| Event | 2023 World Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  Yokohama, Japan |
| Date | 11ā13 August 2023 |
| Attendance | 359 qualified players (336 in attendance) |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Scarlet and PokƩmon Violet |
| Season | 2023 Season āĀ VGC Regulation Set D |
| Format | Day 1 (309 qualified players): 7 Swiss rounds Open team lists Day 2 (114 qualified players): 7 Swiss rounds + top cut (all X-2 or better) single elimination Open team lists, Day 1 players can change teams |
| Organizers | The PokƩmon Company International (TPCI) |
Check theĀ official website of the World ChampionshipsĀ for further info!
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | List | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-2 | | Shohei Kimura (ćć³ć¹) | $10,000 + 2024Ā Worlds |       |  | Ā |
| 2 | 6-1 |  | Michael Kelsch (Michi) | $7,500 + 2024Ā Worlds |     |  |  Report |
| 3 | 5-2 | | Mao Harada (ć·ćŗ) | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | | Ā |
| 4 | 5-2 |  | Federico Camporesi (FedeCampoVGC) | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds |     |  | Report |
| 5 | 5-2 |  | Abdullah Mohayyuddin (sempra) | $3,000 |   |  | |
| 6 | 5-2 |  | VĆctor Medina (Torviv) | $3,000 |  | | Ā |
| 7 | 5-2 |  | NikolajĀ HĆøj Nielsen (Nikolaj_H) | $3,000 | |  | |
| 8 | 5-2 |  | Mattie Morgan (Mattie) | $3,000 | |  | |
| 9 | 7-0 | | Luca Lussignoli (MOODY GIRL) | $1,500 | |  | |
| 10 | 6-1 | | Taro Okada (ććŖćæ) | $1,500 | | | Ā |
| 11 | 6-1 | | Marco Silva (marcofiero) | $1,500 |    | | Ā |
| 12 | 6-1 | | Yosuke Takayanagi (ććŖć) | $1,500 |  |  | Ā |
| 13 | 6-1 |  | Emilio Forbes (Emily) | $1,500 |  |  | Ā |
| 14 | 6-1 | | Kaito Arii (ćć¼ćÆ) | $1,500 | | | Ā |
| 15 | 6-1 | | Yuta Takahashi (ćć©ćć¬ć¢ć¹) | $1,500 |  |  | |
| 16 | 5-2 | | Kenji Miura (ćµćć”ć¤ć¢) | $1,500 |   |  | |
| 17 | 5-2 | | Neil Patel (Neil) | ā | | | Ā |
| 18 | 5-2 | | Nick Navarre (Nails) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 19 | 5-2 | | Joseph Ugarte (JoeUX9) | ā |   |  | |
| 20 | 5-2 | | Ćlex GĆ³mez (PokeAlex) | ā | | | Ā |
| 21 | 5-2 |  | Anthony Liuzzo (Glum) | ā | |  | Report |
| 22 | 5-2 | | Hirofumi Kimura (ć«ć»ćØć¼ć«) | ā | |  | |
| 23 | 5-2 | | Leonardo Bonanomi (Leo) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 24 | 5-2 | | Scott Iwafuchi (Hawk 7) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 25 | 5-2 | | Zachary Thornberg (Zack) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 26 | 5-2 | | Kenji Yabata (ćøć§ć³) | ā |    |  | |
Swiss rounds (Day 2)
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | List | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 4-3 | | Guillermo Castilla (KastyTp) | ā | | | Ā |
| 28 | 4-3 | | Maurice Uteg (Miku) | ā | | | Ā |
| 29 | 4-3 | | Aaron Brok (Aaron) | ā | |  | |
| 30 | 4-3 |  | Alister Sandover (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) | ā | |  | Ā |
| 31 | 4-3 | | NicoĀ Davide Cognetta (Desu) | ā | |  | |
| 32 | 4-3 | | Kentaro Matsumoto (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 33 | 4-3 | | Francesco Iozzia (Young Nova) | ā | | | Ā |
| 34 | 4-3 | | Kyle Livinghouse (Animus) | ā | | | Ā |
| 35 | 4-3 |  | Tang Shiliang (20äŗ®äŗ®) | ā | |  | |
| 36 | 4-3 | | Davide Carrer (Nirinbo) | ā | |  | |
| 37 | 4-3 |  | Gabriel Agati (Ash) | ā | | | Ā |
