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Published on May 14th, 2015 | by Wyrms Eye

26

VGC 2015 German National Preview

It’s that time of year again guys; Nationals season is finally upon us! The bountiful feast of Championship Points will be ripe for the taking as the best that Europe can muster will do battle for the first of three clashes in Stuttgart, Germany on the 16^th and 17^th May. We’ll be looking at how the rankings currently stack up in Europe, give a little time going over the boring information part relating to the event, as well as going over the names that we can expect to see at the front of the field.

Prizes

As expected, there is a mountain of Championship Points on the line for players attending, far above what has been seen so far at the Regional events. These points are critical for securing that important invite to the Pokémon World Championships that are being held in Boston, Massachusetts from 21^st – 23^rd August. In addition to the points, there will be some very valuable Pokémon and Nintendo prizes on offer to those who do well.

1^st Place:

• 1^st Place ‘Champion’ Trophy
• Nintendo Wii U Deluxe
• Groudon Playmat
• 600 Championship Points

2^nd Place:

• 2^nd Place ‘Finalist’ Trophy
• A “New” Nintendo 3DS / 3DS XL
• Groudon Playmat
• 500 Championship Points

3^rd & 4^th Place:

• 3^rd and 4^th Place ‘Semi-Finalist’ Trophies
• A “New” Nintendo 3DS / 3DS XL
• Groudon Playmat
• 400 Championship Points

5^th – 8^th Place:

• 36 Booster Packs of XY Roaring Skies
• Kyogre Playmat
• 300 Championship Points

9^th – 16^th Place:

• 200 Championship Points

17^th – 32^nd Place:

• 150 Championship Points

33^rd – 64^th Place:

• 100 Championship Points [128+ Players Required]

65^th – 128^th Place:

• 50 Championship Points [256+ Players Required]

Current CP Rankings

With the season now starting to reach a climax, each of the preview articles for the National Championships will feature the current CP Rankings in Europe. I will be focusing on the paid world invite positions, the Top 16 in Europe, as well as give the current cut-off for the unpaid invites for reference. These figures are correct as of the 5^th May on Pokémon Global Link:

It is worth pointing out that these rankings do not include the International Challenge held in April, and the CP awarded to those who did well enough to get points has yet to be distributed. Taking this into account, both Barry and Baris are in fact level on 316 CP thus jointly leading the way. Another interesting point is that the standings are still fairly compact so there will be a great deal of change throughout the field, and we will have a clearer indication of who will likely be heading to Boston by the close of play on Sunday. I’m expecting 16^th place to have roughly 320 CP, while 60^th is likely to be in excess of 200 CP following this event.

The Main Event

Difficulty Rating:

/ 5

(Five cogs in a well-oiled machine of German efficiency) / 5

Location: Carl Benz Arena, Mercedesstraβe 73, 70372 Stuttgart, Germany

Registration Time: 7.30am – 9.00am (You must be in the line by 9am to register!), Saturday 16^th May

In addition to the above information, there are a couple of further points that are worth noting. Firstly and possibly most importantly, players are reminded that they need to update to the latest version of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on their games. It is your responsibility as a participant to adhere to this rule. If a player is found to not have updated to version 1.4, they will be subject to disqualification from the event. You will also require a completed team sheet at this event, which will need to be provided to organizers at registration. Please come prepared, as it will speed up the registration process.

Players are advised that there will be no lunch break during the event. Drinks and snacks will be offered at the venue, and players are advised to consume food and drinks between rounds. Please remember to take your Player ID to the event if you already have one. There will not be any byes awarded for the first round of swiss this year for those at the top of the CP Rankings, so everyone will be starting on a level playing field regardless of their achievement this season to date.

However, the notable piece of information is that the top cut will comprise all players that have an X-2 record or better, assuming that the division attendance is 65 or greater. This will almost certainly be achieved in the Masters Division and is likely also for Seniors, but may not be hit with the Junior Division, based on attendance figures last year. The top cut itself will be a single-elimination bracket, with byes awarded to the top seeds in the opening round should the number of players not equate to a power of two, similar to the format of the Nugget Bridge Major.

There will be a commentated live stream available to watch throughout the weekend for those unable to attend. A brief run-down of the schedule for live stream is given below:

Saturday 16^th May Live-Stream Schedule

• Live-stream starts at 12 o’clock till end of swiss rounds/Saturday top cut.

