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Pokémon World Championships

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Pokémon World Championships
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2026 Pokémon World Championships
GamePokémon
Founded2004 (2004)
OwnerThe Pokémon Company
CEOTsunekazu Ishihara
Divisions
  • Junior (born up to 12 years before the year of the current tournament season, except for those under six years old)
  • Senior (born 13 to 16 years before the year of the current tournament season)
  • Masters (born 17 or more years before the year of the current tournament season)
HeadquartersBellevue, Washington, U.S.
VenueVaries
WebsitePlay! Pokémon Events

The Pokémon World Championships is an invite-only trading card game and esports event organized by Play! Pokémon. It is held annually in August and features games from the Pokémon series, including the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon video games and Pokémon Go. Players earn invitations to the World Championships based on their performance in qualifiers and other tournaments held throughout the season and compete for scholarship money, prizes and the title of World Champion. With the exception of Asia, invitations to the World Championships are administered by the Play! Pokémon program.

History

[edit]

The Pokémon World Championships first began with the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) in 2004, which was around the time that the franchise was regaining its popularity.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In 2008, Play! Pokémon began to organize competitive tournaments for the Pokémon video game series alongside the TCG, which is collectively known as the Video Game Championships (VGC). Like the TCG Championships, players compete with other players in their own age divisions (i.e. Junior, Senior and Masters) in different Premier Tournaments, and the season culminates with the best players earning an invitation to play the Pokémon World Championships in August. The tournaments in VGC were played with a different game each year, mainly the latest Pokémon game from its main series, up until 2025. From 2026, all VGC tournaments will be played on Pokémon Champions.[8]

In 2013, the Pokémon World Championships marked the first time the tournament would be held outside the usual United States. It took place inside Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia of Canada. The 2015 Championships marked the first tournament to feature a spin-off game in the current tournament rotation, with Pokkén Tournament being included in the list.[9] In 2018, the upper Pokkén Tournament DX was used instead. 2019 added its second addition of a spin-off game series into rotation, Pokémon GO.

The 2020 tournament marked the second time the tournament was hosted outside United States, and the first outside the North America continent. It was announced to be held at Excel London in London, United Kingdom.[10][11] This is likely due to the setting of Pokémon Sword and Shield, which takes place in a region inspired by the United Kingdom known as Galar, and it is the set of games that would be played by the video game division of the Pokémon World Championships.

The 2020 tournament was originally planned to be held in 2020, but on March 31 that year, in-light with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed with its 2020 seasons being suspended,[12][13] which proceeds from earlier announcements in March which saw the cancellation of the 2020 European International Championships[14][15] and part of its season between March and June 2020.[16][17] The tournament was not held in 2021 following another postponement on February 9, 2021, and that tournament ultimately held on August 18-21, 2022.[18]

Prior to the 2022 series, in early January 2022, Play! Pokémon announced the inclusion of a third spin-off game into the competition lineup, Pokémon Unite; four months later, it was announced the Pokkén Tournament would host its last season, thus rotating the latter game out of tournament lineup from 2023 onwards. It marked the newest MOBA game to have an official esports tournament, after League of Legends.

The 2023 Pokémon World Championships marked its third tournament to be held outside United States, the first time to be hosted in their franchise's country of origin, and the first in the Asian region, at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan (the basis of Vermilion City in the Kanto region). After the PWC ended, The Pokémon Company announced that the Pokémon World Championships would return to Hawaii for the first time since the previous World Championships in the state was held back in 2012.[19] Both the 2025 and 2026 events were held at the state of California, in Anaheim and San Francisco, respectively. The 2026 tournament marked the first time where two separate venues were used for the tournament, with one for the main event and another, Chase Center, would serve as the venue for the Championship Sunday.

At the conclusion of the 2026 event, it was announced that Singapore would host the 2027 event, marking the return of the tournament to Asia for the first time since the 2023 event in Yokohama and the first time Southeast Asia is given the hosting rights, and the fourth overall outside United States.[20] The tournament rules and season lineup were published on September 8, and also announced that Pokémon Unite is rotated out from the tournament rotation. Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese languages for the commentary will also be added towards the current languages for the commentaries.[21]

List of World Championships

[edit]

As of 2026, PWC hosted 21 annual tournaments since its first tournament in 2004, except those in 2020 and 2021. They are mostly held across 11 venues from seven different states of the United States. Only four iterations were held outside United States, those being Canada in 2013, United Kingdom in 2022, Japan in 2023, and Singapore in 2027.

