Kick off your 2020 Championship Series season and your run toward the 2020 Pokémon World Championships at the DC Open. The Pokémon TCG and video game competitions will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on August 17 and 18. The Championship Point payout will be the same as for a Regional Championships event in the 2020 season, meaning the winners will be well on their way toward an invitation to the next World Championships. Competitors will also be battling for tickets for use at the side events prize wall.
Worlds competitors who have been eliminated from play after Day One are welcome to participate in the DC Open. To do so, they must register ahead of time (along with all other potential players) before the event sells out. If you are a Day One Worlds competitor who advances to Day Two, your registration to the DC Open will be refunded. All players should note that the first day of the DC Open runs concurrently with Day Two of the Pokémon World Championships and the Pokkén Tournament World Championships. You will not be able to participate in multiple events on Saturday!
Registration
The entry fee for the DC Open is $30 for Masters Division players and $15 for Junior and Senior Division players. Players who do not already have a badge for the event will also need to purchase a spectator badge. All entrants will receive prize wall tickets just for playing. Entry fees are not refundable except for Worlds competitors who advance to Day Two and thus cannot participate.
Registration will take place online only. All of the seats for each age division will be available beginning in July 2019. Seating is limited—registration will be open until the event’s attendance cap is reached, or until Friday at 5 p.m. EDT, whichever comes first. No additional seats will be made available based on no-shows or on refunded seats for Worlds competitors.
Register now to compete in the DC Open!
Online Deck List Submission
Deck lists must be submitted online for this event. Online submissions can be made at this link starting Wednesday, August 14. Players have until 9:00 a.m. on the day their tournament begins to submit their deck list. Players who have not submitted a deck list by that time will be given a Game Loss for the first round.
Entry and Badges
All participants in the DC Open must already have a badge to enter the World Championships event space, either as a main event competitor or by purchasing a spectator badge. Spectator badges can be purchased during DC Open registration if they are still available. A spectator badge will allow access into the main event hall to watch the main event and to participate in side events.
Video Game Battle Teams
Video game players will need to have their Battle Team checked and locked before they can play. Battle Team locking for the DC Open will take place from 9–9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, inside Hall D and E of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Team sheets for VG players will be collected at this time.
Player Meeting
All players will need to be seated for the player meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, inside Hall D and E of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Players who are not present at the beginning of the player meeting may be dropped from the event. Play will begin for all age divisions immediately following the player meeting.
Tournament Format
The Pokémon TCG competition will use the Standard format, and players will use cards that are legal for the 2020 Championship Series season.
The Pokémon video game competition will use the 2019 Championship Series Ultra format.
Tournament Structure
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon TCG matches in the DC Open for all age divisions will consist of only Swiss rounds, according to the standard Play! Pokémon tournament format for a single-day TCG tournament. There will be no single-elimination Top Cut. Standings will be determined based on the final results following Swiss. Play will be best-of-three (50 minutes +3 turns). The Swiss rounds will be split into two days if the number of Swiss rounds exceeds 6, based on the following table:
If 7 rounds: 5 rounds on Saturday and 2 rounds on Sunday
If 8 rounds: 6 rounds on Saturday and 2 rounds on Sunday
If 9 rounds: 7 rounds on Saturday and 2 rounds on Sunday
Please note that this structure is unique to the DC Open.
If more than 800 Masters Division players compete, the Masters tournament will be split into two separate tournaments (i.e., two tournaments of at least 400 players). Each tournament will operate as a separate event, and there will be two first-place finishers who will not play each other. Each tournament will reward its own separate Championship Point prizes based on the Kicker for that stand-alone tournament. Players will be randomly divided between the tournaments.
Video Game Format
Play for VG Junior, Senior, and Masters Divisions for the DC Open will consist of the standard Play! Pokémon tournament format for a VG Regional Championships. On Saturday, Swiss rounds will occur, and on Sunday, the Top Cut will occur. Rounds will be played as best-of-three (50 minutes +3 turns).
Championship Point Payouts
The number of Championship Points awarded at the DC Open is based on attendance per age division, in accordance with the 2020 season Championship Points tables.
