Hello! This is a guide for claiming a tax refund as a non-US citizen for prize money won in the Pokémon competitive circuit. I will note that I went through this process as a Canadian citizen and this guide will come from that point of view but I think the general principles of the stepsContinue reading “Pokémon Prize Tax Refund”
Author Archives: joeygaffney
2025-2026 Season Review
Coming off a tough beat in the previous competitive season and with the changes to the tournament schedule, I went into this season with a simple plan: become a Q3 demon
Pokémon World Championships 2026
The Pokémon World Championships returned to the city of San Francisco after 10 years. Back in 2016 I have fond memories of traveling with my family, our last summer vacation right before I started University. I very well expected that to be my final World Championships, after all I didn’t know how busy I wouldContinue reading “Pokémon World Championships 2026”
The Cost of a Worlds invite (2026)
I wanted to write this last year but I unfortunately whiffed my invite by 3 points, a cruel punishment for not finishing out my League Challenges BFL. As the regular season is about to end and I’m sitting on a comfortable 835 points, I thought it would be interesting to see how much I hadContinue reading “The Cost of a Worlds invite (2026)”
Querétaro Regionals 2026
Hola! I didn’t plan on going to Mexico for Regionals but when my friend Drew hit me up asking if I would be going to Orlando Regionals I responded, “I’d sooner go to Mexico for Regionals” and that was that. It is simply geographically closer and has the added bonus of not having to enterContinue reading “Querétaro Regionals 2026”
Toronto Regionals 2026
The annual pilgrimage to Toronto for yet another Pokemon Regionals would commence in early January this time around. I swear someone at TPCi is trying to make Canada look bad by always scheduling Toronto Regionals around times where it is difficult to fly in due to weather. Thankfully, I was scheduled to fly out aContinue reading “Toronto Regionals 2026”
Seattle Regionals 2026
Without much preamble, Seattle Regionals, being a West Coast Regionals which I can drive to in under 3 hours, is very good. I hope that they continue holding Regionals at this location. The convention center was very nice and the tournament was run very efficiently. I forgot to take any pictures of Seattle to useContinue reading “Seattle Regionals 2026”
EUIC LONDON 2026
For the third year in a row, I decided (or rather, was forcibly convinced) that going to EUIC was a good idea. I like playing in International tournaments. They really go all out in creating an exciting atmosphere. The major downside is, of course, traveling 10 hours by plane. This year, unlike previously, I’d beContinue reading “EUIC LONDON 2026”
Pokémon Vegas Regionals 2025
With the 2026 season kicking off for competitive Pokémon it was clear from the start that reaching an invite is a lofty goal. My favorite tournament, Vancouver Regionals, has been cut from the circuit and Regionals on the west coast in general are few and far between. I’m also busy this year with my weddingContinue reading “Pokémon Vegas Regionals 2025”
2024-2025 Season Review
With this new season some big changes were brought in for the invite structure to the World Championships. Instead of a 600 point threshold they switched to a Top X structure on the leaderboard. For the Masters division in North America, this would be the top 125 ranked players in points. This seems daunting givenContinue reading “2024-2025 Season Review”