Year Date Venue Hosting location Format Ref.
Main event Championship Sunday City Country TCG series Video Game Spin-offs
2004 August 20-22, 2004 Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa Orlando, Florida United States e-Card Expedition Base Set-EX Hidden Legends N/A (not held) N/A (no games)
2005 August 19-21, 2005 Town and Country Resort and Convention Center San Diego, California EX Ruby & Sapphire-EX Emerald
2006 August 18-20, 2006 Hilton Anaheim Anaheim, California EX Hidden Legends-EX Holon Phantoms
2007 August 10-12, 2007 Hilton Waikoloa Village Waikoloa Village, Hawaii EX Deoxys-Diamond & Pearl
2008 August 15-17, 2008 Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Orlando, Florida EX Holon Phantoms-DP Majestic Dawn Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
2009 August 13-15, 2009 Hilton San Diego Bayfront San Diego, California Diamond & Pearl-HG Unleashed Pokémon Platinum
2010 August 13-15, 2010 Hilton Waikoloa Village Waikoloa Village, Hawaii Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
2011 August 12-14, 2011 Hilton San Diego Bayfront San Diego, California DP Majestic Dawn-Black & White Pokémon Black and White
2012 August 13-15, 2012 Hilton Waikoloa Village Waikoloa Village, Hawaii HeartGold & SoulSilver-BW Dark Explorers
2013 August 9-11, 2013 Vancouver Convention Centre Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Black & White-BW Plasma Freeze Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 [22]
2014 August 15-17, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. United States BW Next Destinies-XY Flashfire Pokémon X and Y [23][24]
2015 August 21-23, 2015 Hynes Convention Center Boston, Massachusetts BW Boundaries Crossed-XY Roaring Skies Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Pokkén
2016 August 19-21, 2016 San Francisco Marriott Marquis San Francisco, California XY Kalos Starter Set-XY Steam Siege [25]
2017 August 18-20, 2017 Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California XY Primal Clash-SM Burning Shadows Pokémon Sun and Moon
2018 August 24-26, 2018 Music City Center Nashville, Tennessee XY BREAKthrough-SM Celestial Storm Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon [26]
2019 August 16-19, 2019 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. Sun & Moon-SM Unbroken Bonds Pokkén, GO [27]
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic SM Ultra Prism-SWSH Darkness Ablaze Pokémon Sword and Shield [28][29][30]
2021 SM Team Up-SWSH Chilling Reign [31]
2022 August 18-21, 2022 ExCeL London London, England United Kingdom Sword & Shield-SWSH Crown Zenith Pokkén, GO, UNITE [32]
2023 August 11-13, 2023 Pacifico Yokohama Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan Pokémon Scarlet and Violet GO, UNITE [33][34]
2024 August 16-18, 2024 Hawai'i Convention Center Honolulu, Hawaii United States SWSH Brilliant Stars-SV Prismatic Evolutions [19]
2025 August 15-17, 2025 Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California Scarlet & Violet-ME Ascended Heroes [35]
2026 August 28-30, 2026 Moscone Convention CenterChase CenterSan Francisco, California SV Temporal Forces-ME Perfect Order Pokémon Champions [36]
2027 August 13-15, 2027 Singapore ExpoSingapore Indoor Stadium Singapore Singapore TBA GO [37][38]

Qualification

[edit]

The qualifying process for the Pokémon World Championships varies each year and is dependent on a player's age division and the country in which they are located in. Players may also qualify to play on different days of the World Championships based on their performance in their respective qualifying programs; the best performing players will immediately advance to the second day of the World Championships playoffs (i.e. "Day 2") instead of playing through the first day (i.e. "Day 1").

Play! Pokémon program

[edit]

Players located in a country with a Play! Pokémon program (i.e. in North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania) compete in a regular schedule of tournaments for Championship Points and receive invitations when they meet a predetermined threshold of points at the end of the season.[39]

In 2015, the Play! Pokémon program expanded to include countries from the continents of Latin America and Asia (except Japan and South Korea). However, on June 10, 2020, it was announced that Asia would no longer be part of the Play! Pokémon program and will have its own qualifying system towards the Pokémon World Championships.[40]

As of September 1, 2026, the list of territories in each rating zone sanctioned to organize Play! Pokémon events are as follows:[41]

