Pokémon GO‘s popularity has brought the game back to center stage as it will now be joining the Pokémon World Championships that take place next month. Players of the smash hit mobile game will be able to compete for their spot in the first-ever Pokémon GO invitational which will begin after the opening ceremonies of the World Championships that start on August 16.
The Invitational will be a way for Pokémon GO’s top players to compete for various prizes and perhaps snag the title of champion. The Pokémon World Championships will also encompass the Pokémon trading card game and other forms of trainer battles, and will offer up prizes such as cash and even scholarships, as well as other prizes, all of which combined will total more than $500,000 in value.
If you’re a fan of Pokémon GO and a current player wishing you could be there to participate, you may just have the opportunity. To help celebrate Pokémon GO’s introduction to the World Championships by way of the invitational, The Pokémon Company is going to select one fan of the game from the US to go the World Championships and battle it out against other trainers.
There is a catch here there, though. The be considered for the last spot in the Pokémon GO Invitational tournament you have to have already secured yourself a spectator pass, which means you will still have to be at the World Championships.
If you fit into that category and you will be attending as a spectator then you can apply to be the last trainer for the tournament but you’ll want to act quickly as you will only have until 5PM Pacific Standard Time on July 31 to send in the application. If you’re lucky enough to be selected, you’ll battle it out against seven other trainers.
Battles will be set in a double elimination round style with each match being the best of five. Trainers will be required to have six different Pokémon ready to choose from for the tournament and you’re only allowed to have one of each type, meaning you can’t have duplicate Pikachus.
The Pokémon World Championships will take place in Washington D.C. in the middle of next month on August 16 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and will continue through the weekend ending on August 18.
People from more than 50 different countries around the globe will be traveling to D.C. for the event, and according to The Pokémon Company the event will play host to more than 7,000 people in all. Some of these will be fans and spectators who want to be there to physically watch the battles unfold between trainers, the remaining attendees will be players from across the different Pokémon gaming mediums, competing against each other for victory.
For players of Pokémon GO, battles between different trainers will be officially streamed via live channels on both Twitch and YouTube, so even if you aren’t able to attend the event but you still want to watch the battles unfold, you’ll have the chance to do so without missing a beat. The streams will be happening on the official Pokémon channels for both of those platforms.