Tournaments
The Tournament is a live event on a single-elimination bracket, world cup style. The administration creates a tournament with a set date, you sign up, and at start time the draw builds the bracket. From there the matches run back to back, in an event that lasts around 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Some tournaments come with a note from the organiser: the theme of the edition, a house rule, a warning. The card in the list shows the start of that text, and the tournament screen shows all of it, right above the sign-up button. Worth reading before you pay the fee.
Format
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Bracket | 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 players, single elimination |
| Rounds | 3 in a bracket of 8 (quarterfinals, semis and final), one more each time the bracket doubles: 7 in a bracket of 128 |
| Default pace | 5 minutes to prepare + 2 minutes of battle per round |
| Team | 6 pokémon: up to 3 on the front line and 3 in the back |
| Sign-up | free, gold or Sapphire, depending on the tournament |
| Slots | limited to the bracket size |
If sign-ups do not fill the bracket, some drawn players advance automatically in round one. Withdrawing during the sign-up window refunds the fee. If the tournament is cancelled, every fee comes back.
Front line and back line
The Tournament's combat twist is the two-line formation:
- The up to 3 in front soak all the damage: they are the only possible targets while any of them stands.
- The up to 3 in the back stay protected until the whole front line falls. Only then can they be hit.
- Everyone attacks, including the back line.
Building both lines well is the tournament's tactical call: tanks in front, damage in the back. At least 1 pokémon on the front line is required.
The team secret
You can see who your opponent is from the draw onward, but never their team before the match. You can change your own team as often as you like during preparation; what counts is the team saved at the moment the match happens.
Replays of past rounds are public. Scouting how your opponent played earlier rounds, and changing your team because of it, is part of the game.
The match
Matches use the same battle style as the Arena: at the scheduled time the result is worked out by pitting the two teams against each other, and the stored replay is exactly that fight. Talents and Premium of both trainers count, on both sides.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Victory | knock out all 6 on the other side |
| Time runs out | the side that kept more HP (as % of the team total) wins |
| Exact HP tie | the better position in the bracket draw advances |
| Absent (no active account) | the present player advances by walkover |
If you never built a team, you enter with your Arena defense team and, failing that, with your hunting team.
Prizes
Each tournament sets its prizes by placement: champion, runner-up, semifinalists and so on. They can include gold, items, Sapphire, skins (pokemon or trainer) and a title for the champion.
- Gold and items arrive through the gift mail: you can claim them even if you were offline when the tournament ended.
- Sapphire goes straight to your balance, with a statement entry.
- Skins go straight to your wardrobe, with a bell notice. They can even be skins that are not for sale in the shop.
- The champion makes the global headline, gets the title on their profile and enters the all-time champions ranking (in the Tournament's History tab and on the Rankings screen).
Quick tips
- It is a live event: open the Tournament tab and stay there, the timer shows how long until each match.
- Use the 5 preparation minutes to watch your next opponent's replay and adjust your lines.
- An incomplete team is allowed, but 6 pokémon hit harder than 4.