North America Latin America Europe Oceania Middle East and Africa
  • Canada Canada
  • United States United States
    • Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
  • Argentina Argentina
  • Bolivia Bolivia
  • Brazil Brazil
  • Chile Chile
  • Colombia Colombia
  • Costa Rica Costa Rica
  • Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador Ecuador
  • El Salvador El Salvador
  • Guatemala Guatemala
  • Mexico Mexico
  • Nicaragua Nicaragua
  • Panama Panama
  • Paraguay Paraguay
  • Peru Peru
  • Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
  • Uruguay Uruguay
  • Austria Austria
  • Belgium Belgium
  • Bulgaria Bulgaria
  • Czech Republic Czech Republic
  • Denmark Denmark
  • Finland Finland
  • France France
  • Germany Germany
  • Greece Greece
  • Hungary Hungary
  • Republic of Ireland Ireland
  • Italy Italy
  • Luxembourg Luxembourg
  • Malta Malta
  • Netherlands Netherlands
  • Norway Norway
  • Poland Poland
  • Portugal Portugal
  • Romania Romania
  • Serbia Serbia
  • Slovakia Slovakia
  • Spain Spain
  • Sweden Sweden
  • Switzerland Switzerland
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom
    • Guernsey Guernsey
    • Isle of Man Isle of Man
    • Jersey Jersey
  • Australia Australia
  • New Zealand New Zealand
  • South Africa South Africa
  • United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

Pokémon GO Championship Series

[edit]

Pokémon announced in October 2021 that Pokémon GO would be added during the 2022 World Championships,[42] along with it a qualification system through the Pokémon GO Championship Series, where the top two head to the World Championships.[43] Any trainer who reached Legend rank during Season 9 of the Pokémon GO Battle League would qualify for the GO Championship Series.[44]

2022 Championship Series

[edit]

The 2022 Pokémon GO Championship Series is a series with a purpose of acting as a qualification system to the 2022 Pokémon World Championship.[45] The series consists of events spread throughout the globe.[46] The series is divided into the Senior's and Master's divisions.[46] The series' format revolves around the Great League.[46] Players can enter the championship either by attaining Legend rank during either Season 9 or Season 10 of the GO Battle League, or by registering via Play! Pokémon after the Legend-rank registration closes.[47] Every event is divided between a regional or international event. The top Pokémon players at these events would be given an invitation to the 2022 World Championship.[47] The earliest event began on 26 March, in Liverpool, with the latest being on 24 June, in Columbus, Ohio.[47]

A list of events featured in the series is listed below:

GO Championship Series Events
Region Event Date Location Requirements
North America Indianapolis Regional Championships 6–8 May 2022 Indiana Convention Center, Indiana Legend rank in S9 or S10
Vancouver Regional Championships 27–29 May 2022 Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada Legend rank in S9 or S10
Milwaukee Regional Championships 17–19 June 2022 Wisconsin Center, Wisconsin Legend rank in S10
North America International Championships 24–26 June 2022 Greater Columbus Convention Center, Ohio Legend rank in S10
Europe Liverpool Regional Championships 26–27 March 2022 Exhibition Centre Liverpool, United Kingdom Legend rank in S9 or S10
Europe International Championships 22–24 April 2022 Messe Frankfurt, Germany Legend rank in S9 or S10
Lille Regional Championships 21–22 May 2022 Zénith de Lille, France Legend rank in S10
Bremen Regional Championships 28–29 May 2022 Die Glocke, Germany Legend rank in S10
Oceania Perth Regional Championships 21–22 May 2022 Arena Joondalup, Australia Legend rank in S10
Melbourne Regional Championships 11–12 June 2022 St Kilda Town Hall, Australia Legend rank in S10

Pokémon Unite Championship Series

[edit]

In January 2022, Pokémon Unite producer Masaaki Hoshino confirmed that the game would be part of the roster of games to be played at the World Championships in London.[48] For the first season of the Pokémon Unite Championship Series, there will be eleven supported Regional Zones: North America, Central America, South America-East, South America-West, Europe, Oceania, Japan, South Korea, India, and the Asia-Pacific region. These events will only be open to players aged 16 or 18, depending on the region or country they are from.[49]

In each month, a series of tournaments in each Regional Zone will be held. Like other games in the World Championships, players will earn Championship Points based on their finishing position in that month's tournament. The CP can be retained by players to allow for team changes as the season carries on. The team with the most points qualifies for the Regional Championships, and the top teams from the Regional Championships qualify for a chance to compete at the Pokémon World Championships.

In January 2023, there were changes to the competitive structure and Regional Zones. Pokémon World Championships nearly doubled available spots from 16, to 31 teams. Regional Zones controlled by TPCi were also changed, with Central America, South America-East and South America West being changed to LATAM North, LATAM South, and Brazil. TPC had also taken control of the India and Asia-Pacific Regional Zones, and split Asia-Pacific into 2 regions; Asia-Pacific East and Asia-Pacific West. For TPCi controlled regions, the previous month's top 4 did not auto qualify for the next month's tournament finals. Additionally, an extra monthly tournament was added, the April Cup. Championship Points were also changed to include top CP earners an invite to Pokémon World Championships, ranging from top 1 to 3 in top CP earners depending on how many invites were given for a region. For TPC controlled regions, their tournament circuit began in April, with 3 monthly qualifiers. The winners of these qualifiers then participated in Regionals to earn a spot for Pokémon World Championships.

