Nintendo UK Announces Battle Tournament 2014 + VGC National Details
Nintendo UK have announced another tournament series for UK players, this time taking place throughout March and April. Beginning on 1st March and running until 5th April, there will be a number of qualifier tournaments at various GAME stores around the country, with some events taking place in shopping centres with no specific location mentioned at the moment. There are currently no known prizes for regional tournament winners, other than an invitation to the London grand final on 26th April, although travel stipends will be available to winners to make their way there.
If you manage to win a regional tournament, you’ll get to play in the finals in London where you have a chance to win some great prizes, perhaps the most important of which is a First Round BYE at this years United Kingdom Pokémon Video Game Championships National Tournament in May for the winner and runner-up. Other prizes are a week-long trip to Tokyo, Japan for two and lots of other goodies.
United Kingdom National
Along with this announcement, Gordian Knot Games have announced that the United Kingdom National Event will take place on 24th-25th May, in Manchester, England. The venue is Event City, situated across the road from the Trafford Centre. You can discuss it on our forum thread.
UK & Ireland Pokémon Nationals
24th & 25th May, 2014
Event City
Phoenix Way,
Barton Dock Road,
Urmston,
Manchester M41 7TB
Nintendo UK Event Information
There are four divisions for this tournament, with differing prizes for each:
Ultimate Pokémon Expert – The winner of the prestigious “Ultimate Pokémon Expert” title – a category open to those aged thirteen years or older – will earn themselves a week-long trip for two to Japan, the birthplace of Pokémon. They’ll be able to immerse themselves in the Pokémon world by visiting the Pokémon Center and also explore all of the sights of Tokyo. Recommended for seasoned Pokémon players the “Ultimate Pokémon Expert” title will test your Pokémon skills to the limit. The first and second place winners in the Ultimate Pokémon Expert category will receive fast track entry to the second round of the official Play! Pokémon UK VGC event this Spring.
Junior Expert – Younger Pokémon Trainers (12 or under) itching to compete can enter the “Junior Expert” category. In this competition, a weekend trip for the whole family to Alton Towers theme park with hotel stay is up for grabs, for whoever comes out victorious. The first and second place winners in the Junior Expert age category will receive fast track entry to the second round of the UK Pokémon Video Game Championships event this Spring.
Ultimate Team – The “Ultimate Team” competition is exclusively for two family members (one aged 16 or older, and one 12 or under) who want to team up and take on other families in a four-player Double Battle. Successful teams will have the chance to win a £250 Nintendo UK Online Store voucher and a group trip for four to one of the world’s best gaming shows: EGX London 2014. This event takes place in Earls Court London, from 25th – 28th September and offers visitors the chance to play the biggest games before they are released.
Pokémon Apprentice – New enthusiasts can enter the “Pokémon Apprentice” title; where complete newcomers to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y can battle it out to receive a mega bundle of Nintendo 3DS games up to the value of £300.
Crucially, you can only enter one qualifier tournament and one division. So, you’ll have to choose whether you want the chance at single player glory and the shot at a holiday and Nationals Round One BYE, or whether you’d like to play as part of a team with a sibling to win some vouchers and a visit to a great gaming show. Lastly, there is the opportunity for newer players who aren’t confident of winning one of the tougher tournaments to enter the Apprentice event.
Entering a Tournament
Sadly, the entry process of the qualifiers is not great. Think back to the early VGC Days in Europe, in 2009, or if you’ve been around as long as some of us (me), the Battle Master event in 2004 — where you can only gain entry to the tournament via a random selection process. You can enter at this link. You’ll need to enter some of your personal information and choose which division you are entering, along with choosing two qualifier tournaments you can attend. You will receive an e-mail no later than two days prior to the event stating whether you have gained entry or not and only one of your two choices can be the event you go to, which will again, be randomly selected by Nintendo UK based on popularity of each event. I assume a lot of players will miss out, so best to enter the two you can definitely make as soon as possible and get training.
Tournament Rules and Format
All tournaments (bar the team-tournament) will use the official Pokémon Video Game Championships 2014 season rules, opting for the Flat Battle and infrared process used at the previous Nintendo UK events. Tournaments will be single-elimination format, with each qualifier having a maximum of 16 participants, thus four rounds of battles to determine the winner. The team tournament will use a more specialised set of rules with players using pre-set Pokémon and borrowed consoles from Nintendo.
