UVS Games Organized Play 2024 Overview

Greetings UniVersus players!

Read on to find out all that you need to know about 2024’s exciting Organized Play roadmap!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. UVS GAMES ORGANIZED PLAY OVERVIEW

2. PATH TO WORLDS 2024

3. PLAY FORMATS

4. EVENTS SCHEDULE

5. POINTS SYSTEM

UVS GAMES ORGANIZED PLAY OVERVIEW

UniVersus players! We are incredibly excited to present to you the best year of Organized Play in UniVersus’ history yet.

First a quick look back on 2023, this year we had a wonderful year of OP.

• We had the largest ever event in UniVersus history with over 400+ players competing at the invite-only US Nationals.

• Provisional Store Championships were a huge success in 2023! This event tier grew local play worldwide and attracted new players to our game.

For 2024, we want to continue building on the success of 2023 with the following three goals:

• Triple down on the Local Game Store as the focal point for our Organized Play efforts.

• Make every event count, via a qualification system that combines both points and invites.

• Make our year exciting by having a diversity of play formats to participate in.

Here is a brief overview of the changes to OP with our goals in mind:

1. We are introducing a point system to qualify for Worlds 2024

   1. We will have 2 different points systems for 2024 - Seasonal Points and Champion Points. These points are earned via multiple ways and qualify you for tournaments and events

   2. Seasonal Points and Champion Points will be integrated into UGN. You will be able to see your current balance of both and how you rank against other players!

2. Locals: 

   1. What’s new? Local Qualifier events now qualify you to compete at a Major Regional (see more info below). Formats for Local Qualifiers will change from season to season, keeping the experience new and exciting! We are also introducing a new Local Championship event that will allow players to earn additional points at their local level.

   2. Staying the same: National invites will still be awarded for winning a local qualifier and qualifications will passdown! Provisional Store Championships (PSCs) will count as a Local Qualifier event.

3. Regionals:

   1. What’s new? We are down to only one Regional tier event in Major Regionals. Majors Regionals will no longer be invite locked and players can attend with no need to qualify. Winning a Major Regional will grant you an invite to Worlds 2024! Majors will feature Standard Constructed during Swiss rounds. Top Cuts for Regionals will be Standard Constructed.

   2. Staying the same: Regionals will continue to be the most accessible premier event to help players fine-tune their competitive skills. Side events are still open to all players even if they are not qualified. 

4. Nationals

   1. What’s new? Players will have two ways to qualify for Nationals in 2024; by winning a Local Qualifier event or obtaining 10 Champion Points during the 2024 OP year. Nationals will format of standard constructed during Swiss rounds. Top Cuts for Nationals will be Standard Format. 

   2. Staying the same: Top finishers of each Nationals will earn their spot at Worlds 2024. Side events are still open to all players even if they are not qualified. 

5. Worlds 2024

   1. What’s new? Double the number of invites from 32 to 64! Worlds 2024 will be a multi-format event.

   2. Staying the same: Worlds 2024 will remain the most competitive and prestigious event for the UniVersus CCG.

6. Specialty Events:

   1. Over the course of the year, we will have additional special events that are competitive events, but fall outside of the Path to Worlds 2024 structure. These events are always going to be open invites, and will be tied to conventions, special experiences, or different formats such as Retro or Triple Threat. We’re excited to tell you more about these in the future!

Note: This article covers our competitive play scene. We also have exciting plans for local community events such as the upcoming YYH Wish tournament, Stay tuned for future announcements about our plans!

Path To Worlds 2024

Local Qualifiers will be the first step for players to take along the Path to Worlds. Local Qualifiers will award Seasonal Points for participating and placement. The amount of Seasonal Points will scale based on the number of participants. Winning a Local Qualifier will instantly qualify you to compete at a National. If a player is already qualified for Nationals, the qualification will pass down to the next eligible player. At the end of the season, all Seasonal Points will convert to Champion Points at a one to one rate.

Local Championships will take place once per season after the qualification window has passed. These events will take place all on the same weekend across LGSs around the world. Winning a Local Championship will award 10 Champion Points, second place will be awarded 5 Champion Points, with third and fourth place both earning 3 Champion Points. While these events can still take place regardless of attendance size, Champion Points will only be awarded if the event reaches 8 or more players. 

Major Regionals will be the first opportunity to secure your seat at Worlds 2024. These events will be open to all interested players. Major Regionals will not only offer the winner of the event a seat at Worlds 2024, but they will also award Champion Points for placement based on participation. All Major Regionals will have an abundance of side events available for all players, even if they did not qualify to compete in the main event. Major Regionals will always be in-person.

Nationals will once again require a qualification to compete in the main event. Players can qualify via one of two methods; by winning a Local Qualifier or by earning 10 Champion Points throughout the year. The Top 8 players from each National event will earn their seat at Worlds 2024. Players will also earn Champion Points for placement based on participation. National events will always be in-person and offer a variety of side events for players to compete in. Similar to Major Regionals, all side events are open to everyone and do not require a Nationals qualification. 

Worlds 2024 is our most prestigious event of the year where only the best of the best will compete to be crowned the next UniVersus World Champion. Not only are we creating multiple paths to qualify to compete at Worlds, we are also increasing the number of invites from 32 to 64! The 64 seats will be awarded to; one seat to the 2023 UniVersus World Champion, one seat to each of the 9 Major Regional winners, one seat to each of the top 8 of each Nationals event, and lastly 30 seats will be awarded to players based on their total accumulated Champion Points throughout the year. These last 30 seats are first awarded to the top 5 players in each geographical region (Americas, Europe and Oceania), followed by the next 15 players with the most Champion Points worldwide. 