Among those changes, both North America and Europe were also given their first regional LAN event. Europe had a LAN event for their Aeos Cup series at European International Championships. North America were given a regional LAN event at the North America International Championships.

In 2023, competing countries were divided into eight groups of four teams (groups A to H). Teams in each group play each another in a best-of-three series round-robin, with the top team advancing to the Top 8 knockout stage. The final draw took place virtually on the Pokémon Unite YouTube channel on July 28, 2023. The prize pool was $500,000 in USD and was distributed among the Top 16 finishers in the championship.

Japan & South Korea

[edit]

Tournaments in Japan and South Korea are organized independently from Play! Pokémon, and as such, players from these countries have a different system of qualification.

In Japan, players compete for an invite to the Japan National Championships by playing in major qualifier or online tournaments held throughout the season.[50][51] The best performing players of the Japan National Championships will then be selected to represent Japan in the Pokémon World Championships.[52]

In South Korea, the style of qualification for the World Championships changes frequently. For example, in 2015, players would compete in the Korean National Championships and earn a World Championships invitation based on their standing in the tournament. However, in 2019, players would compete in tournaments organized by the Korean League and earn an invite based on the number of points they had accumulated by the end of the season.[53]

Other

[edit]

There are other less common methods of qualifying for the World Championships which include finishing at least top 4 or better in the prior year's World Championships or by participating in a single-elimination tournament known as the Last Chance Qualifier[54] at the location of the World Championships itself.

List of World Champions

[edit]

Trading Card Game (TCG)

[edit]
Year Juniors (U11) Seniors (11-14) Masters (15+) Ref.
2004Japan Hayato SatoJapan Takuya YonedaJapan Tsuguyoshi Yamato
2005United States Curran HillUnited States Stuart BensonUnited States Jeremy Maron
2006Japan Hiroki YanoFinland Miska SaariUnited States Jason Klaczynski
2007Japan Jun HasebeUnited States Jeremy Scharff-KimFinland Tom Roos
2008United States Tristan RobinsonUnited States Dylan LefavourUnited States Jason Klaczynski
2009Japan Tsubasa NakamuraJapan Takuto ItagakiUnited States Stephen Silvestro [55]
2010Japan Yuka FurusawaCanada Jacob LesageJapan Yuta Komatsuda [56]
2011Brazil Gustavo WadaAustralia Christopher KanUnited States David Cohen [57]
2012Japan Shuto ItagakiCanada Chase MoloneyPortugal Igor Costa [58]
2013Czech Republic Ondřej KujalAustralia Kaiwen CabbabeUnited States Jason Klaczynski [59]
2014Japan Haruto KobayashiUnited States Trent OrndorffCanada Andrew Estrada [60]
2015Canada Rowan StavenowUnited States Patrick MartinezUnited States Jacob Van Wagner [61]
2016Japan Shunto SadahiroDenmark Jesper EriksenJapan Shintaro Ito [62]
2017Norway Tobias StrømdahlUnited States Zachary BokhariArgentina Diego Cassiraga [63]
2018Japan Naohito InoueDenmark Magnus PedersenGermany Robin Schulz [64]
2019Japan Haruki MiyamotoGermany Kaya LichtleitnerAustralia Henry Brand [65]
2022Japan Rikuto OhashiUnited States Liam HalliburtonCzech Republic Ondřej Škubal [66]
2023Taiwan Shao Tong YenBrazil Gabriel FernandezUnited States Vance Kelley
2024Japan Sakuya OtaUnited States Evan PavelskiChile Fernando Cifuentes [67]
2025Japan Yuya OkitaChina Fuguan LiaoCanada Riley McKay
2026Japan Yuta ArakiAustralia Jake NgUnited States Andrew Hedrick

Video Game Championships (VGC)