List of Qualifiers
- Bullring, Birmingham – 1st March
- GAME Churchill Square, Brighton – 1st March
- GAME Murraygate, Dundee – 2nd March
- Intu Eldon Square, Newcastle – 8th March
- GAME Hamleys, London – 8th March
- GAME St. David’s Centre, Cardiff – 8th March
- WestQuay, Southampton – 15th March
- GAME Meadowhall, Sheffield – 15th March
- GAME Castle Street, Banbury – 15th March
- Bluewater, Kent – 22nd March
- GAME Back Of The Inns, Norwich – 22nd March
- GAME Victoria Centre, Nottingham – 22nd March
- Intu Trafford Centre, Manchester – 29th March
- GAME Westfield Stratford City, London – 29th March
- Intu Braehead, Glasgow – 5th April
- GAME Cribbs Causeway, Bristol – 5th April
About the Author
Havak has competed in the VGC series since 2009 when it was first introduced to Europe, qualifying for the World Championships in 2011. Since 2009, he has also been a big influence in the United Kingdom's competitive scene by helping run local tournaments.
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I signed up on the first day too, but am yet to receive an email so I don’t think this is the case unfortunately
I’ve probably been lottery haxed :'(
Going by what you guys have said, seems my earlier analysis was wrong. For those of you who are wondering about whether they’ve got in or not I believe that the organisers are now sending out emails saying if you haven’t qualified (one of my friends got one) which is an improvement on earlier tournaments. It’s still a real shame to see so many seasoned players missing out on a spot though =(
I got my Bluewater invite at 3 pm yesterday, just to let anyone who signed up for that one know.
I so cant wait for this in so ready and psyched up to win
Accepted into EGX Rezzed thank goodness, with only dedicated gamers to spectate hopefully it should be pretty cool
Is that the Westfield event?
Yere it is the Westfield one
I was at the Southampton event with my StreetPass Group and i must say – the event ran amazingly!! Staff checked teams before, we very punctual in terms of sticking to times! Overall atmosphere of the day was really good!! Unfortunately i lost in the second round though to this guy below!!
Congrats for winning big man!! Good to meet you – i’ve even gone as far as to breed me one of them mamoswine too!! Hope you go all the way and look forward to a rematch in the future
I got mine as well
I’ll see you there! This is my first proper VGC tournament
Dang…I didn’t get my first choice and now it looks like I might not have gotten my second one either.
Could I ask what battle time you have please?
Edit: Have also made an event for Manchester on Facebook:
External
Cool, cool – what’s your battle time? I’m up at 9:50
I got my invite for Nottingham! Still not 100% sure on if I can go, but it seems pretty likely atm. See you there <3
my battle is 9:50
Thanks Garchomp guy!
I know a good 7-8 people going to Manchester who all have morning battles. So, I’m thinking (hoping) that they have only sent out morning invites thus far and will be doing afternoon ones later (unless someone can confirm otherwise by saying they have an afternoon slot).
I’m hoping this is the case as I have received no reply as of yet. Perhaps Manchester is full already, who knows?
Same
i’m getting there for 9:30ish though….
Can someone give me more info on the morning/afternoon split?
Are the two tournaments independent of one another, meaning two winners, or will the winner of the morning have to stick around and play the winner of the afternoon?
They’re separate tournaments
winner of each goes to London.
Thank you
Should be back home in time for tea then.
In regards to this morning invite thing, Russiangg got his invite on the Monday of the week and was a morning slot, whereas I got my invite late Thursday for an afternoon slot after giving up hope. It seems they send out the morning invites before the afternoon ones so if you don’t have an invite yet, keep checking your inbox and you may be as surprised as I was.
Has anyone recived an invite to Norwich? Both me and a friend signed up and neither of us have heard anything either way….
Don’t think I’ll be getting an invite to Nottingham now but may still turn up
My friend and I signed up for this tournament as well, and we’ve heard nothing either. We’re still pretty sure that we won’t get in, but I at least haven’t heard of anyone getting in there yet. We’re still gonna go though!
Ah well that fills me with some hope! Maybe those who don’t get in should hold there own mini tournament?
Hey, that’d be pretty fun I guess. I was hoping to get some friendly matches during the event, so we could definitely at the very least have a couple matches!
I see! Sounds like there’s a very good possibility we might be battling each other, unless there’s more than one battle going at a time then… Well, best of luck regardless, but fingers crossed we won’t be facing each other!
Just got a email about manchester times changing, make sure your time before then,
Btw I’m in for junior expert so probs not battling any of u
Hi! I’m taking part in the Team event with my younger brother. We will be at the Trafford Centre and our first match is at 3.
I’m in two minds about the team event. I signed up for it because we’ve never battled competitively before and I thought it would be easier. From what I’ve read in this forum, the team events are pretty sparse. Obviously this is good because I’d love a trip to the finals, but I’d like a decent battle! Though I’m sure we can battle people there
I have an important request though. Is there anyone with a friend safari with Dittos? I am in desperate need for IV training! Could you add me if you have it, at least temporarily? My Friend Safari is Ice, if that helps, and my Friend Code is 1461-6239-5248