Hello.
Do world promos classify as prize cards?
I know may consider the tropical wind 99 to be a participation prize card.
In that sense, the yearly world promos are also participation promos, and you have to qualify for worlds in order to get them. So is it not absurd to conclude that worlds promos are prize cards?
I also believe that the Worlds Promo cards are considered as participation prize cards. For competitors, it is already a big achievement to attend the world championships each year and the sealed promo pack is their “prize” for reaching the world championships.
In my opinion stamped worlds promos like the Finalist or Champion stamped cards could even be considered trophy cards, since you need to reach the final or even win the world championship to get a copy of the Finalist and Champion stamped card!
The amount of effort and work you have to put in just to be invited to play in the world championships is certainly more than enough to label them as prize cards in my mind. And I agree with @CJ_Pokemon, I would consider the player stamped copies to be trophy tier cards, especially finalist and champion. They meet the definition in almost every sense.
I will say too, and it might sound like I’m contradicting myself here, but I try not to get to hung up on titles and classifications. They can be useful but ultimately don’t change anything about the card, only perhaps some people’s perception of them. Rare cards are rare cards, period. And I think worlds promos are no exception.
This term feels very accurate but also feels very made up 
These types of debates “does X count as a trophy/prize card?” seem to happen pretty frequently. But I always feel like the question is way more loaded than it seems.
I find people want to use these terms “trophy” “prize” “participation” as a hierarchical ordering of importance. Like all “trophy” cards are a higher tier than all “prize” cards which are higher than “participation” which is higher than a regular promo. Which is generally true but not always. Like, is a Victory Orb is more of a trophy card than a PLAY Umbreon 
but I see the Umbreon as more of a “”“trophy”“” to collectors.
In other words, the problem is that asking “is x is a prize card?” is not asking how it’s awarded, but actually how important it is. Understanding that, it’s an easier to answer. Yes, Worlds Promos are very limited and important cards in this hobby. They are awarded for qualifying for Worlds which is not trivial to do. So they are earned but not quite a prize in a literal sense (which maybe is debatable). The stamped versions are more true to what the word “prize” means. I think that’s why “participation prize cards” is a bit funny, because it’s trying to communicate that they are simply a card earned for participation but also they are still important to collectors and players alike!
It reminds me of the XY Problem when people ask for help with a solution to solve problem, without clarifying what the actual problem is.
