New Location for U.S. Nationals Next Year?

There was a rumor flying around today about the future of Nationals at the Origins convention. Of course, it is just a rumor and is not confirmed until Pokemon USA announces it, though from what I heard I am sure it could be true.

Apparently, Origins completely messed up the event tickets they were giving out for this year’s Nationals. An event ticket guarantees you a spot in the tournament, though each age group has a max player cap, making spots finite (512 players for Masters, 256 for Juniors and Seniors). The Origins staff gave out event tickets incorrectly, mixing the tickets among the different age groups and destroying the point of having max caps in the process. As a result of this, Pokemon Organized Play was forced to make Nationals an open event, allowing any number of people to enter.

The rumor going around today was that Origins would be moved to the Gencon convention in Indianapolis, Indiana next year because of what happened with the event tickets at Origins this year. Considering that Pokemon USA has held Pokemon events at both California’s Gencon and India’s Gencon in the past, the possibility of moving to that convention is not too farfetched. Pokemon USA probably has a relationship with the convention’s company that would make moving the tournament probable.

Again, this is not confirmed. To be safe, however, I would hold off on pre-ordering any Ohio plane tickets or Origin badges until the tournament’s location is officially announced.