Sunday 17^th May Live-Stream Schedule

• 09:00 – 10:15 TCG AT Masters Top 8
• 10:30 – 11:45 TCG DE Masters Top 8 (TCG AT Masters Top 4 will not be streamed)
• 11:45 – 12:30 VGC Masters Top 8
• 13:00 – 14:15 TCG AT Masters FINALS (TCG DE Masters Top 4 will not be streamed)
• 14:15 – 15:00 VGC Masters Top 4
• 15:30 – 16:45 TCG DE Masters FINALS
• 16:45 – 17:30 VGC Masters FINALS

You can watch the live stream here; and you can find this information regarding the tournament, including side events to be held here.

Last Years’ Results:

1. Markus Stadter (13Yoshi37)
2. Simon Stanford (Falco)
3. Nemanja Sandic (Porengan)
4. Matthias Suchodolski (Lega)
5. Lajos Kowalewski (Lajo)
6. Zacharias Daum (Mercury)
7. Stephan Appelfeller (Appi)
8. Szymon Wojdat (Szymoninho)
9. Timo Koppetsch (37TimoK1)
10. Florian Wurdack (DaFlo)
11. Carlo Arbelli (shinycarletto)
12. Baris Akcos (Billa)
13. Steve Edgson (SirSmoke)
14. Faaiz Ashfaq (Feis)
15. Ciskejan Giannakos (sagaciousslowpoke)
16. Jake Birch (WhiteAfroKing92)

The Scoop

This tournament without question will feature the biggest number of established names in Europe at one event this year so far. Understandably so due to the volume of points it’s awarding, as well as the prestige of the title, which is reflected in the difficulty rating above. Arguably, Germany is the most important National event for the players in Europe. An excellent result here will potentially provide them with a World Championship invite meaning that any further events they participate in will have less pressure on their shoulders to do well. While winning here is not an iron-clad guarantee to get a paid invite, it certainly will put whoever does win in the driving seat.

The event promises to be a multi-cultural one and numerous countries will be represented in Stuttgart, from Ireland to Italy, Poland to Portugal. This cauldron of clashing styles promises to simmer over the weekend, before coming to the boil in the final matches!

Returning Top-Cut Players

Most of the players who made the top-cut last year will be back in attendance this year. Last years’ undefeated champion Markus Stadter will be looking to have his battling do the talking this weekend as he looks to defend his title, but it would be a herculean effort to have another clean run this year. His season thus far has been solid despite not attending any Regionals so far for various reasons, lying 32^nd in the rankings, which is respectable given the circumstances. However, Simon Stanford, who he beat en-route to the title, will not be attending as it seems he was last seen sat in a cinema waiting for the new Star Wars movie to release. All I will say is may the Force be with him on his wait! Both semi-finalists, Nemanja Sandic and Matthias Suchodolski, will be looking to go further this year. Nemanja has had a relatively quiet season thus far but could be someone to look towards for an unusual team composition that may be his key to unlocking success, especially based from his exploits last year. Matthias meanwhile has some good form with his 5^th Place in Arnhem helping to place him 10th on the rankings list.

Lajos Kowalewski and Szymon Wojdat have confirmed they will be back to try and improve on their quarter-final berths. For Lajos, his exploits at various Premier Challenges, including those under the Arena Cup have given him a workable platform in the standings, currently sitting at 38^th. Lajos looks to be in good form regardless, with a Top 16 berth in the Nugget Bridge Major for another feather in his cap. For Polish player Szymon, this will be his first and only major event for this season, barring a strong run to qualify for worlds. That said, do not discount Szymon because of a lack of live tournament practice, as he’s more than capable of pulling out results.

Of the remaining top-cut players, seven have confirmed their attendance plans. While Faaiz Ashfaq and Ciskejan Giannakos will not be present, Timo Koppetsch, Florian Wurdack, Baris Akcos, Steve Edgson and Jake Birch will be taking part. Of the German players in this quintet, Baris has had the strongest season thus far with two 6^th place finishes at the Regionals in Arnhem and Sutton Coldfield, and goes into the tournament effectively as CP co-leader in Europe. If there is one person I would bank on top cutting, Baris is currently top of the list. Timo is also not to be discounted either, and has had a solid season amongst the Premier Challenges to lie in 29^th on the rankings. With Florian, I think this tournament will hopefully be the spark of life his world championship crusade needs after a relatively low-key spring, though he still remains in the Major at the time of writing. As we saw in the standings above, Florian sits in 16^th place for CP. With all three being ex-world competitors however, they are more than capable of claiming the title here. The British duo of Steve and Jake have had rather contrasting seasons. In Steve’s case, a steady run of good Premier Challenge results has been met with some pretty underwhelming Regional results. His 89^th position in the CP rankings reflects this. However, Steve does boast a flawless record of reaching the knockout stages at Nationals he’s attended, so on that statistic we should expect nothing short of another top cut! Jake on the other hand has had only a couple of notable Premier Challenge performances earning points, but has enjoyed decent success at Regional events with a 9^th Place in Sutton Coldfield and a Top 32 in Arnhem, so sits 105^th in the standings.

