PokéBeach’s January TCG Cup, Sponsored by TCGPlayer.com!

By: PMJ · Posted Posted onJan 1, 2017 at 6:54 PM · 0 Comments

TCGplayer And PokeBeachWelcome to PokeBeach’s January TCG Cup!

Up to 64 players will duke it out to determine who is currently the best TCG player on PokeBeach!

Best of all, up to four booster boxes will be awarded to this tournament’s top players thanks to TCGplayer.com, your #1 online platform for purchasing Pokemon cards! If you ever need to buy Pokemon cards, you’ll never find better prices than on TCGplayer, so be sure to check them out ASAP!

For all of our tournaments, if you’re a PokeBeach premium member, you’ll win double the amount of booster packs and prizes than normal! A premium membership means you’ll get weekly articles from the game’s top players, one-on-one expert advice, priority registration in our tournaments, product and booster pack giveaways, and increased prize support. If you’re ready, we’d love to have you!

Tournament Info

  • Registration is open until this Thursday, January 5th.
  • We will be accepting up to 64 players on a first-come, first-serve basis. Premium members have priority registration over regular members.
  • All matches must be conducted on Pokémon TCG Online (PTCGO). You can download the software from Pokemon.com.
  • The tournament format is as follows:
    • All decks must follow the Standard format (Primal Clash to Evolutions).
    • This is a Swiss tournament. Everyone plays every round and you are paired against players with a similar record.
      • Cards that become legal after the first day of round 1 are not allowed. Please see this link for Pokemon’s list of Standard-legal cards. (Giratina Promo XY184 will be legal for this tournament.)
    • This tournament will last six rounds.
    • You will have five days to complete each round.
    • Each round is best-of-three games, meaning whoever wins two out of the three games wins the match. Budget 30 minutes to an hour to complete each round. See the round schedule below to make sure you are available to play each round of the tournament.
    • During a match, the loser of the previous game chooses whether they want to go first or second. Communicate with your opponent and let them known which you choose before the coin flip occurs.
    • Intentional draws are allowed. You and your opponent may agree that you want to tie for the round instead of playing it out.
    • You must use the exact same deck list for all rounds, just like in a real tournament.
  • You can only participate in this tournament if you’re in a North American time zone or can commit to its schedule. If you’re in a completely incompatible time zone than most other players, you shouldn’t register, as it’s unlikely you will find time to meet.
  • Your tournament organizer for this event is PMJ. If you have any questions or issues pertaining to rulings, penalties, dropping, pairings, or reporting results, feel free to send him a PM.

Registering in the Tournament

By registering, you agree that you have read and accepted all the conditions in this post and all of PokeBeach’s rules and regulations. To register, copy and paste these questions into your post and answer them:

  • What is your PTCGO screen name?
  • What timezone do you live in? If you do not know your time zone, check out a World Clock such as this one. For example, California’s time zone is “Pacific (GMT/UTC-8).”
  • Is the e-mail address on your PokeBeach account up-to-date?
  • Are you a PokeBeach premium member?

Prior to the end of the first round of the tournament, you must submit your deck list to PMJ via PM. Failure to submit your deck list by the end of the first round will result in a match loss, regardless of the actual outcome of your match. Failure to submit it by the end of the second round will result in you being dropped from the tournament.

Note that PokeBeach reserves the right to deny registration to any player at any time for any reason, and that PokeBeach reserves the right to drop a player from this tournament at any time and for any reason.

Want More Benefits? Upgrade with PokeBeach Premium!

If you like the sound of this tournament already, you’ll love it even more if you sign up for a PokeBeach premium membership!

Premium members receive double the prizes that regular members win for making the top 8! First place receives a whole booster box if you have PokeBeach premium membership! Also, the five premium members who play the most creative decks will be sent a promo box/tin or 5 booster packs by TCGplayer. So even if you don’t make the top 8, stick around, because you may receive prizes for the deck list you played! See the bottom of this news story for a full list of prizes.

All premium members have priority in registration as well. Any premium members who sign up will automatically be in the tournament, even if more than 64 players register!

These benefits are just a portion of all the features included in a PokeBeach premium subscription! If you’re interested, see this page for all the details.

Note that you must be a premium member from the start of round 1 to the end of the tournament to receive double the amount of prizes. Otherwise, you will receive the regular amount.

Note that you cannot request the 30-day PokeBeach premium membership refund if you play in this tournament, even if you drop out. As with all of the conditions in this post, you agree to this by signing up below.

Tournament Timetable

  • Registration: Sunday 1/1/2017 to Thursday 1/5/2017
  • Round 1: Friday 1/6/2017 to Tuesday 1/10/2017
  • Turn in your deck list to PMJ by: Tuesday 1/10/2017
  • Round 2: Wednesday 1/11/2017 to Sunday 1/15/2017
  • Round 3: Monday 1/16/2017 to Friday 1/20/2017
  • Round 4: Saturday 1/21/2017 to Wednesday 1/25/2017
  • Round 5: Thursday 1/26/2017 to Monday 1/30/2017
  • Round 6: Tuesday 1/31/2017 to Sunday 2/5/2017

Match pairings will be posted in this thread on the first day of each round before 3:00 PM ET.

Each round ends exactly at 11:59 PM ET. Your match results must be posted by that time, as explained in this next section.

