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 the home region,Ā Japan! Let’s meet the 8 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 58 Day 1 invitees this region brings.
Table of Contents
Japan at Worlds
The fact that PokƩmon is a Japanese franchise is notorious, as this country in particular deserves a whole separated treatment from the rest. Japan is great at this game and features the current World Champion!
From the time when VGC was not even VGC, Izuru Yoshimura proved that Japan is a giant force with his victory in the 2008 Video Game Showdown. Since then, Kazuyuki Tsuji (2009), Shoma Honami (2015), Ryota Otsubo (2017) and Naoto Mizobuchi (2019) have repeated that feat.
The latest World Championships featured the 2019 World Champion Naoto in top 8,Ā Rinya KobayashiĀ and 2019 Senior World ChampionĀ Ko TsukideĀ in top 16, and four other playersĀ also reaching top cut spots. Will Japan keep dominating the scene, now that they play home?
Requirements for a Worlds invite
As per the Japanese system, all players that have made it to a top 64 (or better) finish in theĀ Japan National ChampionshipsĀ earn a Day 1 invite. Additionally, the top 8 players achieve a direct pass to Day 2, with the best 4 players earning a Travel Award.
While it has been some years that in-game ladder competitions (known in English-speaking regions as Global Challenges) have been the Japan National Qualifiers, this time the qualification to a live stage was not immediate. Yet another in-game ladder tournament, theĀ Main Stage, would filter down the 450 players to the 64 that would receive a Day 1 invite and would end up in the live stage… but this tournament was stained by technical issues. Day 1 invites were ultimately not granted at this point, and aĀ second Main Stage eventĀ was played, with 64 more players qualifying to the live stage. The live event featured thus 128 players, but only 64 would get the invites. Only Day 2 of the live event featured open team lists.
This year, the Japanese circuit was even more different from the TPCI regions than usual. Ā Having only played in CTS (closed teamsheet) in-game ladder tournaments and a best-of-1 double-elimination tournament, Japanese players must adapt to the open-teamsheet best-of-3 Swiss rounds + top cut format of the TPCI-run World Championships. Their only OTS (open teamsheet) experience features known Natures but unknown Tera Types. Will they be able to play at their highest level in these conditions?
Day 2 players
1. 
Kaito Arii
Kaito has achieved his second Worlds invite, the other having been in 2022, although he didn’t attend back then. There is a tradition that says that the Japan National Champion will reach finals at odd-year Worlds, something that has been true for Shoma, Ryota andĀ Hirofumi KimuraĀ so far… Will this trend show up again?
The Japanese has achieved the invite with his victory atĀ Japan National, to which he qualified by placing in the top 32 at theĀ second Japan National QualifierĀ (a result he improved to a second place in theĀ third Qualifier) and a back-to-back second place in the messyĀ Main StageĀ that had to be repeated later on.
Kaito is also a renowned ladder hero. He has placed 2nd in the Ranked BattlesĀ Season 1, played with Regulation Set A; 5th inĀ Season 3, with Regulation Set B; 1st inĀ Season 5, with Regulation Set C; and 1st again inĀ Season 8, played with Regulation Set D and using Iron Hands and Amoonguss… Beware if you find his IGN “Naku” (ćć¼ćÆ) in your ladder games!
WatchĀ Kaito’s win at Japan National!
Hodaka has achieved his second Worlds invite, the other having been in 2022, although similarly as Kaito, he didn’t attend back then.
Hodaka earned his invite with a second place atĀ Japan National, in which he survived Day 1 undefeated and only lost in Day 2’s Winners Finals and Grand Finals to the eventual champion. He had barely qualified to the live stage with a top 64 in theĀ second Main Stage tournament, though (fun fact: it was the only player in this page’s list that made it through the second event!).
You may be facing Hodaka if you find “Haki” (ćć) on ladder!
It has been thirteen full years since Kanade first made it to Worlds, as he qualified all the way back in 2010 in the Junior division.Ā Now, in 2023, he will try to achieve a better result in his second Worlds, and first as a Master!
