The first Genshin Impact trading card game tournament is coming soon

HoYoverse is hosting a Genshin Impact trading card game tournament, and it’s in real life with a hefty prize pool. The tournament, officially called the Astra Carnival Prince Cup, will take place later in 2023 and pit the best Genius Invokation TCG players from around the world together in a series of challenges for a chance to win cash prizes.

HoYoverse didn’t say what the grand prize will be, but the entire pool amounts to $270,000.

“As the first international tournament series of Genshin Impact, “Astra Carnival: The Prince Cup” aims to provide bigger stages for talented players and diverse fun for fans and gamers in and outside the game,” HoYoverse said in the announcement. “Regionals in Korea, Europe, and North America will kick off first, with wildcard competition sign-ups open [now].”

The tournament is divided into regional competitions that culminate in larger invitationals. The first one kicks off in Korea on June 11, 2023, with Europe’s happening on June 16, 2023, and North America’s taking place a day later.

Genius Invokation, the name of the Genshin card game, debuted in the RPG in December 2022 with a fresh take on the RPG’s combat and characters – and a chance for players to compete against each other without it mattering which characters they were lucky enough to obtain from the game’s banners. 

While the Astral Carnival might be the first official tournament, a friendly competitive scene sprang up around the trading card game almost immediately. HoYoverse worked with fans to create the Cat’s Tail Gathering tournament system on Discord. Top candidates from the Cat’s Tail Gathering will participate in the regional competitions.

HoYoverse is also promising support for non-official Genius Invokation trading card tournaments, with guidance for how to organize and more. If you’re happy to just play against NPCs and your friends in Genshin Impact itself, make sure to check out the 3.7 update, as it adds 60 new cards and even new game modes.

If you’re new to the TCG, check out our guides for the best decks, best character cards, and best support cards to get the upper hand.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF