Trainers are heading to Melbourne, Australia, February 21–23 with the dream of winning the second International Championships of the 2020 Championship Series. Pokémon TCG and Video Game Championships (VGC) competitors will be playing for Championship Points toward qualification for the 2020 Pokémon World Championships, as well as to become the first International Champions since Pokémon from the Galar region joined the fray. Pokkén Tournament DX competitors will be playing for direct invitations to the 2020 Pokémon World Championships.
The event runs Friday through Sunday in Australia, but because of the time difference, each day of tournament play will start the previous afternoon in US time zones. Starting at 2:30 p.m. PST on Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21, matches will stream simultaneously on three channels: Twitch.tv/Pokemon (for VGC), Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG (for TCG), and Twitch.tv/PokkenTournament (for Pokkén Tournament DX). Then, at 2:30 p.m. PST on Saturday, February 22, the finals for the Pokémon TCG and VGC will be broadcast consecutively only on Twitch.tv/Pokemon, while the Pokkén Tournament DX finals will stream on Twitch.tv/PokkenTournament. Don’t forget to check out the winning teams and decks at Pokemon.co.uk/EventResults once the tournament is complete.
What to Watch: Pokémon VGC
Dedicated Pokémon VGC stream: Twitch.tv/Pokemon
Commentators: Rosemary “Nekkra” Kelley, Evan Latt, Gabby Snyder, Aaron Zheng
Thursday, February 20: 2:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. PST (approx.)
Friday, February 21: 2:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. PST (approx.)
Saturday, February 22: After TCG finals (approx. 6:30 p.m. PST)
The first International Championship featuring the 2020 Video Game Championships format is sure to see a clash of exciting new strategies. With nearly all of the Pokémon in the Galar regional Pokédex permitted for competition this season, we’ve seen a huge variety of Pokémon excel at this season’s first events. Pay close attention to the Pokémon playing support roles: Togekiss and Whimsicott have helped a variety of teammates dominate play early in the season, and the way Trainers handle them could be the difference between victory and defeat in Melbourne.
Check out the latest Video Game Championships Power Rankings to find out which Pokémon and strategies our experts expect to shine at the Pokémon VGC Oceania International Championships.
What to Watch: Pokémon TCG
Dedicated Pokémon TCG stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG
Commentators: Jeremy Jallen, Ellis Longhurst, Josue Rojano, Kyle Sabelhaus
Thursday, February 20: 2:30 p.m. – 3 a.m. PST (approx.)
Friday, February 21: 2:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. PST (approx.)
Saturday, February 22: Finals start at 2:30 p.m. PST on Twitch.tv/Pokemon
Players and fans alike will be excited for this event introducing the Sword & Shield expansion, which features new Pokémon from the Galar region. Zacian V has already put up some impressive performances in Japan alongside Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX, and lots of new Trainer cards—including Marnie, Professor’s Research, and Quick Ball—are likely to find their way into decks. Tune in to see if competitors immediately shift their decks to focus on the newest cards or opt for more comfortable strategies.
Curious which decks are the favorites as we approach the tournament? Check out the Pokémon TCG Deck Power Rankings to see which decks our experts think we’ll see at the top tables.
What to Watch: Pokkén Tournament DX
Dedicated Pokkén Tournament DX stream: Twitch.tv/PokkenTournament
Commentators: Michael “H2” Graf, Evan “WonderChef” Hashimoto, Michael “Midori” Tjong
Friday, February 21: 2:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. PST (approx.)
Saturday, February 22: Finals start at 2:30 p.m. PST
For the second year in a row, the Pokkén Tournament DX season will be kicking off in Melbourne. Masters Division competitors will be looking to join 2019 Pokkén Tournament World Champion Hiroki “Subutan” Ishida in qualifying for the 2020 Pokkén Tournament World Championships, but only the Top 2 players will make it. In the Senior Division, only the winner will qualify for the World Championships, so matches are sure to be tense! Like in the 2019 Pokkén Tournament Championship Series, battles in Melbourne will use the Team Battle format, with each player choosing their own team of three Pokémon.
All times approximate and subject to change.
