PokeBeach’s December 2018 PTCGO Tournament, Sponsored by TCGplayer.com!

Ho ho ho! Welcome to PokeBeach’s December 2018 PTCGO Tournament! It’s our last tournament of the year, so let’s have a good time!

Registration is free and the prizes are real, shipped directly to you by TCGPlayer.com (there’s absolutely no catch), but premium members get larger prizes!

These prizes come courtesy of TCGplayer.com in partnership with PokeBeach! Be sure to check them out for the best prices on Pokemon cards!

Prizes

The Top 32 players will also win Prize Wall points, which you can save or exchange for additional products on TCGplayer! This means you’ll get even more booster packs and products!

• 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

(For international winners, TCGplayer reserves the right to substitute prizes for equally valued prizes, gift cards, or store credit based on the player’s location.) (If you sign up as a premium member, you must remain one for the full duration of the tournament to receive the extra prizes. Otherwise, you will receive the regular amount. Also, if you sign up for this tournament and play at least one round, you cannot request a subscription refund.) (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.)

Tournament Details

• Registration is open until this Friday, November 30th
• Player limit: 96 players, first come, first served. Premium members, as well as those on last month’s overflow list, have priority registration and are guaranteed a spot in the tournament. (If you were on the overflow list, mention this when you sign up.)
• All matches must be conducted on Pokémon TCG Online (PTCGO). You can download the software from Pokemon.com
• The tournament format is as follows:
  • Standard format (Sun and Moon through Lost Thunder). Any notable promos that are or are not legal for play will be noted on this bullet point. If you don’t know, ask.
  • Seven rounds of best-of-three Swiss, followed by a single-elimination Top Cut. This means you play every round, win or lose, and you are paired against players with a similar record.
  • All players ending round seven with at least 16 match points (a 5-1-1 record) will be in Top Cut. If more than 8 players qualify, those with the lowest scores and resistance (as determined by Challonge’s Buchholz calculations) will play a pre-top-8 round of single elimination. If fewer than 8 players have a sufficient winning record, the next highest-resistance player(s) with 15 points will be included.
  • The length for each round is four days (96 hours).
  • Intentional draws are allowed.
  • You must use the exact same deck list for all rounds, just like in a real tournament.
• PokeMedic is the Tournament Organizer (TO) for this event. If you have any tournament-related queries, feel free to send him a PM.
• Deck lists must be turned in to PokeMedic before the end of round one. Failure to do so will result in a warning and a round loss.
• You can only participate in this tournament if you’re in a North American time zone or can commit to its schedule. Don’t sign up if you don’t think you’ll be able to complete your matches.

Tournament Timetable

Below is the timetable for the tournament. Barring circumstances beyond our control, such as PTCGO going down for an extended period of time, this schedule is set in stone. Do not expect delays in advancing the tournament.

• Registration: Wednesday 11/28/18 to Friday 11/30/18
• Round 1: Saturday 12/1/18 to Tuesday 12/4/18
• Turn in your deck list to PokeMedic by: Tuesday 12/4/18
• Round 2: Wednesday 12/5/18 to Saturday 12/8/18
• Round 3: Sunday 12/9/18 to Wednesday 12/12/18
• Round 4: Thursday 12/13/18 to Sunday 12/16/18
• Round 5: Monday 12/17/18 to Thursday 12/20/18
• Round 6: Friday 12/21/18 to Monday 12/24/18
• Round 7: Tuesday 12/25/18 to Friday 12/28/18
• Pre-top 8 tiebreaker round (if needed): Saturday 12/29/18 to Tuesday 1/1/19*
• Top 8: Within 3 days of the tiebreaker round completing*
• Top 4: Within 3 days of Top 8 completing*
• Finals: Within 3 days of Top 4 completing*

*Top 4 matches and the finals may be completed as soon as the previous top cut matches are reported.

This information will also be posted in the pairings thread at the start of the first round.

Each round ends exactly at 11:59 PM PDT. Any results not posted by that time are void unless an exception has been given by the TO.

Pairings Thread, Round Procedures, Contacting Opponent

• Pairings Thread: All information, including pairings, the timetable for the tournament, and how to properly submit your deck list, will be posted in the pairings thread, which is located in PokeBeach’s PTCG Competitive Play forum. Remember to bookmark and subscribe to that thread (as seen on the right) 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 checking the thread regularly. The timetable for the tournament is available to you, so please plan accordingly and make sure you check the thread.
• All players with a 5-1-1 record or better will make top cut, regardless of resistance: If this results in a larger top cut than 8 players, the lower resistance players will have a round of single elimination prior to the start of the true top 8.
• Contacting your opponent: Each round, an image showing the round’s pairings will be added to the pairings thread. Find your PokeBeach username on this list and immediately contact your opponent via private message (PM, aka Conversations) and arrange a time to battle. 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. It takes less than ten minutes to log into the forums, check the pairings, and contact your opponent; failing to contact your opponent within a reasonable time can negatively affect you if an activity win is warranted. Both of you must confirm a specific time on a specific day. A confirmation with less than six hours left before playtime will not be enough to let you claim a late-to-scheduled-match win (but if your opponent confirmed earlier than that, they still can).
• Trouble scheduling matches:
  • If 24 hours pass without a reply from your opponent (whether it is the initial contact or not), add PokeMedic to your conversation by selecting “Invite More” underneath the conversation participants. (This option will not appear if you did not start the conversation.) He will monitor the conversation to ensure an effort to complete the match is being made. If you can’t add him to the conversation because you didn’t start it, take screenshots of the conversation and send them in a separate PM as attachments. The TO must be informed of any issues before the round ends.
  • If your opponent still has not responded within 48 hours of your last message, you may either ask to take the win for the round or play the match out as normal. If you do play the match, however, you must accept the result. Note that wins taken in this manner are given out by the TO at their discretion and their decision is final in all cases. If you don’t want to risk a tie for activity, contact your opponent early. The calendar is posted above, so you have no excuse not to know when each round starts.
• Trouble completing matches:
  • If your opponent is more than 15 minutes late to a scheduled and confirmed match, you may choose to take the win for the round. (Add PokeMedic to your conversation or screenshot it to verify.) Otherwise, you may forgive your opponent’s transgression and play the match out as scheduled. Rescheduling within this 15-minute window is acceptable and is not grounds for an instant win.
  • If a match is not reported or completed, a winner will be decided based on activity. If the TO feels that both players made an effort in good faith to schedule a time, then a tie will be granted. If the TO feels that neither player put in a reasonable effort, both players will receive a warning in addition to a tie for the round. Ties are awarded at the TO’s sole discretion and the TO’s decision is final in all cases.
• Reporting matches: Post your results in this thread. Your report must include who won and the score. If the score is missing, both players will get a warning and the score will default to 2-0. Either player may post the results of the match. Any result not posted by the deadline is void. If your match will go past deadline, PM the TO to explain and you will receive a 15-minute extension.
• Recording matches: Streaming or otherwise recording your tournament matches is allowed only with your opponent’s permission.

Penalties and Dropping

Warnings are handed out for misconduct, such as missing your match or failing to submit your list on time. You will be dropped for getting two warnings in one tournament. Game losses and round losses may also be handed out for certain offenses, as well as bans. Below are some, but not all, examples of offenses and their corresponding penalties:

• Disconnection during a game: Game loss
• Failure to submit an approved list on time: Round loss (even if you won) and a warning; dropped if not approved by the end of round 2
• Inability to receive private messages: Round loss and a warning
• Cheating or stalling: Permanent ban from PokeBeach tournaments
• Requesting a concession: This is not acceptable under any circumstances. Penalties for violating this rule could go as high as a disqualification from the tournament AND a ban for multiple months, depending on the TO’s discretion
• Bans: Players can be banned from participating in two ways:
  • Get two warnings in the same tournament. If dropped in this way, you will be banned from competing in the next two tournaments (premium members excluded). A player may be banned for an extended period of time, or possibly permanently, for accumulating too many bans. Any banned player can have their ban cut in half by making 50 quality non-tournament posts on the forums during the first month following the month they were banned.
  • Failing to post three times outside the tournament thread over the course of the month. Anyone who falls into this category, or members who the TO believes are trying to cheat the system, will not have their signups honored (premium members excluded). This ban is not kept as a part of a player’s permanent record and, if banned because of this, you may freely sign up for next month’s tournament.
• Dropping: If you would like to drop from the tournament, simply PM PokeMedic or post in the tournament thread stating your intent to do so. If you drop from a tournament this way, you will not suffer any penalty. However, if you continually sign up for tournaments only to drop them, you may be penalized.

A PokeBeach Premium Membership is More than Just Articles!

A PokeBeach premium membership grants you…

• Full access to PokeBeach’s premium articles (at least fourteen new articles are published every month from the game’s top players).
• The ability to submit your deck lists to our writers for advice and consult them for metagame and deck discussions.
• More than double your prize earnings in our monthly tournaments.
• Priority registration in our monthly tournaments.
• Bonus prizes in our monthly tournaments, including promo products such as EX and GX boxes and tins, plus bonus booster pack wins for playing with unusual decks.

Now’s the time to join the most rewarding Pokemon TCG article program out there from the Pokemon TCG’s most dedicated website!

Registering for the Tournament

By registering for this tournament, you agree that you have read this post and you agree to follow PokeBeach’s rules. To register, answer these questions in a post below. Registrations submitted outside of this thread will not be honored.

• Are you a PokeBeach premium member?
• What is your PTCGO screen name (the name you battle with, not the name you log in with)?
• What time zone do you live in? (If you don’t know what time zone you live in, use a World Clock to find out.)
• Did you play in last month’s tournament?
• If allowed to play, do you promise to make at least three non-tournament forum posts before 12 AM PDT 12/27/18? (We want to see you around the community!)

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.

Thank you, and don’t forget to shop at TCGplayer.com for the best prices on Pokemon cards!