On the first April–weekend, the European Pokémon International Championships 2024 took place in London. MeinMMO author Linda Baumgartl was live on-site and reports from the event.
It is Thursday, April 4th, at the exhibition center ExCeL in London. The first events actually start the next day. But already, fans are everywhere playing cards, trading, and looking forward to a great weekend.
I definitely belong to the Pokémon noobs here. While I enjoyed playing Sword and Shield on the Switch, I never really dove completely into the franchise. Yet the excitement is contagious. So, I can hardly wait until the hall opens its doors the next day.
What an event it was! At the Pokémon International Championships, players from all over the world compete against each other. There are competitions in four different categories:
- Pokémon Trading Card Game
- Pokémon Video Game (Scarlet and Violet)
- Pokémon GO
- Pokémon UNITE
Each season, there are three championships of this kind, one of which takes place in Europe. The European Championship (EUIC) took place this year from April 5th to 7th in London. The climax of the year is the World Championship, to which only the best players are invited.
This year, the World Championship will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii:
Never before was there so much competition
On Friday, April 5th, it officially begins. A brief glance around the hall makes it clear: the competition is huge. Row by row, participants sit at long tables trying to rank in the top positions.
- In total, over 4,500 participants competed that weekend.
- This made the event the largest Pokémon tournament ever.
In addition, there were over 6,000 visitors and 340 so-called Pokémon Professors, voluntary helpers.
What can participants win? Of course, doing well in such a large tournament is not easy, but it is worth it. The prizes include mainly:
- Cash prizes
- Championship Points
- Booster packs
The so-called Championship Points must be collected by participants throughout the season to receive an invitation to the World Championship. While such points can also be earned at smaller competitions, only in limited amounts. For many, the EUIC represented the best opportunity to earn enough points.
Of course, the cash prizes are also attractive. The amount varies widely depending on the category played, age group, and placement. Overall, the prize pool of the EUIC amounted to approximately €140,000. The highest cash prize was $25,000, or about €23,500. Who could ultimately take this grand prize was decided in an epic finale.
The battle against the final boss
On Sunday, the last day of the EUIC, everyone waited eagerly for the final rounds. The best players of the weekend would compete against each other on the big stage once again. One of the most exciting duels was between the finalists of the trading card game in the Masters category.
– Junior: Born in 2005 or later
– Senior: 2001-2004
– Masters: 2000 or earlier
With 2,605 participants, the TCG Masters category was by far the most represented category of the weekend – with the highest prize money to be won. The finals match was anticipated even more intensely, where the crème de la crème of Pokémon trainers faced off. And the matchup was indeed exciting:
- Tord Reklev (Norway) has already won four international championships and is considered one of the best TCG players in the world, even though he has yet to secure the World Champion title.
- Isaiah Bradner (US) has often achieved good placements but has yet to win an International. However, with his great passion, he has already won the hearts of the audience.
Can Isaiah defeat the final boss and finally secure his first title? Or can Tord prove himself once again and become a five-time champion?
Here you can find the complete match:
The tension in the hall is palpable as Isaiah makes the first move. But then it is Tord’s turn to deal the first damage in the game. Throughout the round, Tord was able to expand his advantage and thus confidently wins the first match.
However, since Pokémon competitions are always played in a Best-of-3, not all is lost for Isaiah. In the second match, he actually manages to hold the upper hand for a long time. But then Tord catches up. By the end of the match, both candidates only needed one Prize Card to win; it couldn’t get more exciting.
Then Tord delivers the final blow, achieving the incredible: he becomes the international Pokémon Champion for the fifth time.
Now we can only wait to see if Tord will continue his success at the World Championship in August. We will be there again and report everything important from the event.
Soon, an important award in the gaming industry will also be presented in Germany. With us at MeinMMO, you will find out who is nominated:
DCP 2024: E-Sports player or Twitch streamer – Who will be Player of the Year 2024?
MeinMMO was present at the EUIC as a press representative. The costs for admission, travel, and accommodation were covered by the organizers.