| 38 | 4-3 |  | SebastiĆ”n Bisbal (Brutus) | ā |  |  | |
| 39 | 4-3 | | Paul Chua (Paul) | ā | | | Ā |
| 40 | 4-3 | | Hodaka Hatakeyama (ćÆć£ćć) | ā |  |  | |
| 41 | 4-3 | | Juan BenĆtez (Palo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 42 | 4-3 | | AurĆ©lien Soula (Sakura) | ā | | | Ā |
| 43 | 4-3 | | Flavio DelĀ Pidio (Pado) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 44 | 4-3 | | Baris Akcos (>BillaVGC<) | ā |  |  | |
| 45 | 4-3 | | Alberto Lara (Ellie) | ā | | | Ā |
| 46 | 4-3 |  | Taeseok Roe (ģ° ėØģ) | ā | | | Ā |
| 47 | 4-3 |  | Taran Birdee (Taran) | ā | | | Ā |
| 48 | 4-3 |  | Melvin Keh (Sophia) | ā | | | Ā |
| 49 | 4-3 | | Renzo Navarro (NotRenzo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 50 | 4-3 | | Kengo Hirata (ćæćŖćØćØćć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 51 | 4-3 | | Florian Henry (Shiyo) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 52 | 4-3 |  | Yang Da-wei (Wavvvy) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 53 | 4-3 | | Yuma Miyamoto (ćØćć) | ā | |  | |
| 54 | 3-4 |  | Michael Navas (Jejemena <3) | ā |     |  | |
| 55 | 3-4 | | Jiseok Lee (282) | ā | |  | Ā |
| 56 | 3-3 | | Ren Kotorii (ćŖć¬ć³ćø) | ā | |  | |
| 57 | 3-4 | | Kanade Mizuguchi (ćć¤ćŖć¬ćć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 58 | 3-4 | | Eric Rios (AEsir) | ā | | | Ā |
| 59 | 3-4 | | Kai Yazawa (ć·ć£ć³ć°ćŖć©) | ā | |  | |
| 60 | 3-4 |  | JoaquĆn Salerno (Mysticbox…) | ā | | | Ā |
| 61 | 3-4 |  | Wayne Yu (Wayne) | ā |  |  | Ā |
| 62 | 3-4 | | Yuya Tada (ććć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 63 | 3-4 | | Yohei Yamane (ććć) | ā | |  | |
| 64 | 3-3 | | Alfredo Chang-Gonzalez (Chino) | ā | | | Ā |
| 65 | 3-4 |  | Paul Ruiz (Ralf) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 66 | 3-4 | | Mizuki Sasaki (ćććć¾) | ā | | | Ā |
| 67 | 3-4 | | Simone Sanvito (āSanvy) | ā | | | Ā |
| 68 | 3-4 | | Nils Dunlop (Nils) | ā | | | Ā |
| 69 | 3-4 | | Nicholas Kan (Nick) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 70 | 3-4 | | Patrick Donegan (P Donz) | ā |    |  | |
| 71 | 3-4 | | Nathan Rouby (Eltrys) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 72 | 3-4 | | Thomas Gravouille (Hari) | ā |  |  | |
| 73 | 3-4 | | Jack Clarke (Jack) | ā | | | Ā |
| 74 | 3-4 | | Yuta Hiroki (ć²ćććć) | ā | |  | |
| 75 | 3-4 |  | Kurt Wonka (Lyon) | ā | | | Ā |
| 76 | 2-4 | | Chuppa CrossĀ IV (Chuppa*Cross) | ā | | | Ā |
| 77 | 2-4 | | Hippolyte Bernard (āAllySwitchā) | ā | |  | |
| 78 | 2-4 | | Justin Burns (Justin) | ā | | | Ā |
| 79 | 2-3 | | Marcus Dion (Father Dijon) | ā | | | Ā |
| 80 | 2-5 | | Javier ValdĆ©s (IRNemesis) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 81 | 2-5 |  | Jasdil Singh Deo (void) | ā | | | Ā |
| 82 | 2-3 |  | Panyawut Noijan (Rizaya) | ā | | | Ā |
| 83 | 2-5 | | Ćlex Soto (LenVGC) | ā | | | Ā |
| 84 | 2-3 | | Luka Trejgut (Ā£) | ā | | | Ā |
| 85 | 2-5 | | Jeremy Parson (Zanzibar) | ā | | | Ā |
| 86 | 2-5 | | Yusuke Tsuganezawa (ćć±) | ā |   |  | |
| 87 | 2-5 | | Estephan Valdebenito (Irina) | ā | |  | Ā |
| 88 | 2-5 | | Xiao Haotian (DayDay) | ā | | | Ā |
| 89 | 2-3 | | Satoru Mutsuno (ć¾ććć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 90 | 1-3 | | James Evans (James) | ā | | | Ā |
| 91 | 1-3 | | Yuma Suzuki (NEO) | ā | | | Ā |
| 92 | 1-3 |  | Enosh Shachar (Enosh) | ā | | | Ā |
| 93 | 1-3 | | Luca Ceribelli (Yume) | ā | | | Ā |
