[EricH]

Originally Posted by Yipyapper

Note that signing up if you are not previously qualified by merit will cost you a by-in, which I am not sure the amount, and is added on top of the normal registration fee.

I don't know where you get that information from.

The Championship registration fee does need to be paid, REGARDLESS of whether you qualified by merit or by open registration. There is NO buy-in on top of that registration fee, however.

The Championship registration fee is completely separate from both your initial registration fee and any 2nd (third, fourth, etc) regional fee, which are also independent of each other.