 Hello friends, welcome back to another episode here on the channel. I hope you're all doing great and as always for anyone new to the channel, welcome. And my name is Lee, also known as Osiris. Today, we're going to be covering some news in regards to online tournaments, Players Cup, Ham and all things in between. So yesterday, we had a tweet out from the Play Pokémon account, the official Play Pokémon account over on Twitter, announcing that Players Cup 4 would be taking place and taking place very soon. Now, right now, we are still in the midst of Players Cup 3. That tournament is still being played out, so we don't know the results of that. But to have an announcement of Players Cup 4 already is very exciting news. It will be coming up in the very near future. So we'll go over all the details today about how you can participate, all the changes as well that have been made because there are some big updates to the tournament structure in general that I think it warranted a video today just to go through this and try and get some of you that haven't maybe played before a little bit more involved and give you the opportunity to take part in this tournament because it is a lot of fun. It's great to do, especially because of things that are going on in the world right now. We know that real life in events aren't taking place at the moment. Hopefully they will be back soon. But in the meantime, we have got the ability to take part in official tournaments, sanctioned tournaments that makes it very exciting. So as you can see, this tweet was thrown up 18 hours ago yesterday. The Play Pokémon Players Cup 4 is coming. Here we go. While the conclusion of PlayScope 3 still awaits, this addition to our digital tournament series will keep up the momentum. Decide your path, hone your skills and become a champion. So very exciting news. If we head over to the actual pokemon.com website with all the information and all these links, everything that I'm covering today will be down in the description. If you want to take a closer look yourself or just have a bit more in-depth read through things, but we'll try and cover as much as we can throughout this video. So kicks off with the fourth installment of the Pokemon Players Cup is an online tournament taking place from April through late July 2021. So quite a good chunk of time that this tournament will be running. Players from around the world will have the opportunity to prove their metal as Pokemon trainers battle against other trainers around the world to win a share of wait for it. Wait for it. A winner share of $45,000 in prizes. So the big news first is we've got some amazing prize support. The prize support for players Cup one, two and three was good, but there is drawbacks with that top four players only got prizing and they they got an amazing prize. They got a travel award to a future international championship. So an amazing prize, the prospect of traveling places like South America, Australia, US, you know, phenomenal in Europe, obviously for you, you people that aren't in Europe. But I mean, it was really kind of harsh on the players getting top eight, top 16, top 32. And in itself, getting that far in the tournament, even top 32, 64, you know, as a massive accomplishment in such a big tournament throughout the world and to kind of leave empty handed. I'm pleased it's been addressed because it gives players something to kind of work towards. Now, $45,000 is split over three different formats, VG, TCG and Polkin. We'll get into the details as you go through the video and perhaps more importantly, Bragg and Wrights, one of the top Pokemon trainers in the world. And that's what we all want, the Bragg and Wrights, isn't it? That's what it's all about. You know, anyway, we'll move on. The fourth Pokemon players couple feature three separate competitions as you already mentioned, Pokemon TCG, one for the video game players and we'll be bringing back Polkin DX tournament as well, which is amazing news for those Polkin players out there. So three tournaments running consecutively, which is incredible. The video game competition will use Pokemon video game championship rules. So we'll get into that as we go through participation in the Pokemon players Cup four is limited to Masters Division players only. So if you're a junior or you're a senior and you fall into those age categories, unfortunately, you're not going to be able to partake and it is a bit it is it is what it is. It's unfortunate. It's something that's not being able to be, I guess, you know, it's a big tournament and to kind of facilitate every age division across every kind of platform that we've got. It's probably just too big an ask. So it is unfortunate. Hopefully that gets addressed in future, but you know, we're getting improvements each players Cup. So you've got to think in the future that might be a thing that happens. And like I say, real life events are coming back soon. Fingers crossed. So that will be not really an issue, will it? But it is only for Masters at this present time across all these different platforms. And the players Cup four will take place in three phases. So we'll have an open qualifier, a regional qualifier round and a global finals round. Be sure to check out the respected Pokemon TCG event, the video game event and poke and the event pages for information, including scheduling, pricing and more. The players who come out on top of the