Players to look out for

Despite the strong array of players already mentioned, there are still plenty more on the radar that will be looking to carve a path to the trophy. Even looking at the Top 16 of the CP standings there are a host of recognisable names amongst them. As the effective co-leader in the rankings with Baris, Barry Anderson has been able to bounce back from a disappointing UK Regional showing by his standards with his fourth Premier Challenge victory of the season. Barry is a fierce competitor, I have no doubts he will be re-doubling his efforts to make a triumphant return to the top table at the main events. At 3^rd in the rankings, Canadian-Irishman Kelly Mercier-White will be making one of his two planned National appearances for the year.  Kelly’s season has shown a high level of consistency in every event he has attended, sharing many similarities with Baris, so will be a solid shout to do well in Germany. Yan Sym is possibly Europe’s biggest dark horse this year to find himself in 5^th Place for CP. Yan’s 5^th Place at Sutton Coldfield has probably helped to cement the view that he is a valid contender to make World’s this year, and he has earned CP at every regional event thus far. Continuing down the list in 6^th place, Austrian Noah Fuchs will also be looking to get stuck into the thick of the invite battle, and is another person that has put in an assured performance this season to stake his claim to being at the World Championships. Noah will be keen to back up his Top 8 result earned at Arnhem in Stuttgart.

7^th through to 9^th in the CP standings sees unquestionably the three biggest names in the Italian scene in Arash Ommati, Alberto Gini, and his brother Matteo in close company. All three are potentially viable candidates to win the event, but I feel the formbook favours Alberto to date with his Top 8 in Rome only a few weeks ago. Matteo was somewhat unfortunate to end up 17^th in Rome due to resistance, for those extra championship points. And while Arash struggled in Rome, he does have a Top 16 Regional result from Arnhem to his name. Do not be surprised if one of them manages to claim a National title this season. I think it’s some kind of unwritten rule that it should happen, along with the one that also says Zach Droegkamp wins a Regional every season.

Moving further down in 12^th place, Eloy Hahn from Germany is another potential name that could be one to watch. He was able to hit the ground running this season with a top cut in Arnhem, and is a seasoned individual, thus will be able to manage the pressure situations. Just below Eloy in the standings is Christoph Kugeler, who I expect to be in attendance in Stuttgart. However, I’ve only got second-hand information on the matter, plus Christoph has been keen to keep expectation on his performances in check. In 14^th place for CP, Lee Provost will be looking to shift his season into another gear, although I am making the assumption he will be making the trip out rather than from a confirmation. His 10^th place finish in Sutton Coldfield was a positive result to work with, so expect Lee to build on that and go even further, as I am sure he will be keen to replicate his run at Worlds for a second consecutive year. The last name I want to cover within the Top 16 not already mentioned is Austrian Thomas Schadinger. While the other names in this list are fairly high-profile or have produced a notable result this season, Thomas has generally slipped into his current position relatively unnoticed. His 9^th place in Rome went by largely without any fanfare, though it was understandable by the lack of information that came out from that particular event. I would be keen to see Thomas make the single-elimination section of the tournament, but a solid performance will be needed regardless to maintain his position.

The Chasing Pack

We’ve covered a significant number of players, but there are still so many that would be foolish to gloss over. Starting with those from Germany, one player who I’ve yet to mention is Jan Michelberger (Lati). Like many of the players that will follow, he is an ex-Worlds competitor, and should be treated as a valid contender for the title. At 44^th place on the rankings, Jan currently has an invite spot, but a solid result will be required to solidify his position. Michael Richert (Michilele) is well known among the usual suspects as a solid, respected player who can easily take a battle to the strongest opponents. Despite being outside the invite spots at 92^nd, a healthy haul of points would lift him up in the standings; I personally feel he could get a real result from this weekend. I had the pleasure to battle Michael in Arnhem, one match I’m not likely to forget any time soon. One player definitely in need of a strong result is Marcel Kapelle (Massi), who sits in 131^st position currently. I’m not totally sure of the situation regarding Marcel’s lowly position here. I’m assuming it’s a lack of Premier Challenge attendances rather than form, as Marcel is still in the hunt to win the Major at the time of writing. Whatever the reason, this is one of two planned National events he is attending, so keep a sharp eye out for him as the event progresses.