Path to Worlds 2024 will be the same for all, but players might have a unique approach. Some will aim to win a Major Regional, others might strive for top 8 at a National event, while some may even grind Local Qualifiers and Local Championships to climb their way up the ladder. Regardless of the approach you take, we got you covered!

PLAY FORMATS

We previously announced our play formats in this article. Players can expect to see the following formats at various event tiers in Organized Play.

Our core competitive path will consist of multiple formats being showcased throughout the year across multiple event tiers. 

• Local Qualifiers and Championship events will feature a variety of formats over the year. For Season 2 2024, the Local Qualifier events will feature Standard Constructed.

• Major Regionals will feature Standard Constructed. For Season 2 2024, the Major Regionals will feature Standard Constructed.

• Nationals will feature Standard Constructed with Top Cuts featuring Standard Constructed.

• Worlds will feature Standard Constructed with Top Cuts featuring Standard Constructed.

Specialty events:

These events will be open to all and feature a variety of different formats beyond Standard such as Spotlight, Retro, Triple Threat, Sealed and more!

Events Schedule

Below is the roadmap for 2024’s premier Organized Play program. It outlines the regions covered and their corresponding dates. These events serve as your chance to accumulate Seasonal and Champion Points as you progress on your Path to Worlds 2024!

Organized Play Season 1 (February 26th, 2024 - May 5th, 2024)

• Local Qualifiers (also known as a PSC): February 26, 2024 - April 7, 2024

• WebCam Regional: March 16, 2024 - March 17, 2024

• OCE Major Regional: April 13-14, 2024 in Auckland, NZ

• UK/EU Major Regional: April 20-21, 2024 in Sheffield, UK

• NA Major Regional: April 27-28, 2024 in Las Vegas, NV

• Local Championship: May 4th or 5th, 2024

Organized Play Season 2 (May 20th, 2024 - July 28th, 2024)

• Local Qualifiers: May 20th, 2024 - June 30th, 2024

• OCE Major Regional: July 6th-7th, 2024 in Wollongong, AUS

• NA Major Regional: July 13th-14th, 2024 in St. Louis, MO

• Local Championship: July 20th or 21st, 2024

• UK/EU Major Regional: July 27th-28th, 2024 in Nottingham, UK

Organized Play Season 3 (August 19th, 2024 - October 27th, 2024)

• Local Qualifiers: August 19th, 2024 - September 29th, 2024

• NA Major Regional: October 5th-6th, 2024 in Atlanta, GA

• Local Championship:  October 7th-17th, 2024

• OCE Major Regional: October 19th-20th, 2024 in Auckland, NZ

• UK/EU Major Regional: October 26th-27th, 2024 in Sheffield, UK

Organized Play Season 4 (November 11th, 2024 - February 16th, 2025)

• Local Qualifiers*: November 11th, 2024 - December 22nd, 2024

• OCE National: January 10th-12th, 2025 in Canberra, AUS

• UK/EU National: January 17th-19th, 2025 in Leeds, UK

• NA National: January 24th-26th, 2025 in Dallas, TX

• Local Championship:  January 27th- February 6th, 2025

• Worlds 2024:  February 15th-16th, 2025 in Orlando, FL

Above dates and location are subject to change. 

*Organized Play Season 4 Local Championship events will award Champion Points towards the 2025 Organized Play Cycle. Winning a Season 4 Local Qualifier will qualify you for 2024 Nationals.

Points System

Points Introduction

We will have 2 different points systems for 2024 - Seasonal Points and Champion Points. These points are earned via multiple ways and qualify you for tournaments and events

Seasonal Points

Every season, players can compete at Local Qualifier (also known as PSC) level events hosted by their Local Game Store to earn Seasonal Points (SP). 

• Approved Local Game Stores will be authorized to run 2 Local Qualifiers events a Season

• 1 SP is earned for participating in every Local Qualifier

• Seasonal Points handed out at Local Qualifier events will scale based on attendance (see table)

• Additional SP is awarded for top finishers based off the chart below

Champion Points

Champion Points are earned at Local, Regional, National events and will contribute to both Nationals and Worlds 2024 Qualification. There will be 30 seats for Worlds 2024 up for grabs based on the top Champion Points winners in these categories:

• Top 5 from Americas

• Top 5 from Oceania

• Top 5 from Europe

• Next 15 players worldwide

Locals:

As mentioned in the previous section, Local Qualifier events earn Seasonal Points.

Once an Organized Play season concludes, all accumulated Seasonal Points will be converted into Champion Points at a one to one rate.

Local Championship Events will offer CP to the top 4 finishers. 10 CP for the winner, 5 CP for 2nd place, 3 CP for 3rd and 4th places. Local Championship Events require a minimum of 8 participants to be considered a sanctioned event.

Regionals:

Major Regionals CP awarded is determined by the number of participants [see the table below]:

Nationals:

Main event entry requires 10 CP or a Local Qualifier win to enter.

Nationals events will also award Champion Points to those who place highly, scaling based on attendance.

Qualification Pass Down

In the situation where a player would qualify for Worlds 2024 more than once, the following steps will be taken:

• If an otherwise qualified player (i.e. a Regional event winner) is amongst the top 30 in Champion Points, the next player on the leaderboards may qualify instead.

• If a player opts out of attending Worlds 2024 that is amongst the top 30 in Champion Points, the next player on the leaderboards may qualify instead.

• If a player wins a second (or more) Regional event, the qualification will be passed down to the next unqualified player at that event.

• If a player is already qualified and places in top 8 at a PHN event, the qualification will be passed down to the next unqualified player at that event.

• If a player who qualified by placing highly at a RLE or PHN event opts out of attending Worlds 2024, their qualification may get passed down to the next eligible person on the Champion Points leaderboard.