qualifier stages will be eligible to compete in the final stage of the Pokemon players Cup for in July. So that's when the global finals will be taken place. We'll get into the dates in a minute. Matches will be broadcast on the official Pokemon Twitch and YouTube channels. Very exciting. The streams are always very entertaining. Obviously, we're doing place Cup three right now as it's going on. So it's a very exciting time. And hopefully you guys catching that will enjoy all the action from players Cup three. Make sure to check out the respected Twitch and YouTube channels where they'll be broadcast and obviously they're going to be broadcasting this one, which is it? You know, we want we want that as spectator as we want that to be broadcast so we can see all these top players performing at the peak of their game and battling it out to be that number one trainer. You can learn more about the stream information from the stream information page. And I'm sure that will be updated soon with place Cup four because as I say, place Cup three is still ongoing qualifying for the players Cup for global finals. So here we go. Getting into the meat and bones of it from the players Cup for regional qualifiers. The following number of players will be selected to compete in the finals. So we'll skip trading card and polka and because we're going to concentrate a little bit more on the VG because that's predominantly what we do here on the channel, but they're pretty much the same across the board excluding polka. But like I say, all the information is going to be linked down below. So for the VG side of it, four players from each region will progress to the global finals. You're going to have four players from the US, four players from Europe, four players from Latin America and four players from Oceana. So very exciting. So it'll be 16 players in total going to the grand finals and then we'll get down to the pricing. So pricing for VG first place is going to get $5,000 nice very nice very nice. Then as you can see, it increments down second place 3,500 third place, 2,500 fourth place, 2,000 fifth place and I imagine this is fifth to fifth and sixth get 1,250 seventh eighth get 750 ninth to 13th or ninth 12th get 500 and then 13th I would imagine down to 16th will get $250. So very good. I mean amazing that you're going to be able to get these prizes. The only thing I would like to say is what I would love to see is and I'm sure it can be done. The prizes are amazing. I'm not complaining, but I've had conversation with a very close friend of mine about this, you know, you want a trophy. If you do well, you want a trophy. You want something to be able to keep. I would love to see them integrate a trophy into this, you know, if it's just for top four, just to have a trophy sent to you, you know, take some money off the pricing. I'm sure every player competing would say, take some of my prize money back and give me a trophy as well as the prize money. You know, it's just that commemorative kind of something physical to keep to put on display to show an achievement there. And that's that would be my only thing. This is an amazing step forward. But Pokemon tournaments have always had trophies always had trophies. Um, so, you know, people love putting them on display, putting the bricks on display, putting the nice trophies on display. That would be something personally I would like to see brought in anyway. They're the pricing so eligible players who qualify for the regional qualifiers for the Pokemon TCC of video game competition and also have a Pokemon TCC online account will receive a special in-game deck box and card sleeves. So there's, there's, it looks like we're getting freebies. I don't know, does it? Players must have logged into their Pokemon TCC online account with participating Pokemon Trainer Club account at least once prior to the start of the regional qualifiers in order to receive these items. They will not be rector, rector, uh, react. Um, I can't even read. I can't read. I do have issues. Granted, if players do not complete this step, it's on the page if you want to read it. Okay. Good luck in the Pokemon players. So it looks like eligible players who qualify in the region finals for Pokemon TCC video game competition or global finals for Pokemon DX and also have a Pokemon online account will receive a special in-game deck box. So all everyone that qualifies for the, um, for the regional qualifiers, excluding Pokemon day, Pokemon DX get a regional deck box. So make sure that you've got your, your details updated on the Pokemon, uh, your account page. Right. Now let's get over to meeting bones of this for the video game because that's what we're going to be concentrating on today. Uh, this is the VG page again. It'll be linked down in the description below. Master's division Pokemon trainers competing in the fourth Pokemon players cup for Pokemon sword and Pokemon shield will battle through several tournament phases, battles in each phase will adhere to current Pokemon world championship, uh, rules. So going into the qualifiers will be in series eight because the qualifiers are going to run from I think the ninth of April like it states here till the 11th of April. So that is still going to be series eight one restricted Pokemon current rule set right now. Then we're going to be moving into series nine, which from all accounts I understand it's going to be reverting back to