These tournaments will use the same rules as the main event — Modified, commonly referred to as VGC ’13 — but without Team Preview as you’ll only have four Pokémon in your party. It is the same rules as the Battle Subway.

• IR Battles
• Players will use Pokémon in their party (not their Battle Box)
  • No more than 4 Pokémon may be in a player’s party
• Battle for two
• Double Battle
• Players may not use the Wonder launcher
• Pokémon may not hold two of the same item
• Pokémon may not hold the item Soul Dew or know the moves Dark Void or Sky Drop
• Players may not use two of the same Pokémon
• Players may not use any of the following Pokémon:
  • Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Chatot, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect
• Players must make a move selection expediently—a judge may issue a warning or game loss if a player is shown to be stalling excessively. It is expected that a move selection will occur in approximately 30 seconds.
• If a player suspects an opponent has violated a rule a judge should be called to moderate the dispute. If necessary, the winner’s battle video should be saved and reviewed. A player violating these rules will be issued a game loss. Players must report any rule violation before the end of their match.

Schedule

Friday, July 5th, 2013

• 2:00pm – 6:00pm: On Demand 8-player and 16-player tournaments
• 4:00pm – 6:00pm: Pre-Registration

Saturday, July 6th, 2013

• 8:00am – 8:30am: Masters Nationals Main Event Registration
• 9:00am – 3:00pm: Masters Nationals Main Event Swiss Rounds
• 9:30am – 10:00am: Pod A (8 x 16 Players) Registration
• 10:00am – 12:00pm: Pod A (8 x 16 Players) Single Elimination Rounds
• 10:00am – 12:00pm: On-Demand 8-player and 16-player side tournaments
• 12:00pm – 12:30pm: Pod B (16 x 8 Players) Registration
• 1:00pm – 2:30pm: Pod B (16 x 8 Players) Single Elimination Rounds
• 1:00pm – 2:30pm: On-Demand 8-player side tournaments
• 2:30pm – 3:00 pm: Single Cup Registration
• 2:30pm – 3:00pm: Juniors & Seniors Nationals Main Event Registration
• 3:30pm – 7:30 pm: Masters Nationals Main Event Top Cut
• 3:30pm – 8:00pm: Juniors & Seniors Nationals Main Event Swiss Rounds
• 4:00pm – 8:30 pm: Single Cup Single Elimination Rounds
• 8:00pm – 10:00pm: Juniors & Seniors NationalsMain Event Top Cut Round 1 and 2
  

Sunday, June 7th, 2013

• 9:00am – 9:30am: The Triples Cup Registration
• 9:30am – 2:00pm: The Triples Cup Single Elimination Rounds
• 9:00am – 10:00am: Nationals Main event Top Cut Round 3
• 10:00am – 10:30am: Pod C (8 x 8 Players)Registration
• 10:00am – 2:00pm: On-Demand 8-player and 16-player side tournaments
• 10:25am – 11:35am: Junior Nationals Main Event Finals
• 10:30am – 12:00pm: Pod C (8 x 8 Players) Single Elimination Rounds
• 11:35am – 12:35pm: Senior Nationals Main Event Finals
• 12:30pm – 1:00pm: Pod D (4 x 16 Players) Registration
• 1:00pm – 3:00pm: Pod D (4 x 16 Players) Single Elimination Rounds
• 2:10pm – 3:10pm: Masters Nationals Main Event Finals

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.

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