| 94 | 1-3 | | Galo Orbea (EcuaDude) | ā | | | Ā |
| 95 | 1-3 | | Giulio Tarlao (Giulio) | ā | | | Ā |
| 96 | 1-4 | | Rafa Busutil (PokeRaf) | ā | | | Ā |
| 97 | 1-3 | | Wan Aqil (nish) | ā | | | Ā |
| 98 | 1-4 | | Juan Salerno (Juanfi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 99 | 1-3 | | Selahattin Sturm (Sela) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 100 | 1-6 | | Jun Mikami (ćć«) | ā | |  | |
| 101 | 1-4 | | Kazuya Kitasawa (ćć«ć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 102 | 1-3 | | Pan SiĀ Ming (čå®ē³) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 103 | 1-3 | | Marco Marras (Noxill) | ā | | | Ā |
| 104 | 0-2 | | Gavin Michaels (HUH?!!) | ā | | | Ā |
| 105 | 0-3 | | Meaghan Rattle (Dan Kuso) | ā | |  | |
| 106 | 0-4 | | Dorian QuiƱonez (Dorian) | ā | | | Ā |
| 107 | 0-3 |  | Raghav Malaviya (ragi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 108 | 0-3 | | Hugo Nascimento (Labacedo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 109 | 0-3 |  | Kevin Salvetto (Lil Bo Peep) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 110 | 0-3 | | Sam Pandelis (ā„Misakaā„) | ā | | | Ā |
| 111 | 0-4 | | Adam Cherfaoui (Shao) | ā | | | Ā |
| 112 | 0-3 |  | Francis Tai (Tyrant) | ā | | | Ā |
| 113 | 0-3 | | Ryoma Okamoto (ć¾ć²ć) | ā | |  | |
Day 1 Swiss rounds
287 players participated on Day 1. These are the ones that advanced to Day 2 after the Day 1 Swiss rounds!
Senior division
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | List | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6-1 | | Tomoya O. | $10,000 + 2024Ā Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 2 | 5-2 |  | Robbie S. | $7,500 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 3 | 5-2 | | Yuta O. | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 4 | 5-2 | | Yuta K. | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 5 | 6-1 | | Sali R. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
| 6 | 5-2 | | Tomoya Z. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
| 7 | 5-2 | | Aidan P. | $3,000 |  | Ā | Ā |
| 8 | 5-2 | | Teddy F. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
Junior division
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | List | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-2 | | Sora E. | $10,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 2 | 5-2 | | Kohei U. | $7,500 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 3 | 5-2 | | PietroĀ N. K. | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 4 | 5-2 | | Wataru K. | $5,000 + 2024Ā Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 5 | 6-1 | | Shunsei K. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
| 6 | 5-2 | | Minato K. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
| 7 | 5-2 | | Kanata S. | $3,000 |  | Ā | Ā |
| 8 | 5-2 | | Leland S. | $3,000 | | Ā | Ā |
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on several platforms and in several languages, with Anna ProsserĀ acting as host for the whole event.
- In English: streamed live onĀ TwitchĀ andĀ YouTube, with Adam Dorricott, Rosemary Kelley,Ā Scott Glaza,Ā Lee Provost,Ā Aaron Zheng,Ā Lou Akcos-CromieĀ andĀ Ray RizzoĀ as casters.
- In Japanese: streamed live on Niconico and YouTube, with Kosuke Hiraiwa, Shohei Taguchi, Refu and Hakushu Takeuchi as casters, and Manao Kagawa as interviewer.
