The 2026 Championship Series appears to be somewhat themed around Mega Evolution and Mega-Evolved Pokémon. This is likely in reference to Mega Evolution returning in the Trading Card Game, as well as its return in Pokémon Legends Z-A and Pokémon Champions.
2026 Local, Regional, Special, and International Championships
The following events taking place throughout the 2026 Championship Series have been announced.
North America
Europe
Latin America
Oceania
It's important to note that this is not every event taking place in the 2026 Championship Series, as many events are still yet to be announced. The official announcement video, as seen below, shows markers on the map pointing to already confirmed locations, such as Seville and Lille, but also an unconfirmed event in France, another in the north of Italy, and a handful of others. These aren't confirmed to be upcoming locations as they could be approximations or simply placeholders. Online events, both Global Challenges and Grand Challenges, are also indirectly confirmed to be returning, but are yet to receive official dates.
As previously announced, the 2026 Championship Series concludes with the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, taking place from the 28th - 30th of August, 2026, in San Francisco, California.
Additionally, local events, known as League Challenge and League Cups, are currently on a break during the run-up to the 2026 Championship Series. Local events for the Trading Card Game (TCG) and Pokémon GO resume from the 1st of July, 2025, and local events for the Video Game Championships (VGC) resume on the 1st of September, 2025.
2026 World Championships Invites
Qualifications for the 2026 Pokémon World Championships are being slightly adjusted as well. Previously, the 75 players with the highest amount of Championship Points in the 'US and Canada' rating zone, the Top 75 in the 'Europe' rating zone, and the Top 50 in the 'Latin America' rating zone would be invited to the World Championships. In the 2026 Championship Series, these numbers have been increased to the Top 80 in the 'US and Canada' and 'Europe' rating zones, and the Top 60 in the 'Latin America' rating zones. The 'Oceania' and 'Middle East and South Africa' rating zones remain unchanged.
TCG & VGC Tournament Structure
Starting with the 2026 Championship Series, if the number of players in any age division exceeds 65, an extra Swiss Round will be played. This helps players with records of X-2 or better in the Swiss Rounds to get higher placements, earning more money and more Championship Points. This change takes effect for TCG and VGC Regional, Special, International, and World Championships. Additionally, the structure for Top Cut has been altered slightly. After Swiss Rounds have concluded, each player whose record is identical to 8th place gets to move on to Top Cut, which is a single-elimination bracket where any loss ends your run in the tournament. Previously, the number of players in Top Cut was capped at 32, but in the 2026 Championship Series, Top Cut will now be capped to only 16 players. Play Pokémon have stated that "tournament results and community feedback pertaining to this change will continue to be closely monitored."
Championship Points Adjustments
Online Global Challenges and Grand Challenges are now set to provide "separate rewards" throughout different rating zones in order to give competitors in smaller rating zones more opportunities to earn Championship Points. Rating zones include 'US and Canada', 'Europe', 'Latin America', 'Oceania', and 'Middle East and South Africa'. The majority of players reside in the 'US and Canada' and 'Europe' rating zones, so these changes to "smaller rating zones" likely apply to the latter three.
Additionally, more Championship Points (CP) will be rewarded to players from 9th to 128th place at in-person Championship events. In the current 2025 Championship Series, there is a major drop-off between the amount of CP rewarded to 8th place and 9th place. A Top 8 finish in a Regional-level event gets you 280 CP, but in comparison, only 160 CP is given out to players in the Top 16. The difference between 8th and 9th place is currently twice the size as the difference between 1st and 8th place.
Regional and Special Championships
International Championships
Ace Trainer Rewards
Having debuted in the 2025 Championship Series, the Ace Trainer Rewards program is set to return as well. Play Pokémon have shared that details on rewards will be "available at a later date," but the eligibility requirements will stay the same — 200 Championship Points for TCG, VGC, and GO players, with UNITE players "on top-placing teams" reaching the distinction of Ace Trainer.
Game-Specific Updates
The end-of-round rule for TCG has been updated. Previously, if time was called in a round, players would then have an additional three turns to conclude the game. If one competitor is ahead with a score of 1-0, they are awarded a win, but if the game score is equal, the game results in a tie. Due to this overtime technically having no time limit, and players "stretch[ing] out their turns" and "significantly extending round times," competitors will now have only a single additional turn to complete the match. Additionally, there is a time limit of 10 minutes for this turn to finish.
Pokémon GO competitors in the 2026 Championship Series will now have an increased chance at earning Travel Awards throughout the series. The number of available Travel Awards has doubled from four to eight, earned by placing high on Pokémon GO's Championship Point leaderboard.
The Pokémon UNITE Championship Series no longer operates with Championship Points, and instead now invites teams and provides Travel Awards through three methods.
Additionally, top teams from each rating zone will now be invited to participate in Regional Leagues, or three eight-team leagues encompassing North America, Europe, and Latin America.
