Pokemon Reveals New 2022 Championship Series Details
Pokemon has announced that points earned during the 2020 season will once again transfer into the 2022 season. Pokemon recently added Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Malta, and Uruguay to the list of countries permitted to hold sanctioned casual events like League, Prerelease, and non-Championship Point tournaments. This list was previously occupied by only Australia and New Zealand. There has not yet been any word about the return of competitive events, though an article on Pokemon.com mentions a 2022 North American Championships, with no specific timeframe mentioned, and a European Championships planned for April 2022.
When events do resume, Pokemon will require that all players, audience, and staff attending events of 300 or more people be vaccinated. Attendees will be required to provide proof of full vaccination, with the final dose of the vaccine having been administered at least two weeks prior to the event.
For all events, all attendees will be required to wear face coverings and eating and drinking will not be permitted in the venue (except where there is a clearly designated food area separate from the event). Players will be required to sanitize their hands when switching opponents and will skip the start-of-match handshake. Each match will also be required to be three or more feet away from other matches and spectators.
Pokemon states that further details concerning the 2022 Championship Series will be revealed soon.
The full text of the official press release follows below.
Bellevue, WA—October 5, 2021—Today, The Pokémon Company International shared more details about the 2022 Play! Pokémon Championship Series. The Play! Pokémon Championship Series brings competitors together from around the world in a series of Regional, International, and Special events to compete for prizes and, ultimately, the title of Pokémon World Champion. In the 2022 Pokémon Championship Series, Trainers from around the world will compete in the Pokémon TCG, the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games, the Pokkén Tournament DX video game, and—for the first time— Pokémon GO, for millions in prizes and travel awards.
For the 2022 season, some players will qualify for new age divisions. All players who earned points in the 2020 season, which was canceled in March 2020 after nine months of play, will have their points transferred to the 2022 season. More information about Play! Pokémon age divisions and Championship Points can be found at this link. More details about the 2022 Play! Pokémon season will be announced soon.
The health and safety of the competitive play communities continue to be the most important aspects of resuming live Play! Pokémon events. The situation is being continually monitored, and the timing for the commencement of in-person Play! Pokémon events will be determined by the health mandates, guidelines, and recommendations provided by appropriate government agencies. Once in-person events resume, all competitors, vendors, staff, and spectators must comply with The Pokémon Company International’s COVID-19 policy1 to ensure the health and safety of all attendees. More information about this policy can be found here.2
Pokémon GO Championship Series
At the 2019 Pokémon World Championships, fans witnessed the inaugural Pokémon GO Invitational. Now, in the very first Pokémon GO Championship Series, Trainers around the globe will have the opportunity to battle against the best and earn an invitation to the 2022 Pokémon World Championships. Organized in partnership with Niantic, this official Pokémon GO circuit will commence in 2022. During the first year of play, Pokémon GO will be featured at select events, including Regional and International Championships. Top Pokémon GO players at these events will win an invitation to the 2022 Pokémon World Championships. These Pokémon GO events will operate Senior and Master age divisions. More information about event schedules, tournament format, prize money, and more will be announced soon on the Play! Pokémon website.Trainers can prepare now for the Pokémon GO Championship series. Competitor slots at Play! Pokémon events will be managed via a two-phase registration window. Players who achieve Legend rank in the current Pokémon GO Battle League season will be able to register for events before anyone else in a short early-registration window during the first few months of 2022. Once this window closes, any remaining spots will be made available for players of any rank to register. Trainers will have until November 29, 2021, to compete in the current GO Battle League season. The following Pokémon GO Battle League season will fulfill the same role for a second batch of live events. To register for these events, all Pokémon GO series competitors will need to link their Pokémon GO account to a Pokémon Trainer Club account, have a Play! Pokémon Player ID, and opt in to the Play! Pokémon Terms of Use.
For more information about the Play! Pokémon Events, please visit https://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/.
1 For large championship events (300+ attendees and staff), venues are to institute the following vaccination policy:
- Live attendance at Play! Pokémon events by players, audience, and staff should be restricted to individuals who are vaccinated.
- Attendees must present evidence confirming that at least two weeks before the start date of the event, they received the final dose of a vaccine that is recognized on the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL). Current vaccines on the WHO EUL list (as of June 18, 2021) include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen (J&J), Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
2 General COVID-19 policy:
- All present (players, audience, and staff) are to wear appropriate face coverings at all times.
- No eating or drinking inside the venue is allowed during the event for players and staff, unless there is a clearly separated food service space operated in strict accordance with local health regulations and ordinances. In that case, eating or drinking inside the venue is permissible; however, it must remain clearly separated from the event.
- Players are required to sanitize their hands after switching opponents and to forgo the traditional pregame handshake. Each match is to be at least 3 feet (0.91 m) apart from other matches, spectators, or other places where people may congregate.
- This information is subject to change.