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[[File:Pokémon Players Cup logo.png|thumb|250px|Logo]]
The '''Pokémon Players Cup''' events were a series of online-exclusive tournaments held by the [[Play! Pokémon]] organized play division of [[The Pokémon Company International]], their presence being correlated with the cancellation of in-person events during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It hosted tournaments for {{g|Sword and Shield}}, the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]] (through [[Pokémon TCG Online]]), and [[Pokken Tournament DX]].

Players were required to register online before the qualification date (except for invitational tournaments) and have accounts on the third-party apps Discord and Battlefy. Aside from qualifiers, the events were mainly set in two stages: a double-elimination bracket, broken down by the rating zones, and the top finisher's bracket. Its tournaments were solely held in the Masters Division due to third-party apps not supporting accounts for younger age divisions<ref>[https://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/pokemon-players-cup/frequently-asked-questions Pokémon Players Cup Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)]</ref>.

The Players Cup were prerecorded and broadcasted through the official Pokémon [https://www.youtube.com/user/pokemon/ YouTube] and [http://www.twitch.tv/pokemon Twitch] channels, featuring casters from other Play! Pokémon events.

Up to Players Cup III, prizes included a Travel Award for a future International Championships of the player's choosing to the Pokkén Champion and Top 4 players in the TCG and VGC; in Players Cup IV, top players were instead given money based on their standings. Special deck boxes and card sleeves for Pokémon TCG Online based on the events were also awarded to TCG players who made to the Region Qualifiers and, starting in Players Cup III, to players from any competition in the Region Qualifiers as long they have logged into TCGO at least once prior to the event. These cosmetic items were tradeable and later migrated into [[Pokémon TCG Live]].

==Events==

{| class="roundtable" style="background: #{{water color}}; border: 3px solid #{{water color dark}}"
! Event
! Dates
! Games
! Phases
|-
| Pokémon Players Cup
| May-August 2020
| TCG, VGC, Pokkén
|
* [[List of Online Competitions (Generation VIII)#2020 International Challenge May|2020 International Challenge May]] (VGC only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* TCGO June 2020 Leaderboard (TCG only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* Pokémon Players Cup Kickoff Invitational (invitational only, to win a spot in the Finals)
* Pokémon Players Cup Regional Online Qualifier (based on rating zones, to qualify for the Finals)
* Pokémon Players Cup Finals
|-
| Pokémon Players Cup II
| September-December 2020
| TCG, VGC
|
* Pokémon Players Cup II Qualifier (VGC only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* TCGO October 2020 Leaderboard (TCG only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* Pokémon Players Cup Regional Online Qualifier (based on rating zones, to qualify for the Finals)
* Pokémon Players Cup Finals
|-
| Pokémon Players Cup III
| January-April 2021
| TCG, VGC, Pokkén
|
* Pokémon Players Cup III Qualifier (VGC only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* TCGO February 2021 Leaderboard (TCG only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* Pokémon Players Cup Regional Online Qualifier (based on rating zones, to qualify for the Finals)
* Pokémon Players Cup Finals
|-
| Pokémon Players Cup IV
| April-July 2021
| TCG, VGC, Pokkén
|
* Pokémon Players Cup IV Qualifier (VGC only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* TCGO May 2021 Leaderboard (TCG only, to qualify for the Regional Online Qualifier)
* Pokémon Players Cup Regional Online Qualifier (based on rating zones, to qualify for the Finals)
* Pokémon Players Cup Finals
|-
|}

==Rating zones==
* North America: Canada and United States of America (including Puerto Rico)
* Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom
* Latin America (TCG and VGC only): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay
* Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
As Oceania's rating zone only comprised two countries, fewer slots were available for the regional qualifiers and Finals overall.

==Video Game Championship==
The [[core series]] tournaments used their VGC rules at the time and featured an open qualifier stage, where players competed to maximize their placement during 3 days for the regional qualifier, where then they would participate of double-elimination bracket battles according to their rating zone. The Global Finals were a new double-elimination bracket with 16 players based on region qualifiers and, during the first event, the winner of the invitational tournament. Players could submit a new team list during the Finals.

