What is it like to attend Worlds?

The Pokémon World Championships are the largest and most prestigious event of the Pokémon circuit. Worlds happens once a year in August, and attracts a large international audience. Unlike every other tournament, it is invite-only– only players who have earned enough Championship Points can compete in the main tournament. However, there is usually a side tournament that awards Championship Points for the next year. Worlds is an exceptional experience whether you are spectating or competing. 

Worlds in 2022 will be four days (Thursday-Sunday), which will be different than in prior years. Until the official Pokémon schedule is released, we don’t know how this tournament will be structured. In this article, you can read about how prior Worlds were structured.

What do I have to do before attending Worlds?

If you're spectating

Worlds requires a spectator’s fee (around 15$.) This will be available on the Pokemon.com website shortly before Worlds. If you are the parent of a child competing, you will not have to pay this fee, and you’ll get one guaranteed for free when your child registers. Check out our spectator's guide below.

If you're competing

Instructions will be in your qualification email. Shortly after the North American International Championships, if you’ve qualified, you will receive an email from Pokémon at the email address that is registered to your Pokémon Trainer Club account. Make sure to check your spam and make sure you have the right email registered.

Get the Pokémon that you want. 

Travel to the event. Importantly, for Worlds, most competitors must check in on Wednesday before Worlds. There is a late registration time on Thursday morning. If you are directly qualified to Day 2 of Worlds, you will register on Thursday evening with the qualified players from Day 1.

You can read our guide for estimating travel cost here, and a packing list here. Our preferred time to arrive at the event is midday Thursday (the day before the tournament) at the latest-- but you might not be able to avoid a late evening arrival. Our preferred time to plan to leave the World Championship is, if driving, midday Sunday at the earliest. If we booked scheduled transportation (e.g. planes/buses), we try to leave Sunday evening at the earliest.

Schedule

All times in this schedule are approximate. Check the Pokemon.com website for specifics.

Worlds Schedule

Modern Worlds (pre-2022) have had 3 phases of play: 

• Day 1: every player with a Day 1 Qualification plays several rounds of Swiss. Players with 2 losses or less will move on to Day 2.

• Day 2: Players directly qualified to Day 2 begin play, as well as all qualifying players from Day 1. They play several rounds of Swiss.

• Top Cut: All players from Day 2 Swiss with 2 losses or less will advance to Top Cut, which happens on Saturday evening, except for the finals, which happen on Sunday.

Thursday (Before the tournament)

Check-in

The first step of the tournament is check-in, which is the weekend before the tournament. You’ll need your registration details, your player ID, and a government ID to corroborate your registration. You’ll also need your Switch and a team sheet. A team sheet is a piece of physical paper outlining every stat, move, item, and ability of your six Pokémon for that tournament. They’ll have some available in line, but you can also fill them out ahead of time. You’ll hand the team sheet in when you register.

When you check in, you’ll probably have to wait in a line with other competitors– make sure it's for the video game. When you reach the front of the line, you’ll meet judges that will help you check in. First, they’ll check your online registration. After that, they’ll take your team sheet and use special software to lock your battle box. What this means is that you won’t be able to swap the Pokémon out of the battle box (accessible by pressing X twice in the PC in Pokémon Sword/Shield) until you cancel your participation in the tournament on your Switch. 

After that, you’ll be good to go- show up tomorrow at the time that you were told. You’ll have gotten some awesome Worlds swag from the people who checked you in. 

Friday (Day 1)

Opening Ceremony

The tournament begins with an opening ceremony, where Junichi Masuda or other Pokémon executives often welcome the competitors personally. They might even announce unreleased details from a new Pokémon game! You won’t want to miss this event.

The Tournament (Swiss rounds)

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the tournament will start, so you should head to the play area. You will be able to check pairings on your phone using the RK9 website, or look for your name on the paper pairings (you’ll be able to spot them by the throng of people crowding around them). You’ll sit down across from your opponent and listen to announcements from the tournament organizer before beginning. Once you’re given the all-clear to start your match, follow the procedure outlined at the table to connect your Switch to your opponent.

You’ll then play a best of three against your opponent. At Regionals, Internationals, and Worlds, your Switch will be plugged in at all times, so don’t worry if it can’t hold a charge well. Once the battles have started, you’re not allowed to use any other electronic devices (if you have a medical concern, talk to a judge beforehand!) It’s okay to use headphones, but they have to be plugged into your Switch. You’re allowed to take notes, but you need to use a clean sheet of paper-- you can’t read off anything written beforehand during the battle. It’s also a good idea not to talk to other players except your opponent during the battles, and if you have to do so, talk quietly-- other players will be concentrating on their own battles.

During your best of three, a judge will come over to leave a match slip by your table. The first player to win two battles will be the winner, and then both players will sign the match slip. The winner will circle “Winner” and then walk up to the judge’s table to hand in the match slip. If there is any error in the match slip, let the judges know as soon as possible.

