2015 World Championships
The 2015 Pokémon World Championships will be held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts from August 21 to 23, 2015. It will be the twelfth invitation-only championships for players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as the seventh for players of the Pokémon video games. It is the first time that Boston will hold the event, and the second consecutive time the event will be held in the Eastern United States, the previous event being held in Washington, D.C.
For the first time, there will be no Last Chance Qualifiers held at the event. Instead, the tournament will be played over three days: a preliminary tournament on Friday, the main tournament on Saturday, and all finals being played on Sunday.
Trading Card Game Championships
The Pokémon Trading Card Game will feature the 2014-15 Standard format, using all cards from Boundaries Crossed onward. Players were able to receive invitations from outstanding performances at their country's National Championships, the previous year's World Championships, or through the number of Championship Points they obtained throughout the year.
The first day of the tournament will feature a preliminary tournament for all World Championship qualifiers who did not earn an automatic invitation to day two. Players who earn enough match points during swiss rounds will join the automatic qualifiers on day two. The second day of the tournament will feature a series of swiss rounds in each division. At the end of swiss rounds, the top eight players in each division will be seeded into single-elimination tournaments, with the finals being played on Sunday, to determine each division's World Champion.
Junior Division
Haruto Kobayashi of Japan is the defending champion in the Junior Division. Haruto will play in the Senior Division in 2015.
Senior Division
Trent Orndorff of the United States is the defending champion. Trent will play in the Masters Division in 2015.
Masters Division
Andrew Estrada of Canada is the defending champion. In 2014, Andrew defeated Igor Costa, the 2012 TCG Masters Champion, in the final. Andrew has an automatic qualification to the second day of the tournament, finishing sixth in the United States & Canada ranking zone.
Video Game Championships
The first day of the tournament will feature a preliminary tournament for all World Championship qualifiers who did not earn an automatic invitation to day two. Players who earn enough match points during swiss rounds will join the automatic qualifiers on day two. The second day of the tournament will feature a series of swiss rounds in each division. At the end of swiss rounds, the top eight players in each division will be seeded into single-elimination tournaments, with the finals being played on Sunday, to determine each division's World Champion.
This year, participants will use Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. All matches will be conducted via Double Battles and any Pokémon in the National Pokédex are able to be entered, provided they possess a 'Blue Pentagon' in the Pokémon’s summary screen, with the exception of Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza,Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Diancie.
Similar to Flat Battle mode, Pokémon of Levels 51 and above will be temporarily reduced to Level 50, while Pokémon Level 50 and below will retain their levels. Held items may be used, but no two Pokémon from the same team may hold the same held item. Players are not allowed to change their held items after they had registered, and could only use items from within the game and those received at an official Pokémon event or promotion. Players will be allowed to change teams after Friday's preliminary tournament, should they advance to Saturday.
Junior Division
Kota Yamamoto of Japan is the defending champion. Last year, Kota defeated American London Swan in the final, capturing the title with an 8-1 record.
Senior Division
Nikolai Zielinski of the United States is the defending champion, but is eligible for the Masters Division in 2015.
Masters Division
Se Jun Park of South Korea is the defending champion. Se Jun is the only Korean player to win the Pokémon Video Game World Championships in any division.
External Links
This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Games, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Video Game Championship Tournaments. |