The World Championships, which will be held on 18–21 August 2022, are finally back after three years! In these articles, we will take a look at the best players that are qualified to compete in the biggest event of the year.
Here we have Oceania! Let’s meet the 12 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 9 Day 1 invitees this region brings.
Table of Contents
Oceania at Worlds
Oceania is the underdog in the TPCI sanctioned regions, and now more than ever after losing all South East Asian countries in its sphere to TPC except for the Oceanian-proper Australia and New Zealand.
Although it is the weakest region in paper, Oceanian players have gone far in previous World Championships, with Australian Sam Pandelis even reaching the 2017 Worlds finals.
Other notable Worlds runs by players from this region include Dayne O’Meara‘s top 8 finish in 2014, Sam‘s top 16 in 2016, Graham Amedee‘s top cut in 2019 and Meaghan Rattle‘s top 8 in the same year.
After the run of Graham and Meaghan in the last World Championships, will Oceania surpass their past records in numbers and positions this year?
Requirements for a Worlds invite
As per the Oceanian system, all players that have achieved at least 300 CP (or Championship Points) in the 2020 and 2022 seasons receive an invite to Day 1. Additionally, the top 12 players achieve a direct pass to Day 2, with the best 8 players earning a Travel Award.
Day 2 players
At 1040 CP, Alfredo has qualified to Worlds for the fifth straight time, first as a masters player. He had played in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a senior, and has shown he has all that it is needed to succeed even after aging up to masters.
Alfredo’s success came early on with a victory in the Melbourne Open (2019), his first-ever event as a masters player. He completed his season with a top 16 at the Latin America Internationals (2019), a top 4 in Brisbane (2019) and a day 2 participation at the Oceania Internationals (2020) before the pandemics hit, and continued it with a renewed top 4 in Brisbane (2022) thereafter.
2. 
Henry Rich
At 962 CP, Henry has qualified to his third Worlds, and will be playing in Day 2 for the first time.
Henry’s best results this season have arrived after the comeback of live events, having top cutted all three events held in Australia, winning in Brisbane (2022) and getting top 8 results in Perth (2022) and Melbourne (2022). He travelled to North America later in the season in order to complete his CP count and secure the second place in the Oceanian leaderboards.
Henry has been part of the Australian roster in the World Cup since 2021.
At 894 CP, Meaghan has qualified for her third Worlds. She has the accolade of having been the first-ever Australian to play in Day 2 of Swiss rounds in Worlds since it exists, as she made it all the way from Day 1 in 2016. In her second Worlds, in 2019, she went even further, with a top 8 finish.
Before the pause of live events, Meaghan had already got a second place in Brisbane (2019) and a day 2 participation at the Oceania Internationals (2020), and renewed her record when the events came back with another second place in Brisbane (2022).
Outside the official circuit, Meaghan has played for Australia in the World Cup since 2021.
4. Christopher Kan
At 853 CP, Christopher has qualified to Worlds again, his fourth straight Day 2 invite in VGC. And we specify VGC as the Australian was the 2011 World Champion in TCG in the seniors division!
Christopher started off the season with second places at the Melbourne Open (2019) and Perth (2020), before going on in the online era with a top 6 at the first edition of the Players Cup (2020), and being one win away from qualifying in the second (2020) and fourth (2021) editions.
Christopher has joined Team Australia in the current edition of the World Cup.
5. Jack Gilbert
At 845 CP, Jack has received his sixth invite to Worlds, having qualified every year since he was a junior in 2015. However, he has only attended once before, in 2019, when he participated in Day 2 as a senior.
Jack has taken advantage of his 2020 season as a senior, as he earned all his CP before aging up. His best accomplishment is winning Oceania Internationals (2020).
Watch Jack’s win at OCIC!
6. James Katsaros
At 776 CP, James has qualified to Worlds for the fourth time, having previously qualified in 2016, 2018 and 2019, playing in Day 2 on the last edition.
