Thank you for your patience as we put together the details for the Square Enix official prize support for this year’s Materia Cup and Local Qualifer events in North America! We will also be sharing details regarding qualification for the North American Championship and World Championship in this post. As always, please understand that this information is tentative and subject to change, but we will provide updates should any changes or updates arise.
The prior post regarding the competitive season schedule announcement here will also be updated to reflect relevant information, so please keep it bookmarked.
Before going into details of prizing, we would like to explain how qualification and invites for the North American Championship and World Championship will work in 2024.
NATIONAL AND WORLDS QUALIFICATION
Qualification for 2024 North American Championship
The North American Championship this year will consist of a maximum of up to 100 players. There are three ways to qualify for this competition, which are listed below.
Local Qualifiers: The top One Player from each of the sixty (60) Local Qualifiers will qualify for the North American Championship for a total of 60 invites.
Materia Cups: The top Four Players from each of the eight (8) Materia Cups will qualify for the North American Championship for a total of 32 invites.
In addition to their invite, the top One Player from each Materia Cup will receive byes for the beginning three-rounds on the first day of the North American Championship, for a maximum total of 8 players that will receive byes. These players will also receive a ‘bye-card’ at the time of their Materia Cup win to be shown at registration at Nationals. More details on this to follow.**
Last Chance Qualifier: The top Four Players from the one (1) Last Chance Qualifier will qualify for the North American Championship for a total of 4 invites. If there are additional no-shows for the North American Championship, the number of invites may increase, but no guarantee is given.
Previous Year Top Players: The 2023 North American Champion and the top Three North American Players from the 2023 World Championship in Tokyo, Japan have been invited to the 2024 North American Championship. These invites are extended to Ryan Chen, Hunter Nance, Will Coghill, and Mike Powell.
As in previous years, if a player qualifies from more than one Local Qualifier or Materia Cup, their invitation to the National Championship will be passed down until it is extended to a player who has not qualified.**
**UPDATE 3/27/2024: Byes received from winning multiple Materia Cups WILL pass down to the next highest ranked player who has not yet received a bye.
**UPDATE 5/10/2024: Update on Bye-cards Status. These cards will no longer be included in the Materia Cup Kits sent to the participating stores. These will now be given out to the respective winners at the North American Championship upon registration check in. Please be sure to confirm with the staff when you check in at the North American Championship if you are to receive a bye-card.
Qualification for 2024 World Championship
The World Championship this year will once again take place in Tokyo, Japan! This year, 12 invites will be extended to the top players from the North American Championship.
The top four (4) players from the North American Championship will receive invites to the World Championship, with airfare and accommodations to be provided by Square Enix for the duration of the competition.
The eight (8) players ranked fifth (5th) through twelfth (12th) will receive invites to the World Championship but must arrange travel and accommodations themselves.
If any player who receives a World Championship invite is unable to attend, their invitation will not be passed down to the next top ranked player who has not received an invitation.
2024 EVENT PRIZING
Matching last year, we will have 4 tiers of Promo cards printed for the competitive season events and we’re happy to show all four to you here!
- Mist Dragon [PR-167/9-068H]
- Rufus [PR-168/20-040L]
- Y’shtola [PR-169/19-124L]
- Terra [PR-170/15-037L]
Next let’s go into detail as to how you can earn these cards!
Local Qualifier Prizing
Entry Gift (Top 16) – Mist Dragon [PR-167/9-068H] (Limited quantity available. If an event has more than 16 players, the card will be distributed to the Top 16 players. [UPDATED 4/23/2024]
Top 8 - Rufus [PR-168/20-040L]
Top 4 – Y’shtola [PR-169/19-124L] and Road to Worlds Card Sleeves
Top 2 – Local Qualifier Playmat
1st Place – Store Championship Trophy & Terra [PR-170/15-037L] & Qualify for North American Championship
As always, stores are encouraged to add entry gifts and additional prize support to their event alongside this prize support.
Materia Cup Prizing
Entry Gift (First 100) – Mist Dragon [PR-167/9-068H] (Limited quantity available. If an event has more than 100 players, the card will be distributed to the first 100 players who register. [UPDATED 4/23/2024]
Top 32 – Rufus [PR-168/20-040L]
Top 16 - Y’shtola [PR-169/19-124L] and Road to Worlds Card Sleeves
Top 8 – Terra [PR-170/15-037L]
Top 4 – Materia Cup Playmat & Qualify for North American Championship
Top 2 – 1 Sealed “Hidden Hope”** Booster Pack Display
1st Place – Full “Hidden Hope”** Foil Set (including Sephiroth [22-032L] Special card), Materia Cup Trophy, 3-round bye on Day 1 of North American Championship.
**Events taking place following the release of “Hidden Trials” may feature “Hidden Trials” prizing in place of “Hidden Hope”. Availability to be determined as we get closer to the release.
As always, stores are encouraged to add entry gifts and additional prize support to their event alongside this prize support.
We hope you are looking forward to competing for a chance to win these exciting prizes! As mentioned previously, Materia Cup and Local Qualifier Schedules will be updated: here.
We will make announcements regarding prizing for the North American Championships and World Championship later in the year. Additionally, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter for current information as it becomes available!
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you again at this year’s events!