| Event | 2026 Cape Town Special Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  Cape Town, South Africa |
| Date | 29 March 2026 |
| Attendance | 12 MA + 1 SR + 0 JR |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set F |
| Format | 4 Swiss rounds + asymmetrical top 2 cut Open team lists |
| Organizer | Unplug Yourself & Luckshack Plumstead |
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 | 4-0 |  | Hermann Krumrey (Hermann) | 2026 Worlds 350 CP |       |  | |
| 2 | 3-1 | | Chad Hull (Chaddyboy) | 325 CP |      | | |
| 3 | 3-1 |  | Michał Chyra (QrdeMac) | 300 CP |     | | |
| 4 | 3-1 |  | Sara Spiller (Taiga) | 300 CP |    | | |
| 5 | 3-1 |  | Tomás Barreto (Tom) | – |     | |
Swiss rounds
Check here to see the seeds for top cut from the Swiss standings!
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Top 1
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | EVs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2-2 | | John T. | 2026 Worlds 350 CP |   | |
Junior Division
No Junior Division players attended this tournament.
Streaming
This event is unfortunately not streamed.
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in the following location:
Blaauwberg Beach Hotel
106 Beach Blvd, Bloubergstrand
Cape Town, 7441, South Africa
Check-in can be done early on Sunday 29 March from 08:00 SAST.
Players must be in the venue by 29 March at 09:30 SAST (07:30 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts thereafter with the Swiss rounds and the Top Cut: everything will be played on the same day.
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 and could receive a number of Pokémon TCG booster packs depending on final attendance. In this Special Championships, the organizer can add some other prizes of their own.
| 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 |
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 2026 season in the Middle East & South Africa circuit.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set F, 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 Durban SC, played with the VGC Regulation Set I in May 2025. The finals saw South African player Mihir Ramsunder defeat 2025 Johannesburg SC finalist 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 R250 (+ R14.09 tax), and they are open since the announcement of the tournament. There are a combined 180 spots for all three games (VGC, TCG and GO).
Team lists must be registered by emailing them to spe2026ct@gmail.com one day before the event, by 28 March at 09:00 SAST (07:00 UTC).