[edit]
Year Juniors (U11) Seniors (11-14) Masters (15+)
2008United States Knight SilvayneJapan Izuru YoshimuraN/A
2009United States Jeremiah FanJapan Kazuyuki TsujiN/A
2010Japan Shota YamamotoUnited States Ray RizzoN/A
2011United States Brian HoughUnited States Kamran JahadiUnited States Ray Rizzo
2012United States Abram BurrowsUnited States Toler WebbUnited States Ray Rizzo
2013United States Brendan ZhengUnited States Hayden McTavishItaly Arash Ommati
2014Japan Kota YamamotoUnited States Nikolai ZielinskiSouth Korea Se Jun Park
2015Japan Kotone YasueUnited Kingdom Mark McQuillanJapan Shoma Honami
2016United States Cory ConnorUnited States Carson ConferUnited States Wolfe Glick
2017Australia Nicholas KanSouth Korea Hong JuyoungJapan Ryota Otsubo
2018Japan Wonn LeeUnited States James EvansEcuador Paul Ruiz
2019Taiwan Pi WuJapan Ko TsukideJapan Naoto Mizobuchi
2022Japan Kosaku MiyamotoJapan Yasuharu ShimizuPortugal Eduardo Cunha
2023Japan Sora EbisawaJapan Tomoya OgawaJapan Shohei Kimura
2024United States Kevin HanJapan Ray YamanakaItaly Luca Ceribelli
2025United States Luke WhittierUnited States Kevin HanUnited States Giovanni Cischke
2026Japan Kazuki KageUnited Kingdom Vikram ThiagarajanJapan Takuma Yamazaki

Pokémon Go

[edit]

The under-17 age division was discontinued after the 2022 season. All participants of any age now compete in the same tournament.

All tournament battles use the Great League battle format (all Pokémon must be below 1,500 Combat Power.)

Year Seniors (U17) Masters (17+)
2022 Switzerland MEweedle
Germany DancingRob
2023 N/A United States ItsAXN
2024 N/A Hong Kong Yekai0904
2025 N/A India Beelzeboy
2026 N/A Japan GGs489hiromaru

Retired games

[edit]

Pokkén Tournament & Pokkén Tournament DX

[edit]
Year Seniors (U17) Masters (17+)
2016United Kingdom Woomy!gun
(Josh Simmonite)
Japan Potetin
(Masami Sato)
2017N/AJapan Tonosama
(Hisaharu Abe)
2018Japan Kato
(Kato Yusuke)
United States ThankSwalot
(Jacob Waller)
2019United States Ashgreninja1
(Colin Jones)
Japan Subutan
(Hiroki Ishida)
2022United Kingdom Fruitprime
(Reuben Staples)
United States Shadowcat
(Davon Amos-Hall)

Pokémon Unite

[edit]
Year Team Players
2022 BLVKHVND Elo
(Angelo Huang)
Junglebook
(Nicholas Kim)
Kyriaos
(Kihyun Lee)
Overlord98
(William Byrnes III)
Slashcan
(Sean Tucker)
2023 Luminosity Gaming Elo
(Angelo Huang)
Kyriaos
(Kihyun Lee)
Overlord
(William Byrnes III)
Rhinne
(Amrit Rama)
Slash
(Sean Tucker)
2024 Japan Fennel Japan Tongg
(Haruki Yoshiura)
Japan Lucapo
(Yuma Sato)
Japan Mashio
(Mashika Shirakawa)
Japan Yume
(Yumeto Tanabe)
Japan Pyi
(Shouki Takada)
2025 Peru PERÚ Unite Peru DrakenN
(Jesús Vásquez)
Peru Zynuz
(Erick Bartolo)
Peru Anemo
(Jose Arias)
Peru KHEA
(Axel Rivas)
Peru Tempo
(Jeremy Rivas)
2026 Japan ZETA DIVISION Japan Nomu
(Shoya Wada)
Japan Rom
(Kaito Nagao)
Japan Vitoppo
(Yushi Kaneko)
Japan Mizu
(Yuto Tsuda)
Japan ResTA
(Taichi Iida)

2014 World Championships

[edit]
2014 Pokémon World Championships
2014
Attendees of the 2014 World Championships
Tournament information
LocationWashington, D.C.
DatesAugust 13–15
AdministratorPlay! Pokémon
Tournament
format(s)
Swiss rounds, knock-out finals
VenueWalter E. Washington Convention Center
Participants155
PurseUS$5,000 in scholarships
Final positions
ChampionsSouth Korea Se Jun Park (Masters) United States Nikolai Zielinski (Seniors) Japan Kota Yamamoto (Juniors)
Runner-upUnited States Jeudy Azzarelli (Masters) United Kingdom Mark Mcquillan (Seniors) United States London Swan (Juniors)
Tournament statistics
Matches played481 matches in 3 divisions
Attendance3,000
 2013
2015 

The 2014 Pokémon World Championships was the sixth annual edition of the championships. The event took place in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Washington, D.C., alongside the 2014 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championship who were in their eleventh edition.[68]

The tournament was streamed via Twitch for the first time in the tournament history and reached a viewership of more than 800,000.[69]

The defending Video Game champions were Arash Ommati from Italy (Masters Division), Hayden McTavish from the United States (Senior Division), and Brendan Zheng from the United States (Junior Division). The opening ceremony of the event was attended by Junichi Masuda, the video game designer for the Pokémon franchise and a member of the board of directors of Game Freak.

