| Event | 2024-25 Philippines Master Ball League VG Division |
|---|---|
| Location |  Taguig, Philippines |
| Date | 26–27 April 2025 |
| Attendance | 82 players |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2025 Season – VGC Regulation Set G |
| Format | 6 Swiss rounds + single-elimination Top 16 with a T16 losers round Bo3, Open team lists |
| Organizer | TPC (Philippines) |
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 | 5-1 | | Christian Dave Vista | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |       |  | |
| 2 | 5-1 | | Ryan Pareja | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |     | | |
| 3 | 4-2 | | Giorgio Dela Cuesta | 2025 Worlds |      | | |
| 4 | 4-2 | | Renny Payumo | 2025 Worlds |    | | |
| 5 | 6-0 | | Patrick Jan Cabangin | 2025 Worlds |     | | |
| 6 | 6-0 | | Paul Oliver Bautista | 2025 Worlds |  | | |
| 7 | 5-1 | | Rodrigo Javier | 2025 Worlds |   | | |
| 8 | 4-2 | | Kyle Raymundo | 2025 Worlds |   | | |
| 9 | 5-1 W* | | Rain Hizola | 2025 Worlds |    | | |
| 10 | 5-1 W* | | Billy Cubillan | 2025 Worlds |   | | |
| 11 | 4-2 W* | | Bryce Ong | 2025 Worlds |  | | |
| 12 | 4-2 W* | | Alvin Rambano | 2025 Worlds |   | | |
| 13 | 5-1 L* | | Allen Ocampo | – |    | | |
| 14 | 5-1 L* | | Sylvester Babanto | – |     | | |
| 15 | 4-2 L* | | Rick Singzon | – | | | |
| 16 | 4-2 L* | | Rap Perez | – | | |
* Tiebreaker Top 16 Losers round: Rain defeated Sylvester, Billy defeated Rap, Bryce defeated Rick, Alvin defeated Allen.
The top 16 players at the end of the Swiss rounds advanced to Top Cut!
Streaming
The event was not officially streamed. A grassroots stream in Firaja‘s YouTube channel featured some top cut matches.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 16 | Patrick Jan Cabangin | vs | Rap Perez |  |
| Top 8 | Paul Oliver Bautista | vs | Giorgio Dela Cuesta | |
| Top 4 | Ryan Pareja | vs | Renny Payumo | |
| Finals | Ryan Pareja | vs | Christian Dave Vista | |
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held at the Function Room 1-3 (3rd and 4th Level) of the following location:
SMX Aura
SM Aura Premier 26th Street, Corner McKinley Pkwy
Taguig, 1630 Metro Manila
Check-in can be done early on Saturday 26 April from 10 am PST.
Players must be in the venue by 26 April at 11 am PST (03:00 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts thereafter, at 11:45 am PST.
Players qualified to Top 16 must be in the venue by 27 April at 10 am PST (02:00 UTC). The top cut rounds start at 11:30 am PST. An additional round pairs the losers of the Top 16 round in order to determine the Top 12 players who get a Worlds invite.
Prizes
This event is part of the 2025 official TPC circuit in the Philippines.
Participating players will play for invites to the 2025 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2025 World Championships + Travel Award Champion Trophy |
| Finalist | Invite to the 2025 World Championships + Travel Award Finalist Trophy |
| Semifinalists | Invite to the 2025 World Championships Top 4 Trophy |
| 5th to 12th | Invite to the 2025 World Championships |
Overview
The Philippines Master Ball League is the most important VGC competition for players in the Philippines, where TPC is responsible for the circuit since 2020.
It is the newly introduced National-like successor to the Philippines Championships, previously held from 2022 to 2024:
- 2022, won by Patrick Elegado
- 2023, won by Francis Tai
- 2024, won by Paul Oliver Bautista
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set G, and it is played using open team lists. Contrary to previous tournaments in the Philippines, this time the open team lists do not include the Natures.
A little bit of history
The Philippines has been one of the regions hosting an the official TPC circuit since June 2020, and it was part of the Oceania region of the official TPCI circuit before that. Since the TPC takeover, it has taken part in Asia online tournaments, such as the Asia Players Cup, and has hosted the first-ever live event in 2022, the National Championship. The Philippines’ greatest VGC success is in the hands of American-Filipino Paul Chua, who made it to the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships and won the 2023 Europe International Championships.
The most recent tournament held in the Philippines was the 2025 Philippines Premier Ball League, played in Pasay with the VGC Regulation Set H in October 2024. The finals saw Filipino Rick Singzon defeat 2024 Philippines National quarterfinalist Patrick Jan Cabangin to win his first major title!
The last time a National-like tournament was held in the Philippines was the 2024 Philippines Championships, played in Taguig with the VGC Regulation Set F in May 2024. The finals saw Filipino Paul Oliver Bautista defeat fellow countryman Vincent Ignacio to win his first National title!
Sign-up instructions
This tournament is open only to residents of the Philippines. There are no age divisions for this tournament.
Pre-registration is open from 13 March at 10 am PST (02:00 UTC) until 20 April at 11:59 pm PST (15:59 UTC). There are 144 spots; if the number of pre-registrations exceed capacity, a lottery determines who can attend.
Guaranteed registration and round byes
The Top 4 players at the Philippines Premier Ball League earned a guaranteed registration slot and round byes for this event:
- Rick Singzon, Philippines PBL Champion: byes for rounds 1 to 3
- Patrick Jan Cabangin, Philippines PBL Finalist: byes for rounds 1 and 2
- Ryan Chua, Philippines PBL Top 4: bye for round 1
- Ryan Pareja, Philippines PBL Top 4: bye for round 1