- In Korean: streamed live onĀ YouTube, withĀ Dongmin Park,Ā Yiseul Kwon,Ā Yongnyeo KimĀ and Bino as casters.
- In Chinese: streamed live onĀ YouTube, withĀ ShinnĀ andĀ Wu ChenĀ as casters.
The schedule for the streams is the following:
- Opening ceremony and Day 1: stream starts on 11 August 2023 at 00:00 UTC.
- Day 2, including top cut (except finals): stream starts on 12 August 2023 at 00:00 UTC.
- Finals: stream starts on 13 August 2023 at 00:00 UTC. VGC finals will come after PokƩmon Go and PokƩmon TCG, and they are estimated to start at around 05:00 UTC.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Arash Ommati |
vs | Naoto Mizobuchi |
| R2 | Ashton Cox |
vs | Yuya Tada |
| R3 | Baris Akcos |
vs | Yuto Mizoi   |
| Caster battle | Aaron Zheng  |
vs | Ray Rizzo |
| R4 | Simone Sanvito |
vs | Camilo Liberona |
| R5 | Emilio Forbes |
vs | Kentaro Matsumoto |
| R6 | Patrick Donegan |
vs | Giovanni Costa |
| R7 | Wolfe Glick |
vs | Tang Shiliang |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Emilio Forbes |
vs | Eric Rios |
| R2 | Gabriel Agati |
vs | Alister Sandover |
| R3 | Joseph Ugarte |
vs | Kengo Hirata |
| R4 | Yosuke Takayanagi |
vs | Michael Navas |
| R5 | Abdullah Mohayyuddin |
vs | Mao Harada |
| R6 | Marco Silva |
vs | Shohei Kimura |
| R7 | Paul Chua |
vs | Kenji Yabata |
| Top 32 | Kenji Yabata |
vs | Kaito Arii |
| Top 16 | VĆctor Medina |
vs | Taro Okada |
| Top 8 | Federico Camporesi |
vs | Abdullah Mohayyuddin |
| Top 4 | Mao Harada |
vs | Shohei Kimura |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juniors finals | Sora Ebisawa |
vs | Kohei Ukai |
| Seniors finals | Tomoya Ogawa |
vs | Robbie Schaaij |
| Masters finals | Michael Kelsch |
vs | Shohei Kimura |
The event will be broadcast live onĀ TwitchĀ and YouTube, with Rosemary Kelley, Adam Dorricott, Lou Akcos-CromieĀ andĀ Joe BrownĀ as casters and Sierra Dawn Hunter managing interviews to match winners and invitees, such asĀ 2022 NAICĀ championĀ James Evans,Ā 2020 LAICĀ championĀ James Baek.
- Day 1: stream starts on 16 February at 21:45 UTC
- Day 2: stream starts on 17 February at 21:45 UTC
- Championship Sunday: stream starts on 18 February at 21:45 UTC with the TCG finals. VGC finals are expected on 19 February at around 03:00 UTC
Take a look at the following matches!
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Henry Rich  |
vs | Gabriel Agati  |
| R2 | Kimo Nishimura  |
vs | Meaghan Rattle |
| R3 | Ben Madigan  |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| R4 | Sam Pandelis  |
vs | Peng Chongjun  |
| R5 | Marco Silva  |
vs | AurƩlien Soula |
| R6 |  Stefan Mott |
vs | Alex Underhill |
| R7 | Joseph Ugarte |
vs | Justin Burns |
| R8 | Collin Heier |
vs | Eric Rios |
| R9 | Luke Curtale  |
vs | Zackary Thornberg  |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R10 | Yuki Zaninovich |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| R11 | Jesse Beard |
vs | Yuya Tada  |
| R12 | Alfredo Chang-Gonzalez  |
vs | Giulio Tarlao |
| Casters | Rosemary Kelley  |
vs | Lou Akcos-Cromie  |
| R13 | Alberto Lara |
vs | Sam Pandelis |
| R14 | Collin Heier |
vs | AurƩlien Soula |
| Top 8 | Thomas Gravouille |
vs | Yuya Tada |
| Top 4a | Raghav Malaviya |
vs | Alberto Lara |
| Top 4b | Yuya Tada |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juniors Finals | Kiara N. |
vs | Takumi M. |
| Seniors Finals |  Tin Tin N. |
vs | Benjamin B. |
| Masters Finals | Gavin Michaels |
vs | Alberto Lara |
Usage stats
The following stats only count the Master Division usage.
