VGC '11 Germany National - Cologne - July 2nd - WON BY MewMisaki

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EXPO XXI Köln GmbH [ Map ]
Gladbacher Wall 5
50670 Köln (Cologne)
Germany​

Everything that belongs to the event in Germany can be discussed here. A list of attendants can be found at the bottom of the posting so make sure you are added on the list and say hello to other fellas who might be going.




How to Get There
Train connections from major airports to the centrum of Cologne can be looked up here. You can choose your language when browsing that website, too.

The closest major airports are Düsseldorf (DUS) and Cologne-Bonn Airport (CGN). CGN is host to some important low cost airlines and is also connected to the centrum of cologne per S-Bahn train.

I am at Cologne / Düsseldorf Airport. Now how do I get to the tournament location?
From Düsseldorf (DUS) you can take the "S-Bahn" line S11 to Bergisch Gladbach and get off at "Köln Hansaring" station. The train needs approximately 80 minutes from Düsseldorf Airport Terminal and is much more expensive than if you got to Hansaring from CGN airport.
From Cologne (CGN) you'll be taking the "S-Bahn" line S13 to Köln Hansaring which obviously is the station where you get off. Costs less than 3€ one-way and only takes 18 minutes so it's much smarter to fly to CGN.

Once you got off from the train, the location's already in walking distance. Get off the train sta tion, walk left, left to go to Krefelder Straße and continue walking until you see the Gladbacher Wall street to the left. For the visual learners: click.

Also, along the way on the Krefelder Straße there are several food and drinks shops as well as some restaurants.You can choose between traditional German meals as well as Belgian / Dutch Pommes Frites and Turkish Döner or Italian Pizza. Just wanted to let you know you guys won't need to starve.


Attending
Masters Division (Born in 1995 or earlier)
Registration line will open at 12:30 and close at 13:00.
  1. drug_duck (Germany)
  2. Massi (Germany)
  3. 13random37 (Germany)
  4. DaFlo (Germany)
  5. froggy25 (France)
  6. violett (Germany)
  7. flash_mc (Spain)
  8. Picollo (Germany)
  9. BEACH (USA)
  10. 3,14159 (Germany)
  11. Grim_Heaper
Seniors (Born in 1996, 1997, 1998, or 1999)
Registration line opens at 8:00 and will be closed at 8:30.
  1. DaFlo's sis (Germany)
 
I'm not sure if i'll be attending, but add me to the list as possible, it depends of time, money and results in the previous qualifiers xD
 
Hi, just wanted to introduce myself to everyone. I'm from Spokane, WA, USA, and placed 5th in last year's Seattle regional. I'll be attending the Cologne qualifier cause I'm visiting family in Brussels over the summer. I've played you, Drug_Duck, a few times on PO with the rest of my crew, SPF.

Excited to meet all of you and play some Pokemon overseas!
 
Based on your past experiences with the number of attendees, how long do you expect the Masters to run til? I'm just trying to organize my trip to be as cheap as possible and am wondering if I can catch the last train out of Koln to Brussels or need to find a place to stay overnight.

I'm actually still in the States so will be driving over to Seattle this weekend for the kick-off tournament! Really excited to see what establishes itself as standard...
 
To be honest, I expect the Masters division to reach the 512 limit. Last year the Seniors had some 500 people queueing for it and this time I think even more people will be going. As for the time constraints, last year the Seniors tournament was running late because they spontaneously stocked up Juniors max number from 128 to 192 and the tournament ended at like 5:30 pm. I don't think in any case that it'll end later than that this year.
Also, the location this year isn't too far away from Hansaring station (like a 10 minute walk at the max) which is also better for you since the Pullman last year was quite a bit off.

Also, I took the time to look for the reasonably latest train departure from Cologne to Bruxelles-Midi and this is what I got:

Köln Hansaring: 19:35 dep Platform 2 (S6 S-Bahn to Essen but you can also take the S13 to Troisdorf and the S11 to Bergisch Gladbach since they all stop at Cologne main station)
Köln Hbf: 19:36 arr Platform 10
Köln Hbf: 19:43 dep Platform 7 (ICE 10 to Bruxelles)
Bruxelles Nord: 21:27 arr
Bruxelles Nord: 21:44 dep (IR 3742)
Bruxelles-Midi: 21:47 arr (actually the ICE 10 directly goes to Midi, don't know why the website gave me these connections)

46€ one way.

I'm also excited for Seattle this weekend, kicking off the season, what I really like to know is how they operate the tournament. I'm sure you'd like to give us some insight on that :) You'll also meet a lot of good players over here for sure, while we all will welcome you warmly in Cologne, we won't be going easy :pimp:

Good luck with your VGC endeavors! It's really an invaluable experience to play in both Seattle and a European qualifier :D
 
Hey, thanks so much for your help. I'll count on being able to head back after the tournament then.

I'm excited and feel really fortunate to be playing in different countries, and hopefully can make a habit out of it in the upcoming years. Looking forward to meeting you all and I'll have info regarding Seattle for whoever wants it.
 
Yep, I have Swiss version.

Well, Seattle was great...The new venue this year was absolutely beautiful. Our crew, SPF, drove from Spokane the night before so we could show up fresh. We were able to meet a bunch of Smogonites we've played online which was fun.

I'm glad I'm getting another shot cause I made a terrible mistake in the second round and got knocked out. I don't mind losing when its a bad matchup or a flinch or crit, but when I slip up and realize it after the fact, it drives me nuts for months!

Three players from SPF qualified for nationals (Joan, TWEENstar, and Itakio), with the latter two placing second and third, respectively, so I'm really proud. Hope I can join up with them in worlds!

The tournament was run with the battle box. Apparently, they are able to use proprietary technology to beam the rules and restrictions into your cartridge via infrared, so team sheets are no longer necessary. A hack check still occurs once you have reached the finalists lounge. DO NOT stand next to one of your friends in line, because there is a good chance you will have to fight them round one. If you guys have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
 
Nice to hear it was a great tournament for your crew, but sucks with your bad luck though =/
Anyway, I was following the whole tourney on IRC and on smogon and from what I heard it was pretty nice.
I'm wondering how they are actually doing those hack checks. Is it like in previous years? So they just take your cartridge and put it in some strange thing they got?
 
Correct, they take everyone's cartridge, run them through whatever secret process they have, and then return them about half an hour later.

If they find a hack, they swipe your cartridge with a high-powered magnet. Haha, kidding. But I wish.
 
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