Kanade earned his invite with a third place atĀ Japan National. He made it all the way through Day 1 undefeated, but had to face the eventual champion in the first round of Day 2. He lost that match, but then made a miracle run through the Day 2 losers bracket and only lost in Losers Finals versus Hodaka. He had qualified to the live stage with a top 64 in theĀ first Main Stage tournament.
Commonly seen in high spots of the Ranked Battles, he has achieved a peak 7th place inĀ Season 2, back in February.
Amongst the Day 2 invitees Japan has this year, Shohei is remarkably the one that international players know the most. This is his fourth time at Worlds, after playing in Day 1 in 2016, in Day 2 with a direct pass in 2017, and all the way through Day 1 into Day 2 in 2022.
Shohei placed fourth atĀ Japan National, having been eliminated in the Day 2 losers bracket semifinals. He had been undefeated in Day 1 and only lost to the eventual champion Kaito and third place Kanade. Shohei did not want to wait and already secured a spot at the National with a top 64 in theĀ first Qualifier, and made it to the live stage through theĀ first Main Stage tournament.
Shohei also likes to play on ladder. His best end results in the PokĆ©mon Scarlet & PokĆ©mon Violet Ranked Battles Seasons include a 30th place inĀ Season 1, a 5th place inĀ Season 2, 13th place inĀ Season 3, and an 18th place inĀ Season 5. Although everyone knows him as “Zeen” (ćć¼ć), he sometimes uses “Goldburn” (ć“ć«ććć¼ć³) on cart. Additionally, he got a top 16 finish in the early-metaĀ VR Welcome to PaldeaĀ tournament and has played theĀ World Cup of PokĆ©mon VGCĀ as part of Team Japan since 2021.
5. Kenji Miura
Kenji will be playing his second World Championships in a row. He navigated Day 1 in 2022, but could not advance. Now, with a direct invite to Day 2, his odds have greatly improved!
Last year, Kenji was one match away from Day 2, as he finished the 2022 Japan National in top 16. This time, he could make it, and in such fashion! He went undefeated in Day 1, securing the direct Worlds Day 2 spot, and eventually ended in the top 6 of this year’sĀ Japan National, being eliminated by third-place Kanade. Kenji had qualified to the National by placing 9th in theĀ first Qualifier, and made it to the live stage by reaching theĀ 1st place in the chaoticĀ first Main Stage tournament.
You can find Kenji in game as “Sapphire” (ćµćć”ć¤ć¢).
6. Kengo Hirata
This will be the first time Kengo plays in the World Championships!
Kengo earned his invite by reaching the top 6Ā of Japan National. In Day 1, he had lost the win-and-in but secured advancing to Day 2 through the losers bracket. In Day 2, he was eliminated after losing against fellow top 6 Kenji in the winners bracket and fourth-place Shohei in the losers bracket. Kengo had qualified to the National by placing 11th in theĀ first Qualifier, and made it to the live stage with a 21st place in theĀ first Main Stage tournament.
If you encounter “Minato Tomoka” (ćæćŖćØćØćć) on cart, you may be playing versus Kengo!
7. Kazuya Kitasawa
This will also be the first Worlds for Kazuya!
Kazuya earned his invite by finishing in the top 8 of Japan National, after a very stressful miracle run. He lost the very first round of Day 1 and experienced an early descent to the losers bracket. However, he persevered and got eight straight wins to secure a spot in Day 2! His fuel was certainly exhausted by then, as he lost back-to-back first versus second-place Hirata in the new winners bracket and then versus top 6 finisher Kengo in losers. Kazuya had qualified to the National with one of the last spots in the third Qualifier, and made it to the live stage with a 23rd place in the first Main Stage tournament.
Kazuya plays as “Haruto” (ćć«ć) in the game.
8. Ren Kotorii
Ren will play Worlds for theĀ first timeĀ too!
Ren is that Stantler player who finished inĀ the top 8Ā of Japan National.Ā In Day 1, he got three victories in the winners bracket, descended to the losers bracket but secured a spot in Day 2 with three more wins there. With the most important task fulfilled, he lost to fourth-place Shohei in the Day 2 winners bracket and to third-place Kanade in losers. The truth is that Ren had already used Stantler, this time alongside Arboliva, to qualify to the Japan National live stage with a top 64 finish in theĀ first Main Stage tournament!