Day 2
Day 1
It is assumed that the Urshifu style represented in the following graph is the Rapid Strike Style.
The event will be broadcast live onĀ TwitchĀ and YouTube, with Rosemary Kelley, Adam Dorricott, Lou Akcos-CromieĀ andĀ Joe BrownĀ as casters and Sierra Dawn Hunter managing interviews to match winners and invitees, such asĀ 2022 NAICĀ championĀ James Evans,Ā 2020 LAICĀ championĀ James Baek.
- Day 1: stream starts on 16 February at 21:45 UTC
- Day 2: stream starts on 17 February at 21:45 UTC
- Championship Sunday: stream starts on 18 February at 21:45 UTC with the TCG finals. VGC finals are expected on 19 February at around 03:00 UTC
Take a look at the following matches!
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Henry Rich |
vs | Gabriel Agati |
| R2 | Kimo Nishimura |
vs | Meaghan Rattle |
| R3 | Ben Madigan |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| R4 | Sam Pandelis |
vs | Peng Chongjun |
| R5 | Marco Silva |
vs | AurƩlien Soula |
| R6 | Stefan Mott |
vs | Alex Underhill |
| R7 | Joseph Ugarte |
vs | Justin Burns |
| R8 | Collin Heier |
vs | Eric Rios |
| R9 | Luke Curtale |
vs | Zackary Thornberg |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R10 | Yuki Zaninovich |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| R11 | Jesse Beard |
vs | Yuya Tada |
| R12 | Alfredo Chang-Gonzalez |
vs | Giulio Tarlao |
| Casters | Rosemary Kelley |
vs | Lou Akcos-Cromie |
| R13 | Alberto Lara |
vs | Sam Pandelis |
| R14 | Collin Heier |
vs | AurƩlien Soula |
| Top 8 | Thomas Gravouille |
vs | Yuya Tada |
| Top 4a | Raghav Malaviya |
vs | Alberto Lara |
| Top 4b | Yuya Tada |
vs | Gavin Michaels |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juniors Finals | Kiara N. |
vs | Takumi M. |
| Seniors Finals | Tin Tin N. |
vs | Benjamin B. |
| Masters Finals | Gavin Michaels |
vs | Alberto Lara |
Participating players
The World Championships is an invitational event in which players from all over the world can play if they meet some qualifying criteria. These players are sent an email with all the instructions they need to follow to confirm their attendance and register their teams.
Check here the info on these criteria, as well as who the players that earned an invite are!
Check out our preview articles on all qualified players from North America, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, Japan, and the rest of Asia!
Venue and schedule
The tournament will be held inĀ the Exhibition Halls A, B, C and D of the following location:
PACIFICO Yokohama
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1-chÅme-1-1 Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012
ć220-0012 ē„å„å·ēęØŖęµåøč„æåŗćæćŖćØćæććļ¼äøē®ļ¼āļ¼
Check-in and badge pickup for players with a Day 1 invite can be done at the Annex Hall on Thursday 10 August from 5 pm to 8 pm JST (08:00 to 11:00 UTC), or early on Friday 11 August from 8 am JST (10 August at 23:00 UTC).
Day 1 players must be ready in the venue onĀ 11 August 2023 at the conclusion of the opening ceremonies, approximately at 9:30 am JST (00:30 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts right thereafterĀ with the Day 1 Swiss rounds. All players with 2 or fewer losses at the end of the Swiss rounds qualify to the Day 2 tournament.
Check-in and badge pickup for players with a Day 2 invite can be done at the Annex Hall on Thursday 10 August from 5 pm to 8 pm JST (08:00 to 11:00 UTC) or on Friday 11 August from 8 am to 3 pm JST (10 August at 23:00 UTC to 11 August at 06:00 UTC).
Day 2 players must be ready in the venue on 12 August 2023Ā at 8:45 am JST (11 August at 23:45 UTC) for a new players meeting. The tournament starts right thereafter with the Day 2 Swiss rounds and the top cut, until only two players remain.
