Pokémon TCG World Championships set to take place in the UK, for the first time ever
COVID-19 policy in effect.
The official Pokémon Trading Card Game Championships 2022 will take place in the UK.
In an announcement from The Pokémon Company, it was revealed that the upcoming Pokémon World Championships – which include the world championships for the trading card game, alongside various Pokémon video games – will be taking place outside of the US and Canada for the very first time since the tournament began in 2004.
The venue for the Pokémon World Championships 2022 will be the ExCel center in London. Included alongside the announcement was a link to the COVID-19 policy for the upcoming event, which will require contestants have proof of vaccination as well as “acceptable face masks” that must be worn throughout the event, besides designated areas for consuming food and drink. During play, all contestants must sanitise their hands before facing new opponents and cannot perform the traditional handshake before each match. All players will need to adhere to social distancing rules during the tournament.
This year will be the first time that the Pokémon World Championships have taken place since 2019, with 2020 and 2021’s events being cancelled due to safety issues around the outbreak of COVID-19. The Pokémon World Championships 2022 will take place after various regional and international championships, some of which are set to run over this weekend and others happening from next month. As with the Pokémon World Championships, all players in local and international championships will need to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines.
The Pokémon World Championships sees the champions from local and international championships competing against one another in order to be awarded the title of World Champion in their respective fields. Besides the Pokémon Trading Card Game, players will also be competing in tournaments for the Pokémon Sword & Shield video games, as well as fighting game Pokkén Tournament DX, the recent MOBA title Pokémon UNITE and the mobile title Pokémon Go.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has two players attempting to best their opponent using their deck of cards. The beginning of the game sees players playing a Pokémon card into their active slot, whilst putting any others of their choice from their hand onto their bench. Players then take turns to play other Pokémon cards – including stronger evolutions – as well as the energy cards they need to power their respective Pokémon’s abilities. A Pokémon can attack an opponent’s active Pokémon, as well as any Pokémon cards on their bench. Players win the game if they’re able to successfully defeat six of their opponent’s Pokémon or leave their opponent with no active Pokémon as well as any on their bench to replace it.
The Pokémon World Championships will be held from August 18th to 21st.