With Ren’s unorthodox picks and no footage of his matches whatsoever, he may be at an advantage over other players! If you want to scout him, you just have to find him on ladder as “Orange” (ćŖć¬ć³ćø), as he recently ended in 7th place of the Ranked BattlesĀ Season 8Ā withĀ this Regulation Set D team!
Day 1 players
Japan has 58 representatives in Day 1 of Worlds, some of which are big names in the scene. They include 2013 National Champion and Worlds finalistĀ Ryosuke Kosuge, 2-time National Champion and 2019 Worlds finalistĀ Hirofumi Kimura, 2019 World ChampionĀ Naoto Mizobuchi, 2021 National ChampionĀ Kohei Fujita, 2022 National ChampionĀ Kentaro Matsumoto, and 2022 Senior World ChampionĀ Yasuharu Shimizu.
The following list comprises all other players with a top 64 finish at Japan National, or who qualified through last year’s Worlds results.
- Yasuharu Shimizu (2022 World Champion, SR)
- Yuma Suzuki (2022 Worlds semifinalist, SR)
- Atsuhiro Sugiyama (Group A Top 6)
- Ā Satoru NishigaiĀ (Group A Top 6)
- Ā Hikaru OkawaĀ (Group A Top 8)
- Hirokazu Sue (Group A Top 8)
- Ā Yusuke TsuganezawaĀ (Group A Top 12)
- Ā Naoki MinagawaĀ (Group A Top 12)
- Ā Kai YazawaĀ (Group A Top 12)
- Keita Yamada (Group A Top 12)
- Ā Hiroto KamazawaĀ (Group A Top 16)
- Ā Hirofumi KimuraĀ (Group A Top 16)
- Ā Yuya TadaĀ (Group A Top 16)
- Ā Yohei YamaneĀ (Group A Top 16)
- Ā Hirofumi ImaiĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Hiroshi OnishiĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Ryosuke KosugeĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Tomoaki SatoĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Daiki SudoĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Mao HaradaĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Naoto MizobuchiĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Yuma YoshidaĀ (Group A Top 24)
- Ā Tomonori AoiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Yosuke TakayanagiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Kohei FujitaĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Ryota HosoiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Jun MikamiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Yuto MizoiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Katsuhiko MinamiĀ (Group A Top 32)
- Satoru Mutsuno (Group A Top 32)
- Ā Atsushi MasubuchiĀ (Group B Top 6)
- Ā Yuma MiyamotoĀ (Group B Top 6)
- Ā Rikuto TakemotoĀ (Group B Top 8)
- Ā Kazunori MuranushiĀ (Group B Top 8)
- Ā Kotaro OkadaĀ (Group B Top 12)
- Ā Tomoki KawatsureĀ (Group B Top 12)
- Ā Yoshikazu SawaneĀ (Group B Top 12)
- Ā Yuta HirokiĀ (Group B Top 12)
- Ā Shintaro AmemiyaĀ (Group B Top 16)
- Ā Taka MaenishiĀ (Group B Top 16)
- Ā Shotaro MatsuiĀ (Group B Top 16)
- Ā Takumi MatsuhabaĀ (Group B Top 16)
- Ā Toshiaki AokiĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Motoki AganoĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Taro OkadaĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Akihiro KurodaĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Akatoki SakamotoĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Mizuki SasakiĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Takumi SomaĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Yuta TakahashiĀ (Group B Top 24)
- Ā Ryoma OkamotoĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Takumi OkuoĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Ryota KatoĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Hayato SugaĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Tetta FukudaĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Naoyuki MatsuhashiĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Kentaro MatsumotoĀ (Group B Top 32)
- Ā Kenji YabataĀ (Group B Top 32)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Japanese players having qualified for the World Championships! As the most successful region historically, playing for the first time on home ground, they are definitely the favourites to win this time. 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!
