| Schedule | |||
| Swiss Rounds | October 9 | Top Cut | October 16 |
| Virtual player meeting: | 23:00 UTC | Virtual player meeting: | 10:00 UTC |
| Round 1 start: | 23:30 UTC | Round 1 start: | 10:30 UTC |
| Predicted end: | 05:00 UTC | Predicted end: | 14:00 UTC |
Special Rule Alert: Trick or Treat!
The staff will use a randomizer to determine whether each round will be affected by a TRICK or a TREAT.
Trick
TCG: The player whose deck contains the highest count of a certain Pokémon type will get to go first for the first game of the match.
VG: You’ll have to wait and see!
Treat
Randomly selected players will get to compete in a bonus trivia round to earn goodies.
| TCG Swiss Format | |
| Round time: | 60 minutes |
| Match format: | Best of three |
| Deck lists: | Required |
| Deckbuilding Restrictions | |
| Legal sets: | Sword & Shield onwards |
| Legal rarities: | C/UC/R + Black Star promo cards without rarities |
| Maximum quantity of each card: | 2 (excl. basic Energies) |
| Banned cards: |
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| Additional restrictions: | Choose either Ghosts, Zombies, or Spiders when you begin making your deck.
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| VG Swiss Format | |
| Round time: | In-game timer |
| Match format: | Best of three |
| Ruleset: | Ranked Battle Series 9 & Ranked Battle Series 10 |
| Battle format: | Double Battle (4v4) |
| Rental teams: | Permitted; all teams must be available as a rental team code (include code on the team list) |
| Team lists: | Required; open team lists |
| Team Building Restrictions |
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| Permitted Pokémon: (List of all legal Pokémon) | Your team may only contain Pokémon that:
If a Pokémon evolves with other conditions (such as Friendship), but the evolution is triggered via obtaining a level, then it counts for this rule. If a Pokémon evolved via level-up in an earlier game, but was changed in SwSh, only the SwSh method of evolving will be considered. Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist are legal for play despite the above, though they are not required. |
| Example permitted Pokémon: |
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| Example unpermitted Pokémon: |
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| Banned moves: | All status moves with the following exceptions:
This restriction does not apply to Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist. |
| Banned Pokémon |
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| Top Cut Rounds |
Vitals
Date: October 16, 2021
Virtual player meeting: 10 a.m. UTC
Top 26 begins: 10.30 a.m. UTC
Top Cut rounds expected to end by: 2 p.m. UTC
Top 26 – Spell of the Unown
Since we have a special expanded top cut, we have a special top cut round just for the occasion! Spell of the Unown takes the form of an Internet scavenger hunt where teams will race to find the answers to cryptic clues and reveal the solution to the Unown’s puzzle. For this round, players will be divided into teams of 2, and each player may bring a Professor friend from outside the top cut to join them. The 4 teams who manage to solve the puzzle in the quickest time will have both their players advance to the Top 8.
Your Professor friend may continue to join you to help out in each of the remaining top cut rounds.
Top 8 – Tail Quiplash
Our quarterfinal will bring a thematic Pokémon twist to virtual party game favourite Quiplash. Come up with the funniest or most ingenious answers to the questions asked of you on your device and go head-to-head with a fellow top cutter to see whose answer hits the hardest. The more people vote for your answer, the more points you’ll get! We’ll play two games and the 4 highest scoring players will advance to the Top 4.
Top 4 – Poké-Jeopardy
Our semifinal sees the return of the Professor Cup’s own spin on the classic TV game show Jeopardy, where players must battle it out to claim points on a quiz board by answering questions of varying difficulty across several different Pokémon-flavored topics. The 2 highest scoring players will advance to the Final.
The Final – The Triple Trial
As is customary at this point, the Final will bring together different quizzical formats for the players to test their mettle against. This time, the Final features three rounds, each with a different theme – Time, Language, and Music. The players will go head-to-head in separate rooms to see who can accumulate the most points and prove their mastery of Pokémon knowledge in each unique sphere!
Good luck to all Professors competing in the 2021 Fall Professor Cup Top 26! See you in the event Discord server at 10 a.m. UTC!
| Prizes | |
| Champion: |
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| Finalist: |
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| Semifinalist: |
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| Quarterfinalist: |
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| Other prizes: | TBC |