Pokémon Go features a PvP game mode called the Battle League. The league features three different brackets, the Great League, Ultra League, and Masters League. Each of these leagues lasts for two weeks, allowing players to earn ranks and rewards. They all have different rules, such as the Great League only permitting Pokémon with 1,500 CP or lower, and the Ultra League goes up to 2,500. 

The Master League removes these restrictions, allowing all trainers to use any Pokémon they have ever captured playing the game, including access to any extraordinarily powerful legendary Pokémon. Not every player in the game and match this, and for the two weeks the Master League happens, some trainers are a bit left out. Durin Pokémon Go’s season two, they introduced the newest option called the Premier Cup.

The Premier Cup will take place at the same time as the Master League. Any trainer who takes part in the Premier Cup will not be allowed to use any legendary or mythical Pokémon they may have, but there are no CP limits. By introducing this mode, it gives you the chance to continually play the game, even if you haven’t had the fortunate luck to capture one of the rarer and hard to find Pokémon in the game.

For those who may have felt left out when the Master League rolls around, you now have an alternative. The game mode will happen at the same time as the Master League and comes with the same requirements to enter it. The rewards will be the same as the Master League, ensuring none of the player base feels cut off from those actively participating in the Master League.

The first instance of the Premier Cup comes to Pokémon Go during the game’s second season of the Battle League and will likely become a stable to the Battle League circuit.

At the end of the season, all three leagues and the Premier Cup will be available for a limited time before the introduction of the next Battle League season.