| Event | PokĆ©mon Japan Championships 2024 Finals (ćć±ć¢ć³ćøć£ćć³ćć£ć³ććŖć³ć·ććć¹2024 ę±ŗå) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Yokohama, Japan |
| Date | 1ā2 June 2024 |
| Capacity | 192 qualified players (64 MA, 64 SR, 64 JR) |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Scarlet and PokƩmon Violet |
| Season | 2024 SeasonĀ āĀ VGC Regulation Set G |
| Format | Double-elimination bracket, Bo1 before Top 8, Bo3 from Top 8 onwards Closed team lists before Top 8 Open team lists (incl. Nature) from Top 8 onwards |
| Organizer | The PokƩmon Company (TPC) |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Day 2 rounds (Top 4)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Hyuma Hara (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) |
2024 Worlds Worlds R1 bye Travel Award |
      |
 |
| 2 | |
Kiwamu Endo (ćć¤ćŖć¬ćć) |
2024 Worlds Worlds R1 bye Travel Award |
     |
|
| 3 | |
Naoya Osumi (ććć¾ć) |
2024 Worlds Worlds R1 bye Travel Award |
     |
|
| 4 | |
Masahiro Taoka (ćć®) |
2024 Worlds Worlds R1 bye Travel Award |
     |
|
Only the Top 4 players would advance to the Day 2 rounds.
Day 1 rounds (Top 8: OTS Bo3)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | | Kenya Kodera (aokbab) | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye |  | |
| 5 | | Junya Suzuki (ćć ćć) | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye |       | |
| 7 | | Takashi Yamamoto (ćć¬ćÆćŖ) | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye |     | |
| 7 |  | Zeng Chenyue (Mitsu) | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye |    | |
The Top 8 players would continue playing in Day 1 with open team lists and in best-of-three matches.
Day 1 rounds (CTS Bo1)
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Soichiro I. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award |    | Ā |
| 2 | | Kosaku M. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award |  | Ā |
| 3 | | Rei U. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award |  | Ā |
| 4 | | Kotaro H. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award |  | Ā |
Junior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Yudai F. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award | | Ā |
| 2 | | Hideo U. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award | | Ā |
| 3 | | Tatsuomi S. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award | | Ā |
| 4 | | Mikoto I. | 2024Ā Worlds WorldsĀ R1Ā bye TravelĀ Award | | Ā |
Streaming
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR1 | Akira Kimura |
vs | Yoichiro Kurogi    |
| WR2 | Sho Akiyama  |
vs | Hirofumi Kimura  |
| LR2 (Top 48) |
Daiju Tamura   |
vs | Takashi Yamamoto |
| WR2 Back-up |
Kento Sato |
vs | Kengo Hirata    |
| WR3 | Yuki Shimizu    |
vs | Naoya Osumi |
| LR4 (Top 24) |
Takafumi Shito |
vs | Keisuke Sunaoshi  |
| WR4 | Takuma Yamane  |
vs | Kiwamu Endo |
| LR6 (Top 12) |
Naoya Osumi |
vs | Keishiro Ohashi  |
| WR3 Back-up |
Yuta Ishigaki  |
vs | Hyuma Hara |
| WR4 Back-up |
Zeng Chenyue |
vs | Kenya Kodera |
| LR6 (Top 12) Back-up |
Kiyoshiro Arai  |
vs | Masahiro Taoka |
| WR5 | Kenya Kodera |
vs | Hyuma Hara |
| LR8 (Top 6) |
Masahiro Taoka |
vs | Junya Suzuki |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winners Finals | Hyuma Hara |
vs | Kiwamu Endo |
| Losers Finals | Naoya Osumi |
vs | Kiwamu Endo |
| Junior Grand Finals | Yudai F.   |
vs | Hideo U.  |
| Senior Grand Finals | Kosaku M. |
vs | Soichiro I. |
| Masters Grand Finals | Hyuma Hara |
vs | Kiwamu Endo |
Participating players
The live Finals stage of the 2024 Japan National Championships is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 64 playersĀ in theĀ Japan National Main Tournament
This tournament is also invite-only: players needed to qualify to it by placing top 150 amongst the players in JapanĀ inĀ Japan Nationals QualifiersĀ #1,Ā #2Ā orĀ #3Ā (known as Global Challenges outside Japan).