The finals match of the Masters division is best known and remembered within the Pokémon community for Se Jun Park's victory with the inclusion and use of a Pachirisu on his team.

2014 qualification

[edit]

The qualification process for the 2014 Pokémon World Championships was primarily based on Championship Points accumulated by players from official Play! Pokémon tournaments such as Premier Challenges, Regional Championships and National Championships. In addition, the top 4 players of the 2013 Pokémon World Championships in each division, and the top 4 players of a tournament known as the 'Last Chance Qualifier' will also receive an invitation to play in the World Championships.[70]

The invitations for the Masters Division of the tournament were distributed in the following manner:[71]

  • Top 4 players from the 2013 Pokémon World Championships,
  • Top 32 players from Europe with the most Championship Points,
  • Top 16 players from North America with the most Championship Points,
  • Top 4 players from Australia with the most Championship Points,
  • Top 2 players from South Africa with the most Championship Points,
  • Top 8 players from the Japan National Championships,
  • Top 2 players from the South Korea National Championships, and
  • Top 4 players from the Last Chance Qualifier, a tournament held the day before the World Championships in the same venue.

Most of the invitations did not include a fully paid trip to the tournament, and as a result several players could not attend the tournament.

2014 tournament structure

[edit]

Players per country

[edit]
  • Masters Division [72]
CountryZone# of Players
 United StatesNorth America22
 GermanyEurope10
 United KingdomEurope7
 JapanJapan7
 AustraliaAustralia4
 ItalyEurope3
 SpainEurope2
 South KoreaSouth Korea2
 South AfricaSouth Africa1
 CanadaNorth America1
 IrelandEurope1

Results

[edit]

Six rounds of Swiss was played by 60 players in the tournament, and each round was played with a set of best-of-three matches. The top 8 players after the Swiss rounds advances to the best-of-three Single Elimination matches.

The defending World Champion Arash Ommati and former three-time World Champion Ray Rizzo did not advance to the single elimination rounds.

  • Masters Division [73]
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1 Japan Ryosuke Kosuge 1
8 Germany Markus Liu 2
8 Germany Markus Liu 0
5 United States Jeudy Azzarelli 2
5 United States Jeudy Azzarelli 2
4 United Kingdom Lee Provost 0
5 United States Jeudy Azzarelli 0
6 South Korea Sejun Park 2
3 Spain Miguel Marti de la Torre 0
6 South Korea Sejun Park 2
6 South Korea Sejun Park 2
2 United States Collin Heier 0
7 Australia Dayne O'Meara 0
2 United States Collin Heier 2

Final standings

[edit]
PlaceMasters DivisionSenior Division[74]Junior Division[75]
1stSouth Korea Se Jun ParkUnited States Nikolai ZielinskiJapan Kota Yamamoto
2ndUnited States Jeudy AzzarelliUnited Kingdom Mark McquillanUnited States London Swan
3rdUnited States Collin HeierSpain Eric RiosJapan Haruka Narita
4thGermany Markus LiuUnited States Ian McLaughlinJapan Riku Miyoshi

2015 World Championships

[edit]
2015 Pokémon World Championships
2015
Tournament information
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
DatesAugust 21–23
AdministratorPlay! Pokémon
Tournament
format(s)
Swiss rounds, knock-out finals
VenueHynes Convention Center
Purse$500,000 in scholarships[76]
Final positions
ChampionsJapan Shoma Honami (Masters)
United Kingdom Mark McQuillan (Seniors)
Japan Kotone Yasue (Juniors)
Runner-upJapan Hideyuki Taida (Masters)
Japan Koki Honda (Seniors)
South Korea Ryan Jaehyun Park (Juniors)
 2014
2016 

The 2015 Pokémon World Championships was the seventh annual edition of the championships. The event was held alongside the Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championships at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts.[77]

The tournament was transmitted with live streaming from the official Pokémon Twitch channel. The defending Video Game champions for the year were Se Jun Park from South Korea (Masters Division), Nikolai Zielinsky from the United States (Senior Division) and Kota Yamamoto from Japan (Junior Division).

2015 qualification

[edit]

Players could only gain an invitation to play in the Video Game World Championships by either being the 2014 Pokémon World Champions, or by obtaining enough Championship Points in their respective geographic zone designated by Play! Pokémon. However, the only exception to this rule are for players from Japan and South Korea, as their tournaments are not overseen by Play! Pokémon and their invites are governed through a different system of qualification.

