| Event | 2026 Birmingham Regional Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  Marston Green, United Kingdom |
| Date | 24–25 January 2026 |
| Capacity | Undisclosed |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set F |
| Format | 2-phase Swiss rounds + asymmetrical top cut Open team lists |
| Organizer | Fanfinity |
Check the organizer’s website here for further info!
Table of Contents
Sign-up instructions
Sign-ups for the event are done through RK9 Labs platform, and you will first need to set up your RK9 profile and have a Play! Pokémon Player ID.
Sign-ups are £70 for Masters players and £40 for Senior and Junior players, and they open on 26 November at 7 pm GMT (19:00 UTC). Refunds are partially available up until one week before the event.
If the player cap is not reached, sign-ups close 3 days before the event starts, on 21 January.
For registered players, team lists must be submitted 3 hours before the event starts, by 24 January at 5:30 am GMT (05:30 UTC).
Spectator passes are £15 and can be purchased here.
Streaming
The event will broadcast live on Twitch and YouTube by TPCi, with Victory Road is behind the scenes. Check further info soon!
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held at the Halls 9 + 10 of the following location:
National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham
Pendigo Way
Marston Green, B40 1NT, United Kingdom
Badges can be picked up in advance on Friday 23 January from 4 pm to 7 pm GMT, or early on Saturday from 7:30 am GMT.
Players must be in the venue by 24 January at 8:30 am GMT (08:30 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts thereafter with all the Phase 1 Swiss rounds + the first Phase 2 Swiss round. Seniors and Juniors start 30 minutes later.
Players still on the run in Day 2 must be in the venue by 25 January at 8:30 am GMT (08:30 UTC) for the team checks. The next Swiss rounds and the Top Cut will be played thereafter.
Prizes
This event is part of the 2026 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, prize money and Pokémon TCG booster packs depending on final attendance:
| Placement | Championship Points | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2026 World Championships 350 CP | 0 |
| Finalist | 325 CP | 4 |
| Semifinalists | 300 CP | 8 |
| 5th to 8th | 280 CP | 17 |
| 9th to 16th | 200 CP | 33 |
| 17th to 32nd | 160 CP | 65 |
| 33rd to 64th | 120 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 |
| Placement | Junior & Senior | Masters |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | $1,000 USD | $6,000 USD |
| Finalist | $750 USD | $4,000 USD |
| Semifinalists | $500 USD | $2,000 USD |
| 5th to 8th | – | $1,000 USD |
| 9th to 16th | – | $750 USD |
| 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 | 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 | |||||||
If prize money is $5000 or more, it will be given as a choice of scholarship (in all cases) or cash (for minors, as a Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card). For lower prizes, it will be given as cash (for minors, as a Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card).
Overview
The Birmingham Regional Championships is an official TPCi Regional-level event for Pokémon VGC, TCG and Pokémon GO. It is the fifth Regional-level event of the 2026 season in the European circuit.
It is played with VGC Regulation Set F, using open team lists. This returning ruleset was last used in a European tournament in April 2024, and in a United Kingdom Regional-level event in January 2024!
A little bit of history
The United Kingdom has been part of the Europe region of the official TPCi circuit for many years. It has hosted multiple major events, including Regional Championships, old-era National Championships, three editions of the Europe International Championships (EUIC) and even the 2022 World Championships, the first and so far only one to be held in Europe. The United Kingdom’s greatest VGC success was Mark McQuillan‘s 2015 Senior Division World Championship win. Additionally, British players have proven themselves as a major team force and they achieved victory at the 2023 World Cup of Pokémon VGC.
The most recent tournament held in the United Kingdom was the 2025 Europe International Championships (EUIC), hosted in London and played with the VGC Regulation Set G in February 2025. The finals saw 2016 World Champion Wolfe Glick defeat British player Dyl Yeomans to win his second International Championship title!
As for a Regional-level event, the last event held in the United Kingdom was the 2025 Birmingham Regional, played in the VGC Regulation Set G in January 2025. The finals saw Italian player William Bassolino defeat 2022 EUIC finalist Oliver Eskolin to win his first Regional Championship title!
It is a returning ruleset! The last Regulation Set F tournament held in the United Kingdom was the 2024 Europe International Championships (EUIC), hosted in London in April 2024. The finals saw 2018 Worlds semifinalist Nils Dunlop defeat American player Tim Edwards to win his first International Championship title!
