2009 Professor Cups

June 26th, 2009 & July 11th, 2009 — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Pokémon Professor Cup?

The
Pokémon Professor Cup is a non-sanctioned event that is held annually to thank
Professors
for their hard work and dedication to the growth of Pokémon Organized Play. This is a casual and
fun event where those who usually work as judges and organizers have a chance to play instead.

When is the Pokémon Professor Cup?

The
North American Professor Cup will be held at the America’s Center in St. Louis,
Missouri. Registration begins Friday, June 26th, 2009, at 8:00 A.M., and the event will conclude
that evening.

Players not in line for registration by 8:45 A.M. on Friday, June 26th, will be registered
for the event with a first-round loss.

The address of America’s Center:

701 Convention Plaza

St. Louis, MO 63101

United States

Phone: (314) 342-5036

The
European Professor Cup will be held at the
Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel in Brussels,
Belgium. Registration begins Saturday, July 11th, 2009, at 10:00 A.M., and the event will conclude
that evening.

Players not in line for registration by 10:45 A.M. on Saturday, July 11th, will be
registered for the event with a first-round loss.

The address of the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel:

Brussels National Airport

Brussels, 1930

Belgium

Phone: (32) 2 710 8000

What does it cost?

Entry to play in both the North American and European Professor Cups is free.

Who is eligible to play in the Professor Cup?

• To participate in the European or North American event, you must be a Professor who has earned
  at least 75 Professor credits between September 1st, 2008, and June 15th, 2009.
  • Credits earned and redeemed during this time still count toward the 75-credit entry
    requirement.
• Professors may compete in more than one Professor Cup.
• Players who are found in violation of the rules of eligibility are subject to suspension from
  Pokémon Organized Play and loss of prizes.

Review the Rules of Eligibility in our Tournament Rules document
here.

What are the prizes?

Participants receive a commemorative item just for entering, while supplies
last!

1st Place

• A
  Pokémon Professor Cup First-Place Trophy
• A Nintendo Wii Game Console
  
• A Nintendo DS Lite System
  

2nd Place

• A
  Pokémon Professor Cup Second-Place Trophy
• A Nintendo Wii Game Console
  
• A Nintendo DS Lite System

3rd Place

• A
  Pokémon Professor Cup Third-Place Trophy
• A Nintendo Wii Game Console
  
• A Nintendo DS Lite System

4th Place

• A
  Pokémon Professor Cup Fourth-Place Trophy
• A Nintendo Wii Game Console
  
• A Nintendo DS Lite System

5th through 16th Place

• A Nintendo DS Lite System

Is there anything else I need to know?

• See the
  Pokémon
  Tournament
  Rules for more information about what to bring to an event.
• Make sure you arrive on time. If you are late for registration, you will be entered with a
  first-round loss. Seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• To participate in the event, you must be a player in good standing and abide by the
  Pokémon
  Tournament Rules and all other applicable event rules.
• See the
  Legal
  Notices for certain eligibility requirements and other information, including information
  concerning limitations on Pokémon USA, Inc.’s liability.

What is the tournament structure?

The Professor Cup will be run using
Swiss
Pairings. The number of Swiss rounds is dependent upon total attendance, with higher attendance
increasing the number of rounds. Swiss rounds will feature one-game matches and a
20-minute-per-match time limit.

The Swiss rounds of the tournament will be run as
Modified 
Limited.

At the beginning of the event, each player will be assigned a table number, with two players
seated at each table. Each player will receive 8 booster packs, and will perform a Solomon draft
with the other player at the table to determine which cards they will be playing with over the
course of the tournament. Players will have 20 minutes to complete the Solomon draft. Once the
Solomon draft is completed, players will have 20 minutes to build a 40-card deck. Players must
retain all of the cards that they received during the draft throughout the event. Once deck
construction is complete, players will be paired, and Swiss play will begin.

After the final round of Swiss, there will be a
Single
Elimination finals with a maximum top cut of 16 players. Single-elimination rounds will be a
best-of-three game format and will have a 45-minute time limit per match.

Before the first single-elimination round begins, each player in the top cut will be
assigned a table number, with two players seated at each table. Players will remove the basic
Energy cards that they added to their deck at the beginning of the event, and then perform a
Solomon draft with the other player at the table to determine which cards they will be playing with
over the course of the single-elimination rounds. Players will have 20 minutes to complete the
Solomon draft. Once the Solomon draft is completed, players will have 20 minutes to build a 40-card
deck. Once deck construction is complete, players will be paired, and single-elimination play will
begin.

At the beginning of each single-elimination round, the judges will leave 9 Pokémon TCG
booster packs at each table. The winner of the match receives 6 boosters, and the loser receives
the remaining 3 boosters. 

Rules for the Solomon Draft

1. Each player receives the same number of booster packs.


2. Each player opens all of his or her packs, and has about 5 minutes to review
the cards in those packs.


3. Two players shuffle together the contents of the boosters they received,
creating one large stack of cards.


4. The stack of cards is placed face down, and one player flips a coin, with the
winner of the coin flip drafting first.


5. The player who won the coin flip takes the top 4 cards from the stack and
places them face up.

• The player who won the coin flip chooses 1 card and moves it to his or her draft pile.
• The player who lost the coin flip chooses 2 cards and moves them to his or her draft pile.
• The player who won the coin flip takes the last card and moves it to his or her draft
  pile.

6. The player who lost the coin flip takes the top 4 cards from the stack and
places them face up.

• The player who lost the coin flip chooses 1 card and moves it to his or her draft pile.
• The player who won the coin flip chooses 2 cards and moves them to his or her draft pile.
• The player who lost the coin flip takes the last card and moves it to his or her draft
  pile.

7. Players continue to alternate drafting order until the stack of cards has been
depleted.


8. Players construct a 40-card deck, using only the cards they drafted, plus basic
Energy provided by the Tournament Organizer.


9. Players retain all of the cards drafted until the event ends, in case another
round of drafting is necessary.


10. After the event ends, players return any basic Energy cards used at the event,
and keep the cards that they drafted over the course of the event.