| Event | 2026 Melbourne Regional Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  Melbourne, VIC, Australia |
| Date | 23–24 May 2026 |
| Capacity | 330 MA + 60 SR + 30 JR |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set I |
| Format | 2-phase Swiss rounds + asymmetrical top cut Open team lists |
| Organizer | ESL Australia |
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 A$50 for Masters players and A$40 for Senior and Junior players, and they open on 25 March at 7 pm AEDT (08:00 UTC). Refunds are partially available up until one week before the event. There are 330 spots for Masters players (down from the originally announced 420 spots) for Masters players, 60 for Senior players and 30 for Junior players.
- A new wave of sign-ups was later announced to open on 9 April at 7 pm AEST (09:00 UTC).
- A new wave of sign-ups was later announced to open on 7 May at 7 pm AEST (09:00 UTC).
If the player cap is not reached, sign-ups close 3 days before the event starts, on 20 May.
For registered players, team lists must be submitted 3 hours before the event starts, by 23 May at 5:30 am AEST (22 May at 19:30 UTC).
Spectator passes are A$25 and can be purchased here.
Streaming
The event is expected to be broadcast live in OceaniaVGC’s Twitch channel. Check further info soon!
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held at the Bays 18-20 of the following location:
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
1 Convention Centre Pl
South Wharf VIC 3006, Australia
Badges can be picked up in advance on Friday 22 May from 1 pm to 8 pm AEST, or early on Saturday from 8 am.
Players must be in the venue by 23 May at 8:30 am AEST (22 May at 22:30 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts thereafter with the Swiss rounds. Seniors and Juniors start 30 minutes later.
Players still in the run on Day 2 must be in the venue by 24 May at 8:30 am AEST (23 May at 22:30 UTC) for the team checks. The next Swiss rounds and the Top Cut are 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 Melbourne Regional Championships is an official TPCi Regional-level event for Pokémon VGC, TCG and Pokémon GO. It is the fourth Regional-level event and third Regional Championships proper of the 2026 season in the Oceanian circuit.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set I, and it is played using open team lists. This returning ruleset was last used in an Oceanian event in May 2025!
A little bit of history
Australia has been part of the Oceania region of the official TPCi circuit since they were established. It has hosted multiple major events, including Regional Championships, old-era National Championships and all editions of OCIC from 2017 to 2023. Australia’s greatest VGC success is Nicholas Kan‘s 2017 Junior Division World Championship win, while in the Masters Division his brother Christopher Kan won the 2017 North America International Championships and Sam Pandelis reached that same year the finals at the 2017 World Championships. Additionally, Team Australia reached the finals of the 2025 World Cup!
The most recent tournament held in Australia was the 2026 Sydney Regional, played with the VGC Regulation Set F in February 2026. The finals saw Australian player Drew Bliss defeat 2024 Worlds quarterfinalist Wang Yuxiang to win his first Regional Championship title!
The last time there was an event in Victoria, and coincidentally the last time there was a Regulation Set I event in Australia, was the 2025 Melbourne Regional, played in May 2025. The finals saw Japanese-Australian player Masayoshi Kuroo defeat 2025 Singapore PBL Champion Jude Lee to win his first Regional Championship title!
