TheĀ 2023 World Championships, which will be held on 11ā13 August 2023, are hosted in Japan for the first time!Ā 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 4 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 20 Day 1 invitees this region brings.
Table of Contents
Oceania at Worlds
Oceania is the underdog in the TPCI sanctioned regions. After losing all South East Asian countries in its sphere to TPC except for the Oceanian-proper Australia and New Zealand in 2020, this region’s competitiveness has been reduced… but they still have some of the strongest performances!
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 back-to-back top 8 in 2019 and 2022.
After Meaghan’s run in the last World Championships, will Oceania surpass her 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 200 CP (or Championship Points) in the 2023 season receive an invite to Day 1. Additionally, the top 4 players achieve a direct pass to Day 2 and a Travel Award.
This corresponds to an easier path to a Day 1 invite than in 2022, but a much tougher Day 2 race, with a decrease to a third of the spots there were last season.
Day 2 players
At 598 CP, Alister will play Worlds for the third time. He had played in 2018 and 2019, with the former achieving a Day 2 spot.
Alister took advantage of the short Oceanian season and made Day 2 at both the Oceania and Europe Internationals. Furthermore, he secured a second place inĀ PerthĀ and a top 8 finish inĀ Sydney, the only Regionals in his region!
Alister has been a part of Team AustraliaĀ in the World CupĀ since the 2022 edition, when they reached semifinals!
WatchĀ At 586 CP, Alfredo has qualified to Worlds for the sixth straight time, second as a Masters player. He had played in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a Senior, and also qualified with a direct Day 2 spot in 2022 as a Master. He continues the streak!
Alfredo started strong by placing top 8 at theĀ Oceania International, being the highest-ranked Oceanian in their home region flagship event. Making it to Day 2 at theĀ Europe InternationalĀ proved to be enough to secure one of the Day 2 spots in his region.
At 542 CP, Meaghan has qualified for her fourth 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 following Worlds, both in 2019 and 2022, she went even further and surprised everyone with back-to-backĀ top 8 finishes!
Meaghan made top 32 at theĀ Oceania InternationalĀ to start the season, and followed it with a top 8 inĀ SydneyĀ and a Day 2 finish at theĀ Europe International. Having also earned some extra CPs, this was more than enough for the third Day 2 invite in Oceania.
Outside the official circuit, Meaghan has played for Australia in the World Cup since 2021, including last year when they made it to the semifinals.
4. 
Sam Pandelis
At 500 CP is Sam Pandelis, Oceania’s best ever result in a World Championships — Finalist in 2017. This is actually his sixth time trying to get the most coveted prize, as he already played in 2018 and 2019 at Day 1 and 2016, 2017 and 2022 directly on Day 2.
Sam achieved a top 16 finish at theĀ Oceania Internataional, and then got a top 4 inĀ PerthĀ and a second place in SydneyĀ to gain the last Day 2 invite to the World Championships in his region.Ā
In the grassroots scene, Sam is a well-known TO for high-roller events, and, as one of the managers of the team, piloted Team Australia in the 2022 World CupĀ to the semifinals!
Day 1 players
Oceania has 20 representatives in Day 1 of Worlds, some of which are big names in the scene. Watch out for 2017 Junior World Champion & 2022 Senior Worlds finalistĀ Nicholas Kan, 2019 Seniors Worlds finalistĀ Lewis Tan, or 2-time Regional ChampionĀ Liam Gilbert!
The following list comprises all other players with 200 or more CP in the Oceania rating zone, and is based on the official Play! PokĆ©mon leaderboard, or who qualified through last year’s Worlds results.Ā
- Nicholas Kan (2022 Worlds finalist, SR)
- Ā Henry RichĀ (476 CP)
- Ā Liam GilbertĀ (335 CP)
- James Katsaros (330 CP)
- Ā Thomas ChenĀ (308 CP)
Ā Michael NavasĀ (291 CP)
Ā Alex DonaldsonĀ (285 CP)- Ā Lewis TanĀ (270 CP)
- Danijel Zitko (260 CP)
- Ā Galvin HuiĀ (260 CP)
- Ā Fred ZhouĀ (244 CP)
- Ā James SullivanĀ (240 CP)
- Ā Mitch KendrickĀ (230 CP)
Äįŗ”t LĘ°Ę”ng (230 CP)- Ā Vivek ArunagiriĀ (230 CP)
- Ā Ryan HercusĀ (222 CP)
- Ā Diego FerreiraĀ (220 CP)
Liu Genting (215 CP)- Ā Lochiel CameronĀ (210 CP)
- Ā Luke IueleĀ (200 CP)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Oceanian players having qualified for the World Championships! As, arguably, one of the underdog regions in the World, other players should not be sleeping on them. We wish you all the best of luck.
If you’re not attending, you can follow their battles from home. Check all info about the PokĆ©mon World ChampionshipsĀ here!