series seven rules, but let's not make assumptions until we've got a fully confirmed announcement on what will be taking place for players cup. You would imagine it'll be series seven for the regional qualifiers and global finals, but we don't know. We don't know until there's that confirmation, but they are going to follow the current video game championship rules. So that's that's the confirmation. That's confirmation that that's what they'll be doing, but we haven't got the confirmation of what those rules will be just yet. In the first phase, players will compete to maximize their placement in the players cup qualifier. So that is going to be an online event like an international challenge, which will be run over a weekend, you know, so run from Friday to a Sunday evening. You're going to have 15 battles per day and you're going to be able to try and get as high rank as possible. Normally something like 1700 is pretty safe. If you can rank up to that pretty safe and then you can stop and you can be pretty sure and known that you've qualified in your region. That may vary, of course. Don't take that as verbatim. So which will take place from Friday, April 9th through to Sunday, April 11th. The top players by rating zone after removing ineligible players will advance to be able to register for the Pokemon players cup regional qualifiers. Players must have opted into the player Pokemon terms of use and have their player ID. Players will also need to link their Nintendo account to their Pokemon Trainer Club account before the competition is eligible. So this is the biggest takeaway from this video that you will have. If you're going to listen to me about anything before entering this tournament, please let it be this one thing on this page. It's in the description. I'll link the page to go and link your accounts as well before you register for the tournament. What you need to do is make sure that your play account is linked to your Nintendo account and you can do this through this link here. It will take you to another page and it will take you step by step through how to do this and make sure because if your accounts aren't linked, then you will be ineligible player. Doesn't matter how high you rank, you'll be taken out and you won't progress in the tournament. So please remember to do this before you register for the tournament, okay? So the first phase is obviously the qualifying stage and the qualifying players from each region. North America going to have 256 players, Europe 256, Latin America 256 and Oceana 128. So in June and July, these players will compete in a regional qualifier. So the players that qualify from this online tournament here, the top 256 from each region excluding Oceana 128 will then progress in June and July to complete in their respected regional qualifiers within their region ratings zone. For new players, CUP will use Swiss pairings for the first weekend of regional qualifiers. Now, this is the other big bit of news. Swiss rounds are being introduced to the tournament where it was just a loser's and winner's bracket. So if you lost twice, that was it. At least with Swiss, it's kind of gone along the same lines but the pairing system is a lot better. It's a better system in general. So really welcomed and I know the community on the whole is really welcoming this. So massive step forward, big props to play Pokemon for introducing this. So Swiss parents will be the first weekend of the regional qualifiers. Players will be required to register their team online before the first regional qualifier date and will need an account with both Discord and Battlefy to participate. So make sure you do get those things. Sure, that information will be reiterated if you do end up qualifying. Matches will be best of three. Excellent news because the qualifiers, unfortunately, are still going to be best of one. That online tournament to qualify is going to be best of one. Matches will be best of three, like we've just said. Specific details on rules and report times will be available closer to the date. So that information will be released closer to the time and then advancing players will be contacted by email with the next step and registration information once results are finalized. It is essential that the email address on your Pokemon Trainer Club account is accurate and up to date in order to receive this communication. It kind of goes without saying, right? But just check it. Make sure if you're competing in this, make sure that your email's up to date because if they're trying to get in contact with you about playing in the tournament and your email's wrong, obviously, you're not going to get it. You're not going to be able to compete and you're probably going to kick off on social media like many players do about not getting things right. It's your responsibility. Make sure that your information's right on the Play Pokemon page. Just make sure just check it. It's worth doing, right? If you require assistance updating your email, please reach out to customer support. So you've got help if you need it as well. But just make sure that that is up to date. Like I say, it's kind of self-explanatory, right? Pokemon Players Cup regional qualifier schedule. So it will be the 19th of June. Up to nine rounds of Swiss will be played in the region. Each region, the top 16 players in each region will then advance to the corresponding region finals, which will be