Finals will be played on 13 August 2023 at 9 am JST (00:00 UTC), starting with PokƩmon Go, then PokƩmon TCG and finally PokƩmon VGC (VGC finals estimated at around 2 pm JST / 05:00 UTC).
Prizes
This event is the most important event in theĀ 2023 official circuitĀ for all regions. It does notĀ reward Championship Points (CPs).
Information about participation goodies will be released at a later date.
Additionally, the best-placed players will receive the following prizesĀ depending on final attendance:
| Placement | Prize money | Other prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | $10,000 |
|
| Runner-up | $7,500 |
|
| Semifinalists | $5,000 |
|
| 5th to 8th | $3,000 |
|
| 9th to 16th | $1,500 |
|
| 17th to 32nd | – |
|
If prize money is $5000 or more, it will be given as a choice of scholarship (in all cases) or cash (for minors, as a PokĆ©mon VisaĀ® Prepaid Card). For lower prizes, it will be given as cash (for minors, as a PokĆ©mon VisaĀ® Prepaid Card).
Overview
The World ChampionshipsĀ is the most important event for PokĆ©mon VGC, PokĆ©mon TCG,Ā PokĆ©mon GOĀ and PokĆ©mon UNITEĀ for every region (either in TPCI, TPC or PokĆ©mon Korea), as the culmination of all events throughout the season.
It is the 13th edition of the World Championships for PokĆ©mon VGC. After a special event held during the 2008 PokĆ©mon TCG World Championships, dubbed the Video Game Showdown (and won by Japanese playerĀ Izuru Yoshimura), VGC Worlds has been celebrated every year starting in 2009, with the only exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemics. See the results of the previous editions:
- 2009, won byĀ Ā Kazuyuki Tsuji
- 2010, won byĀ Ā Ray Rizzo
- 2011, won byĀ Ā Ray Rizzo, for the 2nd time
- 2012, won byĀ Ā Ray Rizzo, for a record 3rd time
- 2013, won byĀ Ā Arash Ommati
- 2014, won byĀ Ā Sejun Park
- 2015, won byĀ Ā Shoma Honami
- 2016, won byĀ Ā Wolfe Glick
- 2017, won byĀ Ā Ryota Otsubo
- 2018, won byĀ Ā Paul Ruiz
- 2019, won byĀ Ā Naoto Mizobuchi
- 2022, won byĀ
Ā Eduardo Cunha
The ruleset isĀ VGC Regulation Set DĀ and it will be played using open team lists. It is the first time this ruleset is used in an official event. A new ruleset had never been played before at the World Championships for the first time!
A little bit of history
Japan has been a part of the official TPC circuit since its inception. It has hosted multiple major events, including old-era Regionals and National Championships, and is particularly successful in the online competitions. This is the first time ever that it is host to the World Championships! As the most successful country in VGC, Japan’s greatest trophies have been brought home by 4 World Champions in the Masters division, as well as the 2008 VGS ChampionĀ and other 9 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was theĀ 2023 Japan National Championship, hosted in Chiba and played with the VGC Regulation Set C in June 2023. TheĀ finalsĀ saw JapaneseĀ Kaito AriiĀ defeat fellow countrymanĀ Hodaka HatakeyamaĀ to achieve his first-ever major title.
The last time the World Championships were held was theĀ 2022 edition, hosted in London, United Kingdom, and played in PokĆ©mon Sword & PokĆ©mon Shield with the VGC Series 12 ruleset in August 2022. TheĀ finalsĀ saw 2016 Worlds semifinalistĀ Eduardo CunhaĀ defeat 2-time National ChampionĀ Guillermo CastillaĀ to win the crown of World Champion!
Sign-up instructions
For Day 1 players, team lists must be submitted throughĀ Rk9 LabsĀ the day before the event starts, by 10 August 2023 at 8 pm JST (11:00 UTC).
For Day 2 players, team lists must also be submitted through Rk9 Labs 1 hour and 15 minutes before the event starts, by 12 August 2023 at 7:30 am JST (11 August at 22:30 UTC). This is treated as a different tournament, so players qualified from Day 1 can change to a new team for Day 2.
A chance to getĀ spectator passes is decided by a lottery. The first step is to join anĀ Interest ListĀ by 7 June at 6:59 UTC. A lottery is drawn on 12 June amongst those in the Interest List and, if you are selected, you can purchase up to 2 spectator passes, which cost Ā„2,000 each.
