Pokemon Champions Twitch Rivals Tournament: Start Time, Format, Prize Pool, and How to Watch

Pokémon Champions (Image: Nintendo)

Pokémon Champions is set to host its first official tournament through Twitch Rivals on April 29, 2025, featuring 16 content creators competing for a $50,000 prize pool.

Where and When to Watch

The tournament goes live on April 29, and here is a breakdown of the start times across different regions:

• Los Angeles (PT): April 29, 2:00 PM

• New York (ET): April 29, 5:00 PM

• London (BST): April 29, 10:00 PM

• Berlin (CEST): April 29, 11:00 PM

• Riyadh (AST): April 30, 12:00 AM (midnight)

• New Delhi (IST): April 30, 2:30 AM

• Beijing (CST): April 30, 5:00 AM

• Tokyo (JST): April 30, 6:00 AM

The entire event will be streamed live on the official TwitchRivals Twitch channel. Commentary duties will be handled by Adam Save, Aaron "Cybertron" Zheng, and Sierra Dawn on the main broadcast.

The Participating Streamers

According to the official event listing, 16 content creators will be competing. The lineup features a solid mix of big names and rising talents:

• shxtou

• EsfandTV

• JonSandman

• Dekkster

• chrismelberger

• AxialMatt

• Risshella

• DataDave

• partyarlie

• MeesterKeem

• MomoMisfortune

• prncessdiana

• AshSaidHi

• GlitchxCity

• sunnie

• Kwikpanik

Popular VTuber shxtou (1.4M followers) brings one of the largest fanbases to the event.

Tournament Format

As per the official rules, the tournament is structured in two phases.

The first phase is a group stage. The 16 players are divided into four groups of four. Each group plays a full round robin, with all matches being best-of-one. Once every match is done, all participants advance to the next stage. Tiebreakers are settled first by head-to-head results and then by remaining in-game time if three players are tied.

The second phase is a single-elimination bracket. All matches remain best-of-one except for the grand final, which is a best-of-three. Every match in both phases uses Doubles Battle format under Regulation Set M-A.

A few key rules are worth noting. Chat will be set to Emote mode during all battles. Players must submit their Pokémon roster before 1:00 PM PT on the day of the event, and the list will be made public 30 minutes before competition begins. No two Pokémon on the same team can share a species, and no two Pokémon can hold the same item.

Prize Pool Distribution

The $50,000 prize pool will be split among all 16 participants, as per the official breakdown:

• 1st place: $3,500

• 2nd place: $3,400

• 3rd place: $3,350

• 4th place: $3,250

• 5th to 6th place: $3,150 each

• 7th to 8th place: $3,100 each

• 9th to 12th place: $3,050 each

• 13th to 16th place: $2,950 each.

Pokémon Champions is still finding its footing as a new title, and this Twitch Rivals event is a solid way to put it in front of a larger audience.