While there are no Dutch players inside the paid invite spots, there are a couple of notable names hovering on the fringes in Andres Escabosa (000aj) and Huib Buijssen (Lolnub) among the fairly solid contingent attending. At 20^th and 23^rd in the rankings respectively, both players will be looking to build on their Premier Challenge platform and push towards qualifying for Worlds, with an eye for a paid trip on the agenda. I think the strength of the Dutch contingent of players this year has improved significantly and I would be disappointed if neither to these two qualify. Realistically, CP is the target for both to maintain pace with the pack.

With regards to Italian players, three more names yet to be mentioned spring to mind. These are Simone Sanvito (Sanvy) lying in 27^th, Andrea Sala (Yaya) lying in 52^nd and Nicholas Rottoli (Wonder) who lies in 70^th. Despite all three being reasonably strongly placed in the rankings, all three failed to make a significant impression in Rome as I had expected them to. It will be interesting to see if any of them step up to the plate in Stuttgart to answer the questions that will be posed to them.

Finally, we move onto those from the United Kingdom, and there are a few here that stand out. Two of the four individuals that made up team fruitcake are key players in William Tansley (StarKO) who lies 28^th, and Steve Edgson’s dutiful and far less good-looking sidekick Ben Kyriakou (Kyriakou) lying back in 126^th. For Will, I have quite often backed him to the hilt as a good friend who I know is capable of results if he’s on form. Premier Challenge results aside, I do not believe we’ve seen him hit his stride in the main events. In Ben’s case however, this season seems to have treated him less than favorably and it shows in his low ranking position. I can’t discount Ben to produce a result here, but smart money is on an average CP haul to keep him in the hunt for an invite. I want to be proven wrong here Ben! Justin Miller (ThrillerMiller9) as well as his brother Jamie (Blaze King7) are both making the trip and should be respected. Justin fared better than his brother in Sutton Coldfield, who struggled badly like many good players on the day. But, as a result of the CP awarded from Regionals, both are in serious need to get a good result from Stuttgart to stay on track for a worlds invite. The same rings true for Christopher Arthur (Koryo) if he is heading out like I assume he will. Christopher should rebound strongly for his average performance in Sutton Coldfield, and will need to in order to regain his place inside the Top 60 in Europe.

As an added extra…

I recently had the opportunity to join Baz Anderson for one of his YouTube videos as one of his guests, discussing the prospective players who we expect to do well in Stuttgart. Many of the names mentioned in this article are also covered in the video, so please feel free to watch as Baz, Lajo and I go over the main players to look out for.

The Crystal Ball Predicts…: Realistically the standard of players here is so high and the skill level of those at the top is so close that it is a frankly impossible task to predict the winner. For me to pick one person would be doing the rest of those going a disservice! Yeah, if you hadn’t gathered by now, I’m taking the cowards’ way out. I think quite a few have recently heard my view on these predictions, how all of the guys I’ve backed thus far have fared poorly. Even to the point that a small number of you have asked for me not to not to get the mention here so as not to curse their chances! Some of you guys are a superstitious lot! Understandably though, Germany will be heavily represented in the top cut bracket simply due to the number of players, so the likelihood is one of the big names from Germany will win here. While I may be chickening out on a prediction, I’m going to put you, the readers, on the spot and ask: “Who do you think will be victorious come Sunday evening?”

As for me…

I unfortunately won’t be attending this event, though not for lack of wanting to go. My holiday time at work is a very precious commodity, as everyone hopefully can understand. I will be endeavoring to bring as much information away from the event from the comfort of my laptop and phone, so do keep up to date with twitter and the various forum threads relating to this event. Information will be available as soon as physically possible, and don’t forget that you can watch the live stream of the event to get your tournament fix! Please feel free to leave your comments, predictions and give your own insight into this event.

About the Author

Wyrms Eye aka Nigel Gower started playing the VGC format in late 2013 following the release of Pokemon X and Y. Since then, his unusual style has seen him become a solid player within the community, culminating in an impressive NPA Season 3 run with the Mistralton Jets.

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