2017 Series

The 2017 VGC World Championship Series is the first utilising the Pokémon Sun & Moon games. As such, they introduce new rules to match, utilising the Alola Pokédex. It continues with Premier Challenges and Midseason Showdowns, but rather than National Championships, there are instead four big Contintental Championships at the end of the season. The 2017 World Championships were held in Anaheim, California

VGC Rule Set: (From December 1st 2016)

Usable Games Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Moon
Battle Type: Double Battle
Pokémon Restrictions: Alola Pokédex.
Banned Pokémon: Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma, Magearna, Zygarde, Ash-Greninja, Pokémon not captured or hatched in Sun & Moon
Banned Items: Mega Stones
Clauses: No same Pokémon, No same item
Players may only use Pokémon with items or moves obtained in Pokémon Sun & Moon

VGC Winners
Junior: Nicholas Kan (Australia)
Senior: Hong Juyong (South Korea)
Master: Ryota Otsubo (Japan)

TCG Winners
Junior: Tobias Stromdahl (Norway)
Senior: Zachary Bokhari (US )
Master: Diego Cassiraga (Argentina)

Pokkén Tournament
Master: Hisaharu 'Tonosama' Abe

Online Competitions

Throughout the Play! Pokémon series, there were numerous online competitions that will give CP to players if their Play! Pokémon account is linked to their Organised Play ID. The CP is organised to the top 256 players worldwide, regardless of region.

Best Finish Limit: None
Placement 1 2 3-4 5-8 9-16 17-32 33-64 65-128 129-256
CP Prize 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 10 5


Name Date Entry Gift CP Given?
2017 International Challenge - February February 24th 2017 - February 26th 2017 Mawilite & Beedrillite Yes
2017 International Challenge - April April 28th - April 30th 2017 Blazikenite, Sceptilite & Swampertite Yes
2017 International Challenge - May May 26th - May 28th 2017 Abomasite, Manectite, Tyranitarite Yes

Premier Challenges

Premier Challenges are small competitions dotted around the various countries in the world. These competitions typically happen once a month or so depending on the organisers and can provide a small amount of CP which can then be used to help participate in the Worlds Championships.

Standard Premier Challenge
Best Finish Limit: 2 Per Series
Placement 1 2 3-4 5-8 9-16
CP Prize 20 14 10 6 2
Kicker
Min Entry
    8 16 32

Enhanced Premier Challenge (40+ Players)
Best Finish Limit: 2 Per Series
Placement 1 2 3-4 5-8 9-16 17-32 33-64 65-128
CP Prize 20 18 16 14 12 8 4 2
Kicker
Min Entry
        32 64 128 256


Regionals Details

Regional Championships are set up across the world, mostly in North America, to provide small competitions beyond the Premier Challenges to allow for players to earn CP. There are a number of Regional competitions each year and they all follow the standard format. They often have side events for all players.

Best Finish Limit: 4 (Not shared between Midseason Showdowns and Regionals)
Placement 1 2 3-4 5-8 9-16 17-32 33-64 65-128 129-256
Midseason Showdown
CP Prize 50 45 40 35 30 18 12 6 1
Kicker
Min Entry
          64 128 256 512
Regionals
CP Prize 200 160 120 100 80 50 30 20 10
Kicker
Min Entry
      32 64 128 256 512 1024


Name Location Country Date Distribution Pokémon Streamed?
Arizona Regional Championships Phoenix, Arizona United States 1st - 2nd October 2016 None No
Orlando Regional Championships Orlando, Florida United States 15th - 16th October 2016 None No
Philadelphia Regional Championships Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States 5th - 6th November 2016 None No
UK Liverpool Regional Championships Liverpool United Kingdom 5th - 6th November 2016 None No
Dortmund Regional Championships Dortmund Germany 19th November 2016 None No
Fort Wayne Regional Championships Fort Wayne, Indiana United States 27th - 27th November 2016 None No
San Jose Regional Championships San Jose, California United States 17th - 18th December 2016 None No
Texas Regional Championships Dallas, Texas United States 31st December 2016 - 1st January 2017 None No
Leipzig Regional Championships Leipzig Germany 14th - 15th January 2017 None No
Athens Regional Championships Athens, Georgia United States 15th - 16th January 2017 None No
Anaheim Regional Championships Anaheim, California United States 18th - 19th February 2017 None No
Collinsville Regional Championships Collinsville, Illinois United States 4th - 5th March 2017 None No
Sheffield Regional Championships Sheffield United Kingdom 4th - 5th March 2017 None No
Malmo Regional Championships Malmo Sweden 18th - 19th March 2017 None No
Portland Regional Championships Portland, Oregon United States 25th - 26th March 2017 None No
Salt Lake City Regional Championships Salt Lake City, Utah United States 8th - 9th April 2017 None No
Virginia Regional Championships Roanoke, Virginia United States 6th - 7th May 2017 None No
Toronto Regional Championships Toronto Canada 13th - 14th May 2017 None No
Washington Regional Championships Seattle, Washington United States 27th - 28th May 2017 None No
Birmingham Regional Championships Birmingham United Kingdom 3rd - 4th June 2017 None No
Madison Regional Championships Madison, Wisconsin United States 3rd - 4th June 2017 None No

Championship Details

Following the removal of the National Championship Series, four special Championships are to be held. These will get special points akin to that of Nationals and high prize payouts.

Best Finish Limit: 4
Placement 1 2 3-4 5-8 9-16 17-32 33-64 65-128 129-256
CP Prize 500 400 300 240 180 120 80 40 20
Kicker
Min Entry
        4 128 255 512 1024


Name Location Country Date Distribution Pokémon Streamed?
European International Championships London United Kingdom December 9th - 11th 2016 None Yes
Oceania International Championships Melbourne Australia March 10th - 12th 2017 None Yes
Latin American Championships Sao Paulo Brazil April 21st - April 23rd 2017 None Yes
North American Championships Indianapolis, Indiana United States 30th June - 2nd July 2017
Arcanine
Yes

Worlds Details

The World Championships are where the best of the world come to participate and fight it off to become World Champion. Participation in the events is by invitation based on CP.

Name Location Country Date Distribution Pokémon Streamed?
World Championships Anaheim, California United States 18th - 20th August 2017
Exeggutor
Yes