The 2024 Pokémon Championship Series is just getting started, and we’re ready to announce a series of changes that will take place this season. Look forward to Pokémon GO joining the Championship Points system, Championship Points kickers being adjusted at all CP-earning events, and a rework of the current World Championships qualification system.
Pokémon GO Joins the Championship Points System!
Last season, the Pokémon GO Championship Series used a different system than the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Video Game Championship. Instead of earning Championship Points, players earned direct invitations to the 2023 Pokémon World Championships by reaching certain placements at Regional and International Championships. This season, Pokémon GO will be joining the Championship Points system, with Pokémon GO Challenges, Pokémon GO Cups, Regional Championships, and International Championships all awarding Championship Points en route to Worlds qualification.
More details on Pokémon GO Championship Points can be found here.
However, that doesn’t mean that the concept of earning a Worlds invite by winning a Regional Championship is gone—see the section below entitled “World Championships Qualification and Travel Support Changes” to find out how we’re evolving, not just for Pokémon GO but for the Pokémon TCG and VGC, too!
Championship Points Kicker Adjustments
Competing for Championship Points can be a daunting task, especially given the time commitment it takes to participate in certain events. Kickers are being adjusted for local events to ensure that players who reach the top cut always earn Championship Points, which was not always the case during the 2023 season. These kickers will be retroactively applied to any League Challenges or League Cups that have already taken place in the short time since the 2024 season began.
At the Premier Event level, Regional Championships, Special Events, and International Championships will have adjusted kickers so more players receive Championship Points. For example, players who finish between 257th and 512th place in Pokémon TCG, Pokémon Video Game, or Pokémon GO Regional Championships with at least 1,024 participants will now earn 20 Championship Points instead of zero, and the top 256 players will now earn Championship Points as long as 512 total players compete, compared with the previous threshold of 800.
More details on Championship Points thresholds can be found at the Pokémon TCG Championship Points, Pokémon GO Championship Points, and Pokémon Video Game Championship Points pages.
World Championships Qualification and Travel Support Changes
Traditionally, Pokémon TCG and VGC players have qualified for the Pokémon World Championships by earning a certain number of Championship Points. That system will remain in place, but now there’s a new way to qualify: winning a major event. Players who win a Pokémon TCG, Pokémon Video Game, or Pokémon GO Regional Championships, or reach the finals of an International Championships, now automatically qualify for the Pokémon World Championships, regardless of their total Championship Points at the end of the season. If a player who becomes a Regional Champion earns a Worlds invitation through another method, such as accumulating enough Championship Points, the automatic invite will not be passed down to the next available player. This system exists to ensure that all our Regional Champions and International Finalists have their remarkable achievement recognized with an invitation to Worlds.
Even if a player is qualified for the Pokémon World Championships, those same Championship Points still matter when it comes to the leaderboard in their rating zone. Last season, Pokémon TCG and Pokémon Video Game players with the most Championship Points in their rating zones earned a Travel Award and immediately qualified for Day 2 of the Pokémon World Championships. This system featured high rewards for our most prolific players, but the two-day structure made our Worlds schedule feel very inflexible and grueling for competitors. We also received feedback that the potential to skip an entire day of play meant that some dedicated players felt compelled to compete constantly so they could keep up in the standings. We want to promote and reward our most dedicated and talented players, but we don’t want it to feel absolutely necessary to go beyond a standard Worlds invite—which is an incredible achievement in and of itself—to have a real shot at becoming World Champion.
To that end, in the 2024 season, Pokémon TCG and Pokémon Video Game players with the most Championship Points in their rating zones will no longer directly qualify for Day 2, but instead can earn a Round 1 bye at the Pokémon World Championships. All qualified players will begin play in Round 2 of Day 1.
Of course, the financial reward of the old Day 2 invite was also a factor. The Travel Award system will largely remain the same for the 2024 season except for a few changes. Players who didn’t quite make the cut for a Travel Award to Worlds in 2023 may be eligible for a Travel Stipend in 2024. Pokémon GO players will become eligible for Worlds Travel Awards, and Pokémon Video Game players in North America will receive 12 Travel Award spots instead of 8.
More to Come
We’ve got more exciting details of the 2024 season still to share. These will be announced sometime between the end of the 2023 World Championships and the beginning of the first 2024 season Regional Championships in September, so stay tuned!
Good luck this season, Trainers!