Since 2014, players were able to earn Championship Points from various tournaments within their geographical region. The tournaments vary in scale, ranging from local Premier Challenges to state-level Regional Championships and finally the large-scale National Championships. The number of points awarded varies with scale, and players who earn these points are ranked and divided into zones such as North America, Europe and South Africa. This year, two new zones (Latin America and Asia-Pacific) were introduced.

The 2015 Pokémon Video Game World Championship was intended to be played under two Swiss tournaments and one single-elimination tournament which would then determine the 2015 World Champions. As such, there are two types of invites:

  • a regular 'Day One' invite, and
  • a 'Day Two' invite, which allows players to receive a bye for the Swiss tournament on the first day.

As an example, the invitations for the Masters Division were distributed as follows:[77]

  • 'Day One' invitation (by Championship Points):
  • 'Day Two' invitation (i.e. 'Day One' bye)
    • 2014 World Champion
    • Top 8 players from North America by Championship Points.
    • Top 16 players from Europe by Championship Points.
    • Top 2 players from Latin America by Championship Points.
    • Top 2 players from Asia-Pacific by Championship Points.
    • Top 2 players from South Africa by Championship Points.
    • Top 4 players of the South Korea Video Game National Championships.
    • Top 8 players of the Japan Video Game National Championships.[78]

2015 tournament structure

[edit]

The Video Game Championships consisted of two Swiss tournaments and one single elimination tournament played across three days.

On Friday (Day 1), all players who earned an invitation without a Day 1 bye were entered into a Swiss tournament, where players with two or fewer losses would advance onto the next round. The second Swiss tournament was then played on Saturday (Day 2), where players who advanced from Day 1 were joined by players who received an invitation with a Day 1 bye.

At the end of the Day 2 Swiss tournament, the top eight players played in single elimination rounds until the last two remain. The finals took place on Sunday (Day 3).

Final standings (Video Game Championships)

[edit]
PlaceJunior Division (U13)Senior Division (13-16)Masters Division (17+)
1stJapan Kotone YasueUnited Kingdom Mark McquillanJapan Shoma Honami
2ndSouth Korea Ryan Jaehyun ParkJapan Koki HondaJapan Hideyuki Taida
3rdJapan Shu HarsakiAustria Max MarjanovicJapan Yosuke Isagi
4thJapan Shuhei TsukanoUnited States Kylie ChuaJapan Naohito Mizobuchi

Weapons controversy

[edit]

During the 2015 World Championships, two Trading Card Game competitors from Iowa (Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27) brought weapons in their vehicle, which were recovered by the police. The two posted status updates and images of their weaponry on social media, which were noticed by various Pokémon fans who treated them as supposed threats against the tournament. The updates were reported to the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), who promptly seized their automobile and then stopped them at the door and barred them from entering the Hynes Convention Center on Thursday evening. Police executed a search warrant on Friday and Norton and Stumbo were arrested at their Red Roof Inn room in Saugus just after midnight on Saturday, August 22, 2015.[79] The two were arrested on charges of unlicensed possession of firearms and ammunition, and were initially held without bail.[80] The weapons recovered were a recently purchased Remington shotgun, an AR-15, a hunting knife and several hundred rounds of ammunition.[81][82][83] They pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on November 10, 2015, and their bail was set at $150,000.[84] On December 2, 2015, their trial was set for May 9, 2016, however, in early April 2016, their trial was postponed to November 2016.[85][86] Following the release of Pokémon Go in July 2016, Stumbo's attorney indicated that the case would be resolved soon.[87][88][89][90][91] Norton and Stumbo were later sentenced to two years in prison with an additional two years probation once their prison term ends.[92]

2016 World Championships

[edit]
2016 Pokémon World Championships
2016
Tournament information
LocationSan Francisco, California
DatesAugust 19–21
AdministratorPlay! Pokémon
Tournament
format(s)
Swiss rounds, knock-out finals
VenueSan Francisco Marriott Marquis
Purse$500,000[93]
Final positions
ChampionsUnited States Wolfe Glick (VGC Masters) [94]
United States Carson Confer (VGC Seniors) [95]
United States Cory Connor (VGC Juniors) [96]
Japan Shintaro Ito (TCG Masters) [97]
Denmark Jesper Eriksen (TCG Seniors) [98]
Japan Shunto Sadahiro (TCG Juniors) [99]
Runner-upUnited States Jonathan Evans (VGC Masters) [94]
Japan Yuki Wata (VGC Seniors) [95]
Japan Shu Harasaki (VGC Juniors) [96]
United States Cody Walinski (TCG Masters) [97]
United States Connor Pederson (TCG Seniors) [98]
Japan Riku Ushirosako (TCG Juniors) [99]
 2015
2017 

The 2016 Pokémon World Championships was the eighth annual edition of the championships. The event was held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, California, from August 19 to August 21.[100] For the first time in the tournament history, the Pokkén Tournament invitational was featured alongside the Video Game Championships (VGC) and Trading Card Game (TCG) tournaments. Side events and an official store with event merchandise occurred alongside the event.

