| Event | 2025 Durban Special Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  uMhlanga, KZN, South Africa |
| Date | 25 May 2025 |
| Attendance | 13 players (MA) |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2025 Season – VGC Regulation Set I |
| Format | 4 Swiss rounds + asymmetrical top cut Open team lists |
| Organizer | Unplug Yourself |
Check the organizer’s website here for further info!
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | EVs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-1 | | Mihir Ramsunder (Mihir) | 2025 Worlds 350 CP |       |  | |
| 2 | 3-1 |  | Alessio Ferrara (Alessio) | 325 CP |      | | |
| 3 | 4-0 |  | Peng Chongjun (伊藤峻峻) | 300 CP |       | | |
| 4 | 2-2* | | Lavin Mohan (Mohan) | 300 CP | | | |
| 5 | 3-1 |  | Patrick Cheng (Patricia) | – |     | | |
| 6 | 3-1 | | Wian Wessels (KingWessels) | – |    | |
Swiss rounds
Check here to see the seeds for top cut from the Swiss standings!
* This tournament was played using mixed age divisions. A Senior player was also 3-1, thus the 6th placed Masters player was qualified for the asymmetrical top 2 even though their record was 2-2.
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | EVs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2-2 | | Sara Spiller (Taiga) | – |   | ||
| 8 | 2-2 | | Nico Beets (GroenKobra) | – |    |
Streaming
This event is unfortunately not streamed.
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in the following location:
L’Aperitivo Venue
Shop 6/7, The Auroras, 9 Aurora Drive
uMhlanga Rocks, 4320, South Africa
Check-in can be done early on Sunday 25 May from 08:30 SAST.
Players must be in the venue by 25 May at 09:30 SAST (07:30 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts at 10:00 SAST (08:00 UTC) with the Swiss rounds, and the top cut will be played thereafter on the same day.
Prizes
This event is part of the 2025 official TPCi circuit and thus it rewards Championship Points (CPs).
Check out the organizer’s website for information about participation goodies.
Additionally, the best-placed players will receive the following CPs depending on final attendance:
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2025 World Championships 350 CP | 0 |
| Finalist | 325 CP | 4 |
| Semifinalists | 300 CP | 8 |
| 5th to 8th | 280 CP | 17 |
| 9th to 16th | 160 CP | 33 |
| 17th to 32nd | 125 CP | 65 |
| 33rd to 64th | 100 CP | 129 |
| 65th to 128th | 80 CP | 257 |
| 129th to 256th | 60 CP | 513 |
| 257th to 512th | 40 CP | 1025 |
| 513th to 1024th | 20 CP | 2049 |
| Players per age division | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placement | <33 | 33-64 | 65-128 | 129-256 | 257-512 | 513-1024 | 1025-2048 | 2049+ |
| Champion | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 |
| Finalist | 72 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 |
| Semifinalists | 36 | 72 | 72 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 |
| 5th to 8th | 18 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 108 | 108 | 108 | 108 |
| 9th to 16th | 9 | 18 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 108 |
| 17th to 32nd | 18 | 18 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | ||
| 33rd to 64th | 9 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | |||
| 65th to 128th | 18 | 18 | 36 | 36 | ||||
| 129th to 256th | 9 | 18 | 18 | |||||
| 257th to 512th | 9 | |||||||
Overview
The Durban Special Championships is an official TPCi Regional-level event for Pokémon VGC, TCG and Pokémon GO. It is the second and last Special Championship of the 2025 season in the Middle East & South Africa circuit.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set I, and it is played using open team lists. It is the first major event in the Middle East & South Africa region to use this ruleset.
A little bit of history
South Africa has been part of the Middle East & South Africa region of the official TPCi circuit for many years. It has hosted multiple major events, including Specials, Regionals and old-era National Championships. South Africa’s greatest VGC successes are the National Championship titles won by Gavin Jones in 2014, Johannes Botma in 2015 and Dale Schwikkard in 2018.
The most recent tournament held in South Africa was the 2025 Johannesburg Special, played with the VGC Regulation Set G in April 2025. The finals saw South African Jiven Reddy defeat Italian Alessio Ferrara to win his first major title!
Sign-up instructions
Sign-ups for the event are done through the Quicket platform, and you will first need to have a Play! Pokémon Player ID.
Sign-ups are R150 (+ R15.95 tax), and they are open since the announcement of the tournament. There are 100 spots for all age divisions.
Once a ticket has been purchased, you need to email info@unplugyourself.co.za to obtain a unique event code in order to complete registration.