James made it to top 4 in the first event of the season, the Melbourne Open (2019), and culminated his accomplishments with a top 8 at Oceania Internationals (2020). After the comeback of events, the Australian managed to get to top 8 in Melbourne (2022).
James made top 16 in one of the qualifiers in the VR Circuit: Winter Series (2021) and has joined the Australian team in this year’s World Cup.
7. Finn Cooper
At 666 CP, Finn has made it to Worlds for the fourth time, this time as a masters player. He made it to Day 2 in the seniors division in 2017 and 2018.
Though not much is known about Finn’s season, he earned all his CP in the 2020 season when he was still a senior, including a 10th place at the Oceania Internationals (2020).
8. Sam Pandelis
At 565 CP is Sam Pandelis, Oceania’s best ever result in a World Championships — Finalist in 2017.
In Sam’s case, his strong part of the season was after the comeback of events. He had made it to top 4 at the Melbourne Open (2019) before that, but after the in-person season resumed, he made top cut in all Australian events: a top 8 in Brisbane (2022), a second place in Perth (2022) and a victory in Melbourne (2022).
In the grassroots scene, Sam is a well-known TO for high-roller events, and has now taken over as the Australian manager in the current World Cup.
9. Luke Iuele
At 514 CP, Luke has qualified for the second time, but he didn’t attend in 2019. With a direct pass to Day 2, he will compete in the grand stage for the first time.
Luke has had a very constant season, with a top 8 in Brisbane (2019) before the pandemics hit, a top 6 in the Players Cup IV (2021) during the online era, and yet another top 8 in Brisbane (2022) after the comeback of events. As a result of his Players Cup IV placement, he was invited to the Global Exhibition.
For the current World Cup, Luke has joined the Australian team. On a sidenote, the Aussie has also tried qualifying to Worlds in the Pokémon Unite game!
10. 
Diego Ferreira
At 490 CP, Diego has qualified to Worlds for the fifth straight time, but has not yet played in Day 2. This is also the second time he qualifies through the Oceanian system, as he previously lived in his native Latin America.
Diego’s best results this season came early, with a top 8 in Brisbane (2019) and a top 16 at the Oceania Internationals (2020). Although he has not made top cut in later events, he earned enough CP after the comeback of events using a Zacian + Kyogre team featuring Sableye.
Diego has joined Team Chile for the current World Cup.
At 432 CP, Christos has received his fifth Worlds invite. He previously qualified in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, reaching Day 2 in 2018.
Christos achieved a top 4 finish in Perth (2020) just before the pandemic made the season stop. He tried qualifying to Players Cup during the online era, being just one win away in the second edition (2020).
The Australian-Greek player played for Team Greece in last year’s World Cup (2021).
12. Graham Amedee
At 404 CP, Graham has qualified for Worlds again. Last time, in 2019, his only other Day 2 appearance, he made it all the way to top cut, losing in the playoffs to top 16.
Graham’s qualification came mainly from the local events in the 2020 season, with no major results in the larger events.
The Aussie is a VGC content creator and was invited to the Players Cup Kickoff Invitational (2020).
Day 1 players
The following list comprises all other players with 300 or more CP in the Oceania rating zone, and is based on the official Play! Pokémon leaderboard.
The players that had achieved 300 CP in the 2020 season as part of Oceania that are no longer in those leaderboards due to changing rating zone in 2022 are also listed.
- Lewis Tan (2019 Worlds finalist, seniors)
- Simon Konsti (383 CP)
- Daniel Walker (380 CP)
- Damon Murdoch (380 CP)
- Luke Milligan (346 CP)
- Krystal Mackellar (324 CP)
- Nihal Noor (320 CP)
- Alister Sandover (311 CP)
Yuya Tada (780 CP)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Oceanian players having qualified for the World Championships! As, arguably, one of the toughest regions in the World, there are high expectations on their shoulders. We wish you all the best of luck.
If you’re not attending but will be following their struggle from home, check the Pokémon World Championships website for detailed infos on the live stream.
