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 Latin America! Let’s meet the 12 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 27 Day 1 invitees this region brings.
Table of Contents
Latin America at Worlds
The World Championships is the stage in which Latin American players have surprised everyone time after time, and this will surely be the case again this time. Since this region has only had one major event in 2022, many people have not seen the accomplishments LatAm players are able to achieve.
The best ambassador for Latin America VGC scene has been Ecuadorian Paul Ruiz, that won the 2018 World Championships not only for himself or his country, but for all of Latin America, as he has stated.
The second best result at Worlds for a Latin American player is also Paul‘s top 4 at 2017. Other big results of players from this region are the top 8 finishes achieved by Argentinian Sebastián Escalante (2017), Salvadorian René Alvarenga (2017), Peruvian Dorian Quiñonez (2017) and fellow Argentinian Federico Turano (2018).
Brazilian Gabriel Agati finished top 16 at the 2019 World Championships and was LatAm’s only representative at the top cut of that event. Will they come back to higher finishes this time?
Requirements for a Worlds invite
As per the Latin American system, all players that have achieved at least 400 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 1447 CP, Gabriel will play his third Worlds after participating as a Day 1 player in 2018 and as a Day 2 player in 2019.
Some of the Brazilian’s best results during this three-year-long season include a top 16 at Latin America Internationals (2019), day 2 at Oceania Internationals (2020), and three straight participations in the global finals of Players Cups I (2020), II (2020) and III (2021). His best result, however, came at the end of the season, with his second place at North America Internationals (2022).
Additionally, in the online era, Gabriel has made it to top 8 of the VR February S12 Challenge (2022) and has been a part of the Brazilian roster at the World Cup since 2021, when they achieved a top 16 finish.
Watch 2. 
Vicente Fuentes
At 1393 CP, Vicente has qualified for his third Worlds and first as a master, after participating as a Day 1 player in 2018 and as a Day 2 player in 2019, both in the senior division.
The best result for Vicente this season was his top 8 at Latin America Internationals (2019), still in the seniors division. With the lack of events in Latin America in 2022, we have not been able to see any further accomplishments for him.
At 1390 CP, Javier will be playing his sixth straight Worlds, since 2015, and fourth at Day 2. His best result so far happened in 2018, when he reached top cut.
Javier’s season has been excellent, having won the Campinas Special Event (2019), reached finals of the Latin America Internationals (2019) and top 8 at Europe Internationals (2022) with a very original Zacian + Dialga team.
Being the founder of Desafío Latam and hosting Zoom Competitivo, a very popular weekly podcast about VGC in Spanish alongside Paul Ruiz, Javier is one of the most influential figures in the LatAm VGC scene. He has also been managing Team Chile in the World Cup since 2021, year in which they reached top 16. Additionally, he has made his appearance as a caster in Spanish in both grassroots and official events.
4. 
Juan Salerno
At 1295 CP, Juan has qualified as a masters player for the first time, having participated in the senior division Worlds three times in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Juan’s season saw him top the 2020 leaderboard in Latin America despite not winning any major events, but got a fantastic top 4 finish at Latin America Internationals (2019) and reached finals at the Santiago Series 3 Special Event (2020).
Outside the official circuit, Juan has led Argentina in the World Cup since 2021, year in which they reached top 16, and has had fantastic results in several tournaments, including a top 8 at the VR Spring Challenge (2020), a top cut at the VR January S12 Challenge (2022), a top 4 at the VR May S12 Challenge (2022) and a very recent second place at the World Cup Open (2022) using a nonstandard Ice Rider Calyrex + Lunala team featuring Hydreigon.
At 1195 CP, Heriberto has played in Worlds the last five times, although all of them in Day 1. This season, the Chilean has earned a direct pass to Day 2 for the first time!
Heriberto started this season with a win at the Santiago Ultra Series Special Event (2019) and completed it with several other good results to close his standing amonst the Day 2 spots.
An integral part of the Chilean team in the World Cup, Heriberto was a co-manager during the 2021 edition, in which Chile managed to achieve a top 16 finish, and changed roles to be a player in the current edition.
6. Javier Venegas
At 1040 CP, Javier is another former senior player taking advantage of the age-up to masters, and will be participating in his fourth overall Worlds, having made it to Day 2 in 2018 and 2019 in the seniors division.
Not much is known about Javier’s 2020 season, but he got enough great results as a senior to secure a Day 2 spot after the age category change mid-season. With the lack of events in LatAm in 2022, we have not been able to watch him in action since he is a masters player, but we are looking forward to watching him at Worlds!
At 1007 CP, Nicolás has qualified to Worlds for a second time, and will play in Day 2 for the first time. He had previously played in the grand stage Day 1 in 2016.
