The Path to the Pokémon World Championships

The Path to the Pokémon World Championships

The Pokémon World Championships is the once-per-year event where the best Pokémon Trainers from all around the World battle for the title of World Champion!

In order to participate in the Pokémon World Championships, players must earn League Points (LP) in events held throughout the year to get on top of the LP Rankings. Alternatively, a top placement in the Master Ball League will also earn a player a Pokémon Worlds invite. You too can aim for the top and for the title of World Champion!

2024-25 Pokémon Asia Championship Series
  • *1) The number of eligible players differs between regions. Top players will be selected from each separate Age Category (Junior, Senior, Masters)
  • *2) A Best Finish Limit applies when calculating point totals.
  • ・If a player earns both an “Invite” and an “Invite + Travel Award”, the “Invite + Travel Award” takes priority over the other Invite without TA.
    ・In such a case, that “Invite” (without TA) that was overwritten then goes to the next player in the LP Rankings.
What is the Best Finish Limit system?

What's a Pokémon Worlds Invite?

A Pokémon Worlds Invite gives the player who earned it the right to participate in the Pokémon World Championships in the TCG Division. Only players with invites can participate in the Pokémon World Championships.
Pokémon Worlds Invites are awarded to Top-placing players in the Master Ball League, as well as Top-placing players in the League Points Rankings when the Master Ball League concludes.
* Details on the number of spots available for Pokémon Worlds Invites will be announced at a later date.

What's a Travel Award?

Players who earn a Travel Award will have their flight and accommodation for the Pokémon World Championships paid for by The Pokémon Company.
Additional details on Travel Awards will be sent to qualifying players.

The 2024-25 Pokémon Asia Championship Series Structure

Events are categorized into 4 Leagues: Great Ball League for smaller scale events, Ultra Ball League for medium-scale events, and finally the large-scale major events known as Premier Ball League and Master Ball League.

2024-25 Pokémon Asia Championship Series
  • *1) Top-placing players in each separate age category will qualify for Master Ball League invites and Pokémon Worlds invites.
    (For the Master Ball League, players without an invite may still apply to participate through a random lottery.)
  • *2) The Ultra Ball League Invites + Round 1 Byes earned through Great Ball League events only apply to events within the same Season. For example, top-placing players in a Great Ball League event during Season 2 get an invite and Round 1 Bye for an Ultra Ball League in Season 2. Invites can't cross over from a Season to another.
    Moreover, within a single Season a player may only receive one Ultra Ball League Invite with Round 1 Bye and only use it once. It will be automatically used for the first Ultra Ball League that player registers for in that Season.
  • *3) Any resident can participate. Registration may use a lottery system depending on attendance and capacity
  • *4) Only players with an Invite may participate

What are "Seasons"? Great Ball League / Ultra Ball League

Smaller scale and medium-scale events held in various locations.

  • * The Ultra Ball League Invites + Round 1 Byes earned through Great Ball League events only apply to events within the same Season. For example, top-placing players in a Great Ball League event during Season 2 get an invite and Round 1 Bye for an Ultra Ball League in Season 2. Invites can't cross over from a Season to another.

Why the change in the Tournament Series structure?

Enthusiasm for the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been growing tremendously in Asia regions in the past few years, and we have been delighted to see the TCG player community grow just as rapidly – we now even have our fair share of Worlds-class trainers!
A growing community means we must adapt to the diverse needs of players, and we decided it was time to rethink the tournament structure accordingly. This new Series structure brings some big changes required to provide even more trainers with even better competition opportunities.

What's different in the new Series structure?

The changes this new Series brings are meant to offer more accessible and fairer events to all players.
In addition to these main changes, we also aim to constantly keep improving on finer details not listed here. We will keep listening to player feedback to further improve and update future Series.

What's the Best Finish Limit system?

What's an Invite?

An Invite allows a player to skip the lottery and get a guaranteed spot in an event.
They are given to Top-placing players in the LP Rankings.

What's an Invite + Round 1 Bye?

In addition to getting an Invite that allows them to skip the lottery and get a guaranteed spot in an event, players with a Round 1 Bye also get a Win by default for the first qualifying round of that event.

What is the Best Finish Limit system?

With the BFL system, only the 8 events that gave you the most LP during the Series count towards your total score.

  • * The number of events that count towards the total score may change in the future.
  • * Separate rankings for each age category (Junior, Senior, Masters), with the top ranking player(s) from each category getting selected
    * The number of Invites available depends on the region and age category, etc.
    * The League Points shown here are just examples

Check out the 2024-25 Pokémon Asia Championship Series Summary Video!

FAQ