Worlds Invite Structure and Grinders Information Released

The Worlds invite structure as well as information concerning the Grinders have been announced on Pokemon.com. Of note is that the Grinders will be in the Single Elimination format – best-of-three, in other words. If you battle your opponent and win two out of the three matches, you will proceed to the next round. If you lose to your opponent, you are out of the tournament altogether. The top eight players from each age division will then move on to play in Worlds on Saturday, August 13th. Also of note is that new player ID’s will not be given out at the Grinders – you must obtain one beforehand at a premiere event or at a Pokemon League if you do not already have one.

The Single Elimination format sounds like a much better plan for Grinders. In previous years, if you lost two rounds (playing one game per round), you were not going to make it into Worlds anyways. In having to win two out of three games against each opponent per round, your opponent is less likely to beat you because of sheer luck – you have a better chance of proving yourself since you have two chances to win against him or her. So not only does this make for fairer rounds, but it also makes the tournament run faster (since half the people will be dropped each round).