Get ready to cheer for your favorite, as this year’s season of Professional Amiibo League is almost upon us!
Professional Amiibo League (PAL) is a tournament for Amiibo trainers who seek to compete at the highest level. Coaches train their Amiibo, following specific guidelines, and enter them into PAL, where they fight one-on-one battles to determine the top Amiibo, winning prizes and glory for their trainers.
PAL is in its third season, and is going to be bigger and better than ever this year. With sponsors, a charismatic and passionate host, money and multiple “Trophmiibos” as prizes, and even a minor league – PAL Lite – this year’s battle for the top Amiibo is going to be fiercer than before.
Jordan “Splice” Davis, PAL’s host and commentator, first started running Amiibo leagues back in 2014 as a small gathering between friends, starting the Smash League of Amiibo Pairs (or SLAP). SLAP has grown over the years, attracting international participants and viewers, and has become the tournament for zany and hilarious Amiibo antics – including such wonderfully silly things as the Anti-Playoffs, in which players actually compete to have the worst team.
By contrast, PAL is (slightly) more serious and is place for coaches to really show off their training skills. The Amiibo fight one-on-one with two stock battles in a best-of-three match. There are no items, and battles are fought on flat stages with no hazards; this takes out most of the luck and chaos of SLAP, leaving the Amiibo just with the skills they were trained with.
The season will begin with the play-in tournament; that’s right, Amiibo have to fight to even get a spot in PAL. The Play-ins are in a double elimination format, giving Amiibos two chances to make their way into PAL. Don’t worry, though: those that don’t qualify for PAL will be able to participate in PAL Lite, the minor league tournament. Both tournaments will follow the same format for the regular season.
The regular season is a round robin-style tournament. Each of the 32 Amiibo will be split into four divisions of eight Amiibo, with each division named after a different Nintendo console. Each Amiibo will have the chance to fight the other Amiibo in their division for a chance to get into the top three. Once the regular season is done, the top three will then fight in the Playoffs.
The 12 remaining Amiibo will face each other in another double elimination tournament; the champion of each of the four divisions will receive a bye, with the #2 and #3 seeds fighting in round one. These matches will follow the same format as the regular season, with two stocks and best-of-three matches. At the end of this double elimination tournament, the victor will be crowned the best Amiibo and receive a monetary prize, as well as the “coveted” golden Pichu Trophmiibo.
However, the fun doesn’t stop there. In the middle of the tournament, there will be an All-Star Celebration day. This will bring in some silly and fun antics as Amiibos fight during various events, not for money or prizes, but just for fun. Previous All-Star events included an All-Star Tournament, Survive the Steamroller, and Rough the Puff.
PAL Season 3 starts on February 24th at 5 PM PT, and fans can watch the matches live on Splice’s Twitch stream.
Sources: Professional Amiibo League, AmiiboDojo, Twitter