Round Procedure & Contacting Opponent

  • Pairings Thread: All pairings will be posted in this thread, which is located in PokeBeach’s Monthly TCG Cups forum. Remember to bookmark and subscribe to that thread so you receive e-mail notifications when a new post is made. Failure to receive an e-mail alert, however, will not be taken as an excuse for not manually checking the thread at the start of each round.
  • Contacting your opponent via PM: After the pairings have been posted, it is your immediate duty to contact your opponent via PM. Make sure your account settings let you send and receive PMs, as all communication must be done through PokeBeach PMs. Tell your opponent exactly when you can set aside time to play.
  • Trouble contacting opponent:
    • If your opponent has not sent you a single PM by the end of the second day of the round, it is mandatory that you send a PM to PMJ. Your opponent will then be given a match loss, even if they responded to you after the second day, and even if they have a really good excuse. This is not optional.
    • If you and your opponent can’t agree on a time to play after 48 hours from your first PM, add PMJ to your conversation so we can determine who should be given a match loss for signing up for a tournament they did not have time to play. This is not optional.
    • Those who take more than 24 hours to respond to their opponent’s PMs may be given a match loss for inactivity. Add PMJ to that conversation if this occurs.
  • Trouble completing matches:
    • If your opponent does not show up to your scheduled match or is over 30 minutes late, send a PM to PMJ so they can be given a match loss. This is not optional.
    • If your opponent is disconnected during a game, they will lose that specific game. If the disconnected player manages to re-establish their connection to you within 15 minutes, the match will continue with the game loss. If the match still has games to be played and the disconnected player cannot re-establish their connection, you may choose to reschedule the remaining games or take a win for that match. There are no exceptions.
    • If your matches somehow do not get completed, and you did not alert us that your opponent did not communicate with you, you will both be given a match loss.
  • Reporting Matches: The winner must post in the thread below with who won the match. The winner must report the match results by the end of each round (11:59 PM EST).

Penalties

  • Colluding: Any malicious or unsportsmanlike actions will result in an immediate and permanent ban from all PokeBeach tournaments, as determined by the tournament organizer. If you notice another member cheating, breaking rules, stalling, or doing anything to disrupt this tournament, report it to PMJ immediately. We want to maintain a fair and enjoyable experience for all of our members.
  • Dropping: If you would like to drop from a tournament before the start of a round, simply PM PMJ. If you drop from a tournament this way, you will not suffer any tournament bans. However, if you continually sign up for tournaments only to drop them, we will not allow you to register for future tournaments, as many people would love to be playing in your place.
  • No-Show Penalties: Failure to contact your opponent or show up to your match will result in a match loss, even if you have a really good excuse, as outlined in other sections of this page. If this happens twice during a single tournament, you will be dropped from the event and banned from participating in all PokeBeach activities for three months. (Premium Members excluded.)

Tournament Prizes

Players who earn a top spot in the tournament will receive real booster packs and other prizes! These prizes are provided by TCGplayer in partnership with PokeBeach. Up to four booster boxes will be given out in addition to various promotional products:

  • 1st Place: 18x Packs (If a premium member: Booster Box [36x Packs]) + short interview on the front page
  • 2nd Place: 14x Packs (Premium: 28x Packs)
  • Top 4: 9x Packs each (Premium: 18x Packs)
  • Top 8: 4x Packs each (Premium: 8x Packs)
  • Most-Creative-Deck Prize 1st and 2nd: 1 Promo Box/Tin each (Premium Members Only)
  • Most-Creative-Deck Prize 3rd-5th: 5x Packs each (Premium Members Only)

(For certain international winners, TCGplayer reserves the right to substitute prizes for equally valued prizes or gift cards based on the player’s location.)

The top five premium members who progress the furthest with a deck that is not considered a typical metagame deck are eligible to win additional prizes. The winners will be chosen by PokeBeach’s premium writers.

The Top 32 players will also win Prize Wall points, which you can save or exchange for additional products on TCGplayer!

  • 1st Place: 12 Prize Wall points (If a premium member: 24 points)
  • 2nd Place: 6 points (Premium: 12 points)
  • Top 4: 3 points each (Premium: 6 points)
  • Top 8: 2 points each (Premium: 4 points)
  • Top 32: 1 point each

Top-placing finishers will also earn trophies or medals next to their usernames that are visible on all parts of the website. These denote your accomplishments to other members and visitors:

  • 4th Place: Silver Medal
  • 3rd Place: Gold Medal
  • 2nd Place: Silver Trophy
  • Champion: Gold Trophy

If you battle your way to the top and win a prize, you will be contacted via PM within 24 hours of the tournament’s end so we can arrange to send them to you. You will have 48 hours to provide all the necessary contact information or we will not be able to send them to you. The first-place winner will also be asked for a short interview, which will be posted on the front page. First through 32nd place will receive Prize Wall points from TCGplayer, which will be sent to your PokeBeach account’s e-mail address by TCGplayer.

And don’t forget to check out TCGplayer.com for the best prices on Pokemon cards and all other trading card games!

(Note: The Pokémon Company International is not a sponsor or endorser of PokeBeach’s tournaments, contests, or prizes, nor does the company or its affiliates have any formal association with PokeBeach. Our activities are by fans, for fans, and are not sanctioned or approved by TPCi.)