| Event | PokƩmon Japan Championships 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Main stage: Online Final stage: Tokoname, Japan |
| Date | Main stage: 9 May 2021 Final stage: 18 July 2021 |
| Attendance | 150 qualified players |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Sword and PokƩmon Shield |
| Season | 2021 Season ā VGC21 Series 9 |
| Format | Main stage: Online challenge-type tournament Final stage: 5 Bo1 Swiss rounds + Bo3 single-elimination Top 8 |
Teams and Results
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-0 |  | Kohei Fujida (ć³ć¦) | Worlds DayĀ 2 + TA |       |  |
| 2 | 4-1 | | Rinya Kobayashi (R) | Worlds DayĀ 2 + TA |     |  |
| 3 | 4-1 | | Kiyoshiro Arai (ćććć¼ć) | Worlds DayĀ 2 + TA |      |  |
| 4 | 4-1 | | Yuma Kinugawa (ćµćŖć¼) | Worlds DayĀ 2 + TA |   | |
| 5 | 3-2 | | Takuma Yamane (ććæć) | Worlds DayĀ 2 |     | |
| 6 | 3-2 | | Wataru Arai (ć³ć¦) | Worlds DayĀ 2 |     | |
| 7 | 3-2 | | Go Hirabara (ć“ć¦) | Worlds DayĀ 2 |   |  |
| 8 | 3-2 | | Kota Kawabe (ć¾ćŖććć) | Worlds DayĀ 2 |   |  |
Structure
The 2021 Japan National Championships were held in two stages: the main stage on 9 May 2021, and the final stage on 18 July 2021 (after being postponed from its initial scheduled date of 13 June 2021 due to covid restrictions).
TheĀ main stageĀ consisted in an online challenge-type best-of-one tournamentĀ with players having to play up at least 10 matches and up to 20. At the end of the tournament, they were order based on final ranking points. The top 50 players received a Day 1 invite to the 2022 World Championships. The following 150 players (seeĀ hereĀ the list of participants) qualified to compete in the main stage:
- Top 50 players of theĀ 2020 Japan Decisive Battle
- Top 100 players of the 2021 Japan National Championships Qualifier (the same challenge-type tournament used as PokƩmon Players IV Qualifier)
The final stageĀ saw the top 20 players from the main stage clash in 5 best-of-one Swiss rounds, at the end of which the 8 best players would play against each other in a best-of-three single-elimination bracket. Players could use a different team than in the main stage. The teamsheets were open for the top 8 players (including Nature information). This event was held live from TokonameĀ and was streamed online!
The top 8 players received a Day 2 invite to the 2022 World Championships. The top 4Ā players additionally received a Travel Award for it.
As a final note, an unspecified number of top players from this tournament will be invited to theĀ PokĆ©mon Global ExhibitionĀ to be held in October.
Streaming
Some of the matches were broadcast live, featuringĀ Shohei TaguchiĀ and 2015 World Champion Shoma Honami (Viera) as casters. Take a look below at the following matches:
| Time | Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:55 | Juniors Finals | SÅichirÅ I. |
vs | Tomoharu K. |
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| 1:20:19 | R1 | KÅta Kawabe |
vs | KÅhei Fujida |
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| 1:33:56 | R1 | Takuma Yamane |
vs | GinjirÅ Shiraki |
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| 2:00:40 | R2 | YÅ«ma Kinugawa |
vs | Shinichi Matsuda |
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| 2:31:00 | R3 | Rinya Kobayashi |
vs | YÅ« Kanome |
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| 2:44:07 | R3 | KiyoshirÅ Arai |
vs | KÅhei Fujida |
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| 3:09:33 | R4 | Kiwamu EndÅ |
vs | Wataru Arai |
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| 3:25:52 | R4 | GÅ Hirabara |
vs | KÅhei Fujida |
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| 3:50:20 | R5 | KiyoshirÅ Arai |
vs | GÅ Hirabara |
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| 4:06:09 | R5 | Takuma Yamane |
vs | KÅhei Fujida |
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| 4:16:06 | Seniors Finals | Naoya Takasago |
vs | KÅ Tsukide |
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| 5:52:33 | Top 8 | YÅ«ma Kinugawa |
vs | Wataru Arai |
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| 6:56:11 | Top 4 | KiyoshirÅ Arai |
vs | Rinya Kobayashi |
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| 7:38:39 | Top 4 | KÅhei Fujida |
vs | YÅ«ma Kinugawa |
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| 8:12:41 | Finals | KÅhei Fujida |
vs | Rinya Kobayashi |
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