===Champions===

{| class="roundtable" style="margin: auto; text-align: center; background: #{{water color}}; border: 3px solid #{{water color dark}}" cellpadding="5px"
! style="background: #{{water color light}}" | Event
! style="background: #DAA520" | 1st
! style="background: #C0C0C0" | 2nd
! style="background: #C96000" | 3rd
|-
| Player's Cup
| (North America) Santino Tarquinio
| (North America) Jiseok Lee
| (Europe) Nico Davide Cognetta
|-
| Player's Cup II
| [[File:United States Flag.png|20px|United States]] Wolfe Glick
| [[File:Italy Flag.png|20px|Italy]] Davide Carrer
| [[File:Peru Flag.png|20px|Peru]] Jean Paul Lopez Buiza
|-
| Player's Cup III
| —
| [[File:Italy Flag.png|20px|Italy]] Leonardo Bonanomi
| [[File:Australia Flag.png|20px|Australia]] Yoav Reuven
|-
| Player's Cup IV
| [[File:Peru Flag.png|20px|Peru]] Renzo Navarro
| [[File:Italy Flag.png|20px|Italy]] Leonardo Bonanomi
| [[File:Germany Flag.png|20px|Germany]] Fevzi Özkan
|-
|}

==Trading Card Game Championship==
The TCG Championship tournaments used their {{TCG|Standard format}} rules at the time and featured an open qualifier stage, where players competed to maximize their Standard Format Tournament Rep (earned by the final standing of TCGO tournaments) of a specific month for the regional qualifier, where then they would participate of double-elimination bracket battles according to their rating zone. The Global Finals were a new double-elimination bracket with 16 players based on region qualifiers and, during the first event, the winner of the invitational tournament. Players could submit a new decklist during the Finals.

Starting with Players Cup II, players would be given 50 Tournament Keys (a new currency for Players Cup) prior to the start of the event and, during the qualifier period, Standard format tournaments would only require these Tournament Keys to join their queue.

The First Players Cup was the only event to use different formats during its run, with the {{TCG|2019-20 Standard format}} on most of its phases and then the {{TCG|2020-21 Standard format}} at the Finals.

===Champions===

{| class="roundtable" style="margin: auto; text-align: center; background: #{{water color}}; border: 3px solid #{{water color dark}}" cellpadding="5px"
! style="background: #{{water color light}}" | Event
! style="background: #DAA520" | 1st
! style="background: #C0C0C0" | 2nd
! style="background: #C96000" | 3rd
|-
| Player's Cup
| (Oceania) Natalie Millar
| (Oceania) Matthew Burris
| (Latin America) Victor Freitas
|-
| Player's Cup II
| [[File:Canada Flag.png|20px|Canada]] Zach Lesage
| [[File:Australia Flag.png|20px|Australia]] Brent Tonisson
| [[File:Canada Flag.png|20px|Canada]] Hugo Laperriere
|-
| Player's Cup III
| [[File:United States Flag.png|20px|United States]] Azul C. Garcia Griego
| [[File:Australia Flag.png|20px|Australia]] David Daritan
| [[File:Australia Flag.png|20px|Australia]] Jeremy Lim
|-
| Player's Cup IV
| [[File:United States Flag.png|20px|United States]] Alex Schemanske
| [[File:Brazil Flag.png|20px|Brazil]] Bruno Sermann
| [[File:Brazil Flag.png|20px|Brazil]] João Pedro Medeiros Zambrano
|-
|}

==Pokkén Tournament==
Pokkén tournaments used best-of-three matches in the Basic Battle 1v1 Format, featuring a regional qualifier stage with double-elimination bracket battles according to their rating zone during three weekends. The Global Finals were a new double-elimination bracket with 8 players based on region qualifiers and, during the first event, the winner of the invitational tournament.

===Champions===
{| class="roundtable" style="margin: auto; text-align: center; background: #{{water color}}; border: 3px solid #{{water color dark}}" cellpadding="5px"
! style="background: #{{water color light}}" | Event
! style="background: #DAA520" | 1st
! style="background: #C0C0C0" | 2nd
! style="background: #C96000" | 3rd
|-
| Player's Cup
| (North America) Shadowcat
| (North America) Jukem
| (North America) Deity Light
|-
| Player's Cup III
| (North America) Jukem
| (North America) Shadowcat
| (North America) Allsiter
|-
| Player's Cup IV
| [[File:Canada Flag.png|20px|Canada]] Wise
| [[File:United States Flag.png|20px|United States]] TEC
| [[File:United States Flag.png|20px|United States]] Shadowcat
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[The Play! Pokémon Podcast]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{-}}
{{DoubleProjectTag|TCG|Games|the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]] and Video Game Championship Tournaments.}}

[[Category:Video game tournaments]]
[[Category:TCG tournaments]]