| Event | 2025-26 Philippines Master Ball League VGC Division |
|---|---|
| Location |  Pasay, Philippines |
| Date | 25–26 April 2026 |
| Capacity | 128 players |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set I |
| Format | Swiss rounds + single-elimination Top 16 All matches are Bo3 |
| Organizer | TPC (Philippines) |
Check the organizer’s website here for further info!
Table of Contents
Sign-up instructions
This tournament is open only to residents of the Philippines. All age divisions play together in this tournament.
Pre-registration is open from 12 March at 10 am PST (02:00 UTC) until 9 April at 12 pm PST (04:00 UTC). There are 128 spots; if the number of pre-registrations exceed capacity, a lottery determines who can attend.
The registration confirmation will be notified to the players on 10 April at 5 pm PST (09:00 UTC).
For registered players, team lists must be submitted 5 days before the event starts, by 20 April at 12 pm PST (04:00 UTC).
Streaming
It is still unknown whether this event will be streamed.
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held at the Function Room 5 of the following location:
SMX Convention Center Manila
Mall of Asia Complex, Seashell Ln
Pasay City, 1300 Metro Manila, Philippines
Check-in can be done early on Saturday 25 April from 9 am to 10 am PST.
Players must be in the venue by 25 April at 10 am PST (02:00 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts thereafter, at 10:45 am PST.
Players qualified to Top 16 must be in the venue by 26 April at 10 am PST (02:00 UTC). The top cut rounds start at 10:30 am PST.
Prizes
This event is part of the 2026 official TPC circuit in the Philippines.
Participating players will play for invites to the 2026 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award Champion Trophy |
| Finalist | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award Finalist Trophy |
| Semifinalists | Invite to the 2026 World Championships Top 4 Trophy |
| 5th to 10th | Invite to the 2026 World Championships |
| Best 4 performing players in the SR or JR divisions | Invite to the 2026 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.
The Master Ball League is the name National Championships take in several territories of Asia. In the Philippines, it was named the Philippines Championships from 2022 to 2024. These were the previous editions:
- 2022, won by Patrick Elegado
- 2023, won by Francis Tai
- 2024, won by Paul Oliver Bautista
- 2025, won by Christian Dave Vista
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set I. It is still unknown whether it will run open or closed team lists.
* This tournament was initially announced to be played with Regulation Set F, but it was later changed to be Regulation Set I.
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 and 2026 Europe International Championships.
The most recent tournament held in the Philippines was the 2025 Philippines Master Ball League, played in Taguig with the VGC Regulation Set G in April 2025. The finals saw 2023 Philippines Championships semifinalist Christian Dave Vista defeat fellow Filipino player Ryan Pareja to win his first National title!