Nicolás won the Santiago Series 3 Special Event (2020), the last event in Latin America before the pandemics halted the circuit and VGC went online.
After being mostly absent in the online era, Nicolás has been warming up again and has been selected as a player for Team Chile in the current edition of the World Cup!
At 912 CP, Joaquín has followed his twin brother Juan’s footsteps and has secured a spot in what will be his third Worlds and first as a masters player. The Argentinian had made Day 2 appearances in the senior division in 2018 and 2019.
Joaquín’s best results this season are several top cuts in the 2020 season, in which he reached finals of the Montevideo Special Event (2020). He went to participate in the only event in LatAm in 2022, reaching top 8 at the Santiago Regionals (2022).
Joaquín has been a part of Team Argentina in the World Cup since 2021, year in which the team achieved a top 16 finish.
At 910 CP, René has qualified for his fifth straight Worlds, fourth playing in Day 2! The Salvadorian will be looking forward to improving his amazing top 8 result achieved in 2017.
René played in some North America major events at the start of the season, ultimately achieving a top 8 in Daytona Beach (2019). He went on to win the San José Special Event (2020) in Costa Rica before the season was halted.
René played for El Salvador in last year’s World Cup (2021), in which the team got an upset top 16 finish!
10. 
Juan C. Ortiz
At 876 CP, Juan has received his fourth invite for Worlds, although he has only played once before, in 2019. This will also be the first time he plays in Day 2!
The Ecuadorian made it very close to top cut at the Latin America Internationals (2019), getting a top 16 finish. The rest of his results in the season helped him secure a spot in the LatAm leaderboards top 12.
Juan has been active as an important VGC streamer in Spanish, better known as MrPenguin93, and has performed well in online events, reaching top cut at the VR January S12 Challenge (2022) and top 16 at the Victory Road to Columbus (2022). He has also been a part of the Ecuadorian roster in the World Cup since 2021.
11. Paul Ruiz
At 835 CP, Paul has received his fourth invite for Worlds. The Ecuadorian has made it to Day 2 the three previous times, reaching semifinals in 2017 and culminating the path with the World Champion crown in 2018.
Paul has had a quiet season, at least in comparison with his previous ones. In any case, he recently travelled to North America to get a top 8 in Indianapolis (2022). As per his position as former World Champion, Paul has been invited to the VR World Champion Invitational (2020) and the Players Cup 25th Anniversary Invitational (2021), in which he finished in third place.
As a content creator in Spanish, he is the co-host of Zoom Competitivo, a weekly VGC podcast, alongside Javier Valdés, and has been active in online tournaments, getting a top 16 finish in the VR May Challenge (2020) and reaching finals of the VR January S12 Challenge (2022). Paul has also been a player-manager of Team Ecuador in the World Cup since 2021.
At 802 CP, Juan Manuel will be playing in Worlds for the first time! The Guatemalan reached the 12th LatAm Day 2 spot at the last minute, when Peruvian Jean Paul López quit from the season.
Juan Manuel had gained 432 of his CP in the 2020 season as a senior division player, but he has demonstrated enough level to reach that spot as a master, earning CP in Milwaukee (2022) and both at Europe (2022) and North America Internationals (2022).
In the online era, Juan Manuel got a top 8 result at one of the qualifiers in the VR Circuit: Winter Series (2021), and has been managing the Guatemalan team in the World Cup since 2021.
Day 1 players
The following list comprises all other players with 400 or more CP in the Latin American rating zone, and is based on the official Play! Pokémon leaderboard.
- Federico Turano (733 CP)
Renzo Navarro (707 CP)
Giovanni Araníbar (697 CP)- Diego Gutiérrez (687 CP)
- Dorian Quiñonez (660 CP)
Hugo Nascimento (565 CP)
Esteban Hernández (548 CP)- Felipe Méndez (542 CP)
- Gabriel Durán (528 CP)
Johann Duarte (498 CP)- Rafael Tavarez (480 CP)
Rodrigo Ureña (480 CP)- Raúl Ramírez (452 CP)
- Rodrigo Montoya (451 CP)
Camilo Pais (449 CP)- Gustavo Braz (448 CP)
- Francisco Alca (446 CP)
- Javier Parada (437 CP)
Gilberto Espejel (436 CP)- Matías Díaz (427 CP)
- Alexander Canseco (417 CP)
- César Reyes (416 CP)
- Raul Gioielli (414 CP)
- Charly Pastrana (407 CP)
- Juan Pablo Cambón (405 CP)
- David Rodríguez (404 CP)
- Rennatto Carcheri (400 CP)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Latin American 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.
