2026 Philippines Master Ball League

Event2025-26 Philippines Master Ball League VGC Division
LocationPHL Pasay, Philippines
Date25–26 April 2026
Capacity128 players
VideogamePokƩmon Scarlet and PokƩmon Violet
Season2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set I
FormatSwiss rounds + single-elimination Top 16
All matches are Bo3, OTS
OrganizerTPC (Philippines)

Check the organizer’s websiteĀ hereĀ for further info!

Table of Contents

Streaming

The event will be broadcast live on YouTube by TPC in its English-language Asia channel.

  • Day 1 (Swiss rounds): stream starts on 25 April at 02:15 UTC
  • Day 2Ā (Swiss rounds + Top Cut): stream starts on 26 April at 02:00 UTC

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 byĀ 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 theĀ 2026 official TPC circuit in the Philippines.

Participating players will play forĀ invites to the 2026 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards.

PlacementPrize
ChampionInvite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award
Champion Trophy
FinalistInvite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award
Finalist Trophy
SemifinalistsInvite to the 2026 World Championships
Top 4 Trophy
5th to 10thInvite to the 2026 World Championships
Best 4 performing players in the SR or JR divisionsInvite to the 2026 World Championships

Overview

The Philippines Master Ball LeagueĀ 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 ChampionshipsĀ from 2022 to 2024. These were the previous editions:

The ruleset isĀ VGC Regulation Set I, and it is played with open 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!

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 fromĀ 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 lotteryĀ determines who can attend.

The registration confirmation will be notified to the players on 10 April at 5 pm PST (09:00 UTC).Ā 

For registered players, team lists must be submitted 5 days before the event starts, by 20 April at 12 pm PST (04:00 UTC).

Victory Road