After the match is complete, wait for the next round. You should be ready at all times for the next round to start, as it will begin once all players have finished their matches. A round usually takes about an hour to finish, but it can take a little less, or more if there is a significant delay. If you finished in two quick games, you’ll probably have a good amount of time to mill about the hall, grab water or a snack, or use the restroom. If you finished in three long games, you might only have a few minutes before the next round, so if you need to get anything or use the restroom, go quickly. There will probably not be a break for lunch, so don’t plan on being able to go out and grab food.

There will probably be between 8 and 10 rounds of Swiss-- to learn more about this tournament format and how this is decided, go to our Swiss technical article here. That means that if Round 1 began at 9:30am, then the day will probably end between 4:30 and 7:30pm, if not later due to slight delays.

At the end of all of the Swiss rounds, if you did qualify to the next day of the competition, you’ll want to follow the judges’ instructions closely. When the judges give you the go-ahead, you can unlock your battle box. Then, figure out where competitors are supposed to be the next day.

If you didn’t qualify, that’s the end of your run in the main tournament, but you can still play in the Open on the next day, which awards Championship Points for the next year– see the Spectating section.

Going on Stream

One or two highlight matches (usually of players with 0 or 1 losses) will be selected per round for a stream (if there is one). If your match is selected to go on stream, judges will instruct you on what to do, and you should follow their directions.

Dropping

If you for whatever reason decide to finish the tournament early-- maybe you need to drop for a personal reason, or you aren’t having fun anymore-- don’t just walk off! Check with the judge’s table to get a drop slip. This is a piece of paper that you sign to let the tournament staff know that you'll be dropping. If you earned Championship Points, you can still get them if you drop.

Saturday (Day 2)

The competition in Day 2 of Worlds is especially steep.

Check-In 2

If you qualified for day 2, you’ll have to check in again. You can change your team between Day 1 and Day 2 of Worlds if you so choose.

Your record will not carry over from the previous day of the competition, if you did play.

Worlds players will play several rounds of Swiss (between 5 and 7).

All players with 2 losses or greater will advance to an asymmetrical Top Cut bracket. 

The Tournament (Top Cut rounds)

At this point, only a few players will remain in the tournament. If you’re spectating at this point, feel free to skip ahead to the spectator section.

Top Cut players should show up at the time that they’re asked to and follow all directions given by the judges. This might involve a little bit of sitting around. Also, most matches will be streamed or on a side television.

At this point, losing a best of 3 means that a player is eliminated from the tournament. Play will continue until only 2 players remain.

Top Cut players should check with the judges once they’re out of the tournament for prizes and to collect contact info to get set up with the cash prize payment system.  

Sunday (Day 3)

The finals are very exciting and are worth watching. If you’ve been knocked out of the tournament, you’ll want to come to the venue early to watch the VGC finals for the Juniors, Seniors, and Masters divisions (maybe around 12-- even earlier if you’d like to watch TCG). If you’re in the finals yourself, by this point the judges will have told you what to do.

VGC Masters are the last finals.

Closing Ceremony

Immediately after the finals, there is a closing ceremony where they celebrate the winners. An executive from the Pokémon company will personally hand a trophy to each player. Then, the Worlds location for the next year will be announced, and with that, the tournament will conclude.

For spectators or players who took an early exit from the tournament, there are still plenty of fun things to do at the tournament. You’re free to come and go from the tournament venue-- if you know people playing, they’ll likely be very grateful if you deliver them food. 

The Open

There is a tournament that starts on Saturday after Worlds that awards Championship Points towards the next season, called the Open (named after the Worlds city, so Nashville Open, London Open, etc). It awards the same amount of Championship Points as a Regional. This is open to all players that are not registered for Day 2 of Worlds and has a small fee for entry. It does not award prize money, but does award trading card packs. 

Watching Games

There will be at least one stream setup for you to watch that should have a VGC battle going with commentary. Furthermore, there will be multiple televisions around the competition area that are broadcasting games with chairs. Do not look over players’ shoulders to watch games-- this can get you in trouble with a judge. More and more players will come to watch the games as the tournament continues and more players are eliminated.

Worlds Store

There is a store selling official merchandise that is themed around the Worlds host city. There are T-shirts, jerseys, plushies, and other exclusive gear that can only be bought at Worlds. There’s also a small selection of non-exclusive merchandise (plushies, charms, et cetera). Popular items sell out fast, so if attending the store is important to you, you’ll want to line up as soon as it opens. The line can get long (sometimes several hours), so plan accordingly.

Side tournaments

There are often small side tournaments that award prize wall points, which you can exchange at the prize wall for Pokémon-themed merchandise (e.g. cards, plush, et cetera). This area should be clearly marked.

Classic game setups

In recent years, there have been setups of classic Pokémon games such as Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon Snap, and Pokémon Colosseum. Grab some friends and play some party minigames!

Creative corner

For young ones, there’s usually an art station with crayons and blank sheets where they can draw Pokémon. 

Wrapping Up

Worlds is an incredible experience that usually involves a brand-new city with tons to do, top-level competition, and a lot of Pokémon. Enjoy it!