The defending Video Game champions were Shoma Honami from Japan (Masters Division), Mark McQuillan from the United Kingdom (Senior Division) and Kotone Yasue from Japan (Junior Division).[101] The defending Trading Card Game champions were Jacob Van Wagner from the United States (Masters Division), Patrick Martinez from the United States (Senior Division), and Rowan Stavenow from Canada.[102]

Age divisions and qualifications

[edit]

Both the Pokémon VGC and TCG were divided into three age divisions: the Junior Division (born 2005 or later), the Senior Division (born between 2001 and 2004), and the Masters Division (born 2000 or earlier). For the Pokkén Tournament invitational, players were grouped into either the Senior Division (born 2001 or later) or Masters Division (born 2000 or earlier).

The process of obtaining an invitation is primarily based on Championship Points.[103] Players could earn Championship Points by performing in select online and live tournaments held throughout the 2016 season (between September 2015 and July 2016). Players from Japan and South Korea were excluded from this rule as these countries had their own method of qualification not based on Championship Points.

Play! Pokémon divided players into five different rating zones: US and Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and South Africa. Different zones had different Championship Points requirements due to the distribution of events around the world.

There are two possible invitations players could obtain:

  • a regular 'Day One' invite, and
  • a 'Day Two' invite, which allowed players to acquire a 'Day One' bye and automatically enter the second Swiss tournament.

'Day Two' invites were usually accompanied by travel awards and stipends paid by Play! Pokémon.

Trading Card Game Championship qualifications

[edit]

The following table shows the Championship Points[103] requirement for an invitation to the 2016 World Championships:

Zones Masters Division (17+) Senior Division (13-16) Junior Division (U13) Day Two (Ranking)
US and Canada300 CP250 CP200 CPTop 16 Players in each division
Europe300 CP250 CP200 CPTop 22 Players in each division
Latin America200 CP150 CP100 CPTop 8 Players in each division
Asia-Pacific200 CP150 CP100 CPTop 8 Players in each division
South Africa200 CP150 CP100 CPNone

Players in Japan and South Korea were awarded invitations based on each country's organized play system.

Video Game Championship qualifications

[edit]

For the Masters Division, the following table lists the Championship Points requirement for an invitation to the 2016 World Championships:[104]

Zones Day One Day Two (Ranking)
US and Canada350 CPTop 8 of the Zone
Europe275 CPTop 16 of the Zone
Latin America150 CPTop 4 of the Zone
Asia-Pacific200 CPTop 4 of the Zone
South Africa400 CPNone

2016 tournament structure

[edit]

The Video Game Championships consisted of two Swiss tournaments and one single elimination tournament played across three days.

On Friday (Day 1), all players who earned an invitation without a Day 1 bye were entered into a Swiss tournament, where players with two or fewer losses would advance onto the next round. The second Swiss tournament was then played on Saturday (Day 2), where players who advanced from Day 1 were joined by players who received an invitation with a Day 1 bye.

At the end of the Day 2 Swiss tournament, players with two or fewer losses advanced to play in single elimination rounds until the last two remain. The finals took place on Sunday (Day 3).[105]

Final standings (Video Game Championships)

[edit]
PlaceJunior Division (U13)Senior Division (13-16)Masters Division (17+)
1stUnited States Cory Connor [96]United States Carson Confer [95]United States Wolfe Glick[94]
2ndJapan Shu Harasaki [96]Japan Yuki Wata [95]United States Jonathan Evans [94]
3rdJapan Rikuto Noda [96]United States Mostafa Afr [95]Germany Markus Stadter [94]
4thUnited States Enzo Reci [96]Japan Kazuki Ogushi [95]Portugal Eduardo Cunha [94]

Final standings (Trading Card Game)

[edit]
PlaceJunior Division (U13)Senior Division (13-16)Masters Division (17+)
1stJapan Shunto Sadahiro [99]Denmark Jesper Eriksen [98]Japan Shintaro Ito [97]
2ndJapan Riku Ushirosako [99]United States Connor Pedersen [98]United States Cody Walinski [97]
3rdUnited States Roan Godfrey-Robbins [99]Indonesia Rafli Attar [98]United States Samuel Hough [97]
4thJapan Yuta Ozawa [99]Brazil Raphael Souto [98]United States Ross Cawthon [97]


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