Pokken Tournament joining competitive Pokemon Championship Series
Today, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company International announced that Pokken Tournament will join the Pokemon Championship Series beginning this spring. For those that are unaware, these tournaments are sanctioned annually by The Pokemon Company International. This year will culminate with the crowning of the Pokken Tournament World Champions in August at the 2016 Pokemon World Championships in San Francisco.
Fans can prepare and even gain entry into the 2016 Pokemon Championship Series is by attending the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competitions hosted by Nintendo at select GameStop locations across the United States on February 27. All winners from the regional tournaments will advance to the finals being held at the Nintendo NY store in New York on March 17. The final two winners of the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competitions will earn travel awards to the 2016 Pokémon US National Championships (July 1-3 in Columbus, Ohio). It’s here that they will battle to advance to the 2016 Pokemon World Championships.
GameStop stores in the following cities will host local qualifiers for the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competition on February 27 from 11 AM to 5:30 PM local time:
· 2201 Preston Road, Plano, TX
· 1841 Chamblee Tucker Road, Chamblee, GA
· 3972 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA
· 8115 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL
· 6451 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
· 242 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA
· 32 E. 14th St. – Union Square, New York, NY
· 3914 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara, CA
Note that registration will begin at each regional location starting at 10 AM local time.
Here’s a rundown as to how the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competitions will play out:
The Pokkén Tournament Early Access Competitions are open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be split into two age brackets: players born in 2001 or later and players born in 2000 or earlier. The winner of each age bracket will then be trained by a professional fighting game player during fun training sessions that will be shared on Nintendo social media channels. Once training is complete, the winner from each city and age bracket and a guest will be flown to the Nintendo NY store on March 17 for the Pokkén Tournament Early Access Competition finals, where they will battle against all other local champions. The winners of the Pokkén Tournament Early Access Competition finals will each win a Wii U system, the Pokkén Tournament game and a travel award to Columbus, Ohio, where they will battle at the 2016 Pokémon US National Championships for the chance to advance to the 2016 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco.
Source: Nintendo PR