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in Exhibition Halls B, C and DĀ of the following location:
PACIFICO Yokohama
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1-chÅme-1-1 Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012
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Players must be in the venue by 1 June 2024 at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for the players meeting.
Players will be seeded in a 64-player best-of-1 double-elimination bracket with closed team lists. All rounds will be played until only 8 players remain (this is after winners’ round 4 and losers’ round 6). Afterwards, the 8 remaining players will face in best-of-3 matches with open team lists including Natures.
Day 2 players must be in the venue byĀ 2 June 2024 at 8:30 JST (10 June at 23:30 UTC) for Junior players, and at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for Senior andĀ Masters players.
Prizes
This event is an official tournamentĀ and is part of theĀ 2024 official circuitĀ in Japan.
All participating players earn invites to the 2024 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning byes and Travel Awards.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st to 4th | Worlds invite + Round 1 bye + Travel Award Trophy, original cap and T-shirt |
| 5th to 8th | Worlds invite + Round 1 bye Original cap and T-shirt |
| 9th to 32th | Worlds invite Original cap and T-shirt |
| 33th to 64th | Worlds invite |
Overview
The Japan National Championships is the most important VGC competition for players in Japan, where TPC is responsible for the circuit, and is the only tournament through which players in Japan can earn invites to the World Championships.
It is the 14th edition of the Japan National Championships since its inception in 2009. It has been celebrated every year except in 2011 (due to the Fukushima disaster) and 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemics). See the previous editions:
- 2009, won by Ā Takahiro Akai
- 2010, won by Ā Ryo Tajiri
- 2012, won by Ā Ā Satoru Masukata
- 2013, won by Ā Ā Ryosuke Kosuge, eventual 2013 Worlds finalist
- 2014, won by Ā Ā Yosuke Isagi, eventual 2015 Worlds semifinalist
- 2015, won by Ā Ā Shoma Honami, eventual 2015 World Champion
- 2016, won by Ā Ā Hideto Kotake
- 2017, won by Ā Ā Ryota Otsubo, eventual 2017 World Champion
- 2018, won by Ā Ā Hirofumi Kimura, eventual 2019 Worlds finalist
- 2019, won by Ā Ā Hirofumi KimuraĀ for the 2nd time
- 2021, won by Ā Ā Kohei Fujita
- 2022, won by Ā Ā Kentaro Matsumoto
- 2023, won by Ā Ā Kaito Arii
Previous editions of the Japan Nationals have featured different formats and qualifying systems. In the last few years qualification has been through in-game ladder qualifiers. Last year’s edition featured a first main stage online, also as an in-game ladder competition, before the final, live stage. As in 2023, the live stage isĀ played as a double-elimination bracket. As a novelty for 2024, all matches from top 8 onwards are played as best-of-3 (only the grand finals was played as best-of-3 in 2023).
The ruleset isĀ VGC Regulation Set G, with closed team lists up until top 8, and open team lists (including Natures) from top 8 onwards.
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. As the most successful country in VGC, Japan’s greatest trophies have been brought home by 5 World Champions (Kazuyuki TsujiĀ in 2009,Ā Shoma HonamiĀ in 2015,Ā Ryota OtsuboĀ in 2017,Ā Naoto MizobuchiĀ in 2019, andĀ Shohei KimuraĀ in 2023), as well as the 2008 VGS Champion (Izuru Yoshimura) and other 9 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was the 2023 World Championships, played in Yokohama, Japan with the VGC Regulation Set D in August 2023. TheĀ finalsĀ saw 2017 Japan National finalistĀ Shohei KimuraĀ defeat German newcomerĀ Michael KelschĀ to win the title of World Champion!
The last time the Japan National Championships was held was theĀ 2023 edition, with the finals hosted in Chiba, Japan, and played with the VGC Regulation Set C in June 2023. TheĀ finalsĀ saw JapaneseĀ Kaito AriiĀ defeat fellow countrymanĀ Hodaka HatakeyamaĀ to win his first major title!
AmericanĀ James Evans, theĀ 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated BrazilianĀ Gabriel AgatiĀ in the NAIC finals.
