This is the first of two tryouts that will select a total of 4 players to join Team Philippines at the 2026 World Cup of Pokémon VGC, hosted by Victory Road. The second tryout is here.

DETAILS

Prizes:

• The Top 2 players (both finalists) of this tournament are invited to join Team Philippines for the 2026 edition of the Victory Road World Cup of Pokémon VGC.
• Please ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria to join. Players suspected of not being eligible will be removed from the registration list.
• No monetary prizes promised.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Players may apply to join Team Philippines provided they fit at least one of the following criteria:

• Were born in the Philippines and/or hold Filipino citizenship (Filipino citizens living outside the Philippines are welcome).
• Are currently living in the Philippines (foreigners with permanent residence in the Philippines).
• Both player’s parents/tutors were born or hold citizenship rights in the Philippines.

Players may only apply for a team provided they can prove at least one of the above criteria as true. Players eligible for multiple countries are free to choose where to apply, but ultimately may only play for one team in the VRWC.

Once players join a team, they cannot join other teams for the next region-based event hosted by Victory Road. This means that those players who took part in a team in the 2025 World Cup, are tied to them for this edition. This rule gets priority over the regular eligibility criteria shown above.

In case one or more finalists in this tournament are found to not be eligible to join Team Philippines for the Victory Road World Cup of VGC, the highest-ranking player on the PGP VGC Leaderboard that has not already been invited to join will fill that spot on the team.

What: 

• "Team Philippines @ VRWC 2026: Tryouts #1" 
• Online VGC Tournament for Pokémon Champions

Where: 

• Online Tournament via Limitless (Tournament Link)
• Tournament communications will be made via the [PCP] Pokémon Champions Philippines Tournaments Discord server

When: 

• November 15, 2026 (Sunday)
• Check-in begins at 10:00 AM
• Swiss Rounds begin 11:00 AM

Tournament Format:

• VGC Regulation Set M-C Double Battles Rules
• Best-of-3 Swiss Rounds
• Best-of-3 Single Elimination Top Cut

Registration Fee: FREE ENTRY 

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2026 (10:59 AM UTC+8)

FORMAT

The tournament will have two phases: Swiss Rounds and Top Cut

Swiss Rounds Phase

• Starts around 11:00 AM
• Swiss Rounds - players are matched according to their tournament performance.
• If you lose a match in Swiss Rounds, you may continue to play in succeeding rounds.
• The total number of Swiss Rounds will vary according to the total number of Checked-in players. The tournament organizers will announce the final number of Swiss Rounds before the start of the tournament.
• Best-of-3 (First player to win two battles wins the match)
• Maximum Round Duration: 60 minutes per round
• Match Check-in Duration: 10 minutes at the start of every round
• If all matches for the round have concluded, the next round will immediately begin.
• Unfinished games at the end of the round timer will be automatically ruled as a draw.

Top Cut Phase

• Starts after the last Swiss Round
• Single Elimination Bracket - players will be seeded on the bracket according to their performance in the Swiss Rounds phase.
• To be included in the Top Cut Phase, players need to meet a certain minimum number of wins during the Swiss Rounds phase. The tournament organizers will announce the cut-off record during the tournament.
• Best-of-3 (First player to win two battles wins the match)
• Players who lose their match are eliminated from the tournament until one Champion remains

PLATFORM & PROCEDURES

The tournament platform to be used is Limitless, while tournament announcements & communications will be handled via the [PCP] Pokémon Champions Philippines Tournaments Discord server.

You may read the general Limitless Tournament procedures in further detail here: https://docs.limitlesstcg.com/player/procedures.html

TOURNAMENT CHECK-IN

• Please make sure to Check-in to the tournament before the first Swiss Round starts at 11:00 AM. You will see your registered tournament in your Dashboard.

• Failure to check-in to the tournament will result in removal from the tournament.

• The exact start time will be announced by the Tournament Organizers on Discord.

• The Tournament Organizers will announce the number of Swiss Rounds, confirm the tournament schedule, and process the bracket.

ROUND START ANNOUNCEMENT

• A tournament organizer will announce the start time of each round via a Discord announcement channel.
• Be aware that round start times might change during the tournament, please always pay attention to your Dashboard.

MATCH CHECK-IN

• You must perform Match Check-in every round. Make sure to refresh your Dashboard often. Select your active match once the round starts and click the Check-in button to confirm your presence.
• Failure to check-in to your match will result in a round loss.

DURING A MATCH

• Your active match page will be visible on your Dashboard. You will be able to communicate with your opponent during your match.
• Exchange the codes for your Pokémon Champions Private Room using the Match Chat.
• Your opponent's Open Team Sheet (Teamlist) will be visible below the Match Chat. You may view this at anytime during your match.

REPORTING YOUR GAMES

• To report a game, click the Win and Loss buttons according to the results of the match.
• It is recommended for players to screenshot the WIN/LOSS screen on Pokémon Champions after every battle.

CALLING FOR A JUDGE

• In case of disputes or result input errors, click the "Request a Judge" button on the Match Chat and a judge/TO will respond to your concerns.
• If you notice an error on your opponent's teamlist, call for a judge immediately.

DROPPING

• If you do not wish to continue in the tournament, you can choose to drop. You will then not be paired in any of the remaining rounds.
• To drop, go to the tournament's entry in your dashboard, click the red Drop button, and confirm twice.
• This decision is final and irreversible. You will be removed from the tournament if you choose to drop. You will still appear in the standings of the tournament with the amount of points you earned in the rounds you played.

DISCONNECTION POLICY

In case of disconnection, Pokémon Champions will attempt to reconnect the disconnected player to the battle. In some cases, the disconnection will result in the game picking the moves for the disconnected player once the move timer runs out, as the battle continues server-side.

Games that are won or lost due to disconnections are still considered valid games and must be reported as such on the match page.

Extended periods of disconnection or too much idle time will result in a game loss. Refer to the game's WIN/LOSE screen at the end of the battle to confirm the result.

For online tournaments, the players are responsible for their own internet connection quality. No remake or recreation of a game with a disconnection is necessary unless both players experience extended disconnection.

In cases where both players are disconnected from their battle and neither is able to see the WIN/LOSS screen, that battle and its result are voided, and they must start a new battle.

ABOUT TEAM PHILIPPINES IN THE VICTORY ROAD WORLD CUP OF POKÉMON VGC

The World Cup of Pokémon VGC is an annual international VGC competition hosted by the Spain-based VG community Victory Road. Each country assembles a team of players to face off against other countries in a week-long Pokémon VGC tournament on the main series games. The Philippines debuted in the 2021 season of the VR World Cup.

For 2026, players are selected in the following manner:

• Top 6 Players from the PGP PH VGC LEADERBOARD 2026 are directly invited.
• The 2 best-performing players representing the Philippines at the 2026 World Championships are directly invited.
• 2 players will be selected via this tournament (November 15).
• 2 further players will be selected via another tournament (November 21).

In any exceptional case where any invited player is later found to be ineligible to join or refuses their invite, we will pass down their invite to the next highest-ranking player on the leaderboard. A total of 12 players will comprise Team Philippines.

Team Philippines is managed by Enrico Ryan Comentan, Ryan Pareja, and Arbin Tumaneng.