held on July 3rd. Region finals will be a new seeded double elimination bracket based on previous weekend's final Swiss standings. Play occurs until four players remain in each region, which is very exciting, you know? So we're going to have that stage, the region finals, all going to be seeded double elimination bracket. And then the four top players remaining in that event will then move on to the global finals. The players handbook and email communication will provide the specific play time for each region, which will be announced closer to the date of the event, which will be closer to June and July. I'm guessing players will use the same team for both phases of regional qualifiers. So when you're locking a team for your region qualifier, potentially if you progress to the regional finals, you're not going to be able to change team until the global finals. Moving on to the global finals. So 16 players in total, four players from each region, top-performing players, all progressing to this stage of the tournament. Global finals will be a new double elimination bracket. The players will be able to submit a new team list, like we just mentioned. The global finals will be played on the 17th of July, times to be determined and sent to finalists by email. So that will be confirmed near the time. And eligibility is the final thing that we'll look at. Final players will not be eligible to participate in regional qualifiers. So it will be basically players born in these years, obviously junior and senior divisions. Just make sure you check that out. Players who reside outside countries not supported by following player Pokemon rating zones. So outside of North America, US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Oceania will not be able to compete, which is a little bit of a shame, but like I said, it is what it is the minute. Players who have not opted into the player Pokemon terms of use, make sure you do that. Mention it earlier on the video. Just make sure you do all the steps before you sign up and before you take part in the tournament and players who are unable to abide by the BGC tournament rules, which is again, self-explanatory. No one needs me to go over that, you know, just play by the rules or you're not going to take part. So that's pretty much the bulk of the information. Now, once you've adhered to the terms and conditions, once you've linked your Nintendo account to your Trainer Club account, you're all set to kind of jump into game, okay? And then once you're in game, turn the lights on. What you want to do is come over to the versus option here on your menu screen in your copy of Pokemon Sword or Shield. Go on to the Battle Stadium and you'll be taken on to the kind of the main menu screen here and this is where you want to be going in game to register for the qualifying phases, which are going to be on the 9th of April to the 11th. So you want to come down. Online Tour competitions is the one that you want. And here it will say I've registered my card already. So participating in official competition is the one option that you need. It will say accepting entries right now. You want to click into that and then it'll take you through all the steps that you need to do to enter yourself into the qualifying stages. And you can see here I'm already entered Pokemon Players Cup 4 qualifier, which will be taking place from the 9th of April to the 12th online, but it is the 11th. You're going to get 15 games per day on the Friday, 15 on the Saturday, 15 on the Sunday. If you can't play them all on one day, they can roll into the Sunday and you can play 45 games like some mad person on the last day trying to qualify. Like I said, you don't need to complete all the games. Just get to a certain rank and where you feel safe enough to think I've qualified and then you can give up and just sit back, relax and wait for your email. So that's what you need to do in game. Hopefully all the stuff that I've kind of covered is really helpful. If you've got any questions, reach out in the comment section below. Let me know because I'm more than happy to kind of help players out getting things sorted, but I've went through each step specifically in this video to make sure that you know what to do in what order. So don't register your online game for the qualifier until you've done all the steps with your club account. Terms of use and things like that prior to doing that. Okay, so because if you do it afterwards, then there'll be complications. You're going to have to raise tickets. You might not be an eligible player even if you get the rating that you want. But very exciting. The Swiss rounds being introduced is a huge step forward. The prizing is a huge step forward. It's going to be very exciting. Obviously, it's really nice to have the continuation of players Cup 4 as well. Hopefully you found this useful. If you're taking part as well, let me know down in the comment section below. I would love to hear if you're planning on taking part in players Cup 4. Even if you're not in VG, if you're going TCG or poking, going to be very exciting whatever you do. But the fun continues with players Cup. So I hope you're all looking forward to it. Hope you found this video useful and I'm going to wrap it up there, friends. So thank you as always for tuning in. Have a great rest of your day and I'll catch you all for another episode very soon. So until then, take care and bye bye.