| Event | Pokémon Trainers Cup 2026 (PTC2026) (포켓몬 트레이너스 컵 2026) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Seoul, South Korea |
| Date | 24–25 May 2026 |
| Attendance | 56 MA + 45 or 46 SR + 30 JR (64 MA + 64 SR + 64 JR qualified) |
| Videogame | Pokémon Champions |
| Season | 2026 Season – Regulation Set M-A |
| Format | 6 Swiss rounds + single-elimination top 16 All matches are Bo3, OTS including Natures |
| Organizer | Pokémon Korea (PKI) |
Check the organizer’s website here for further info!
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4-2 | | Jeongso Lee (미월) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |       |  | CEM5K 27S1W |
| 2 | 5-1 | | Junhee Lee (Yuri) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |     | | |
| 3 | 6-0 | | Sejun Park (세준) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |    | | T7157 CHUVJ |
| 4 | 4-2 | | Chanmin Lee (미라이돈) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |     | | |
| 5 | 5-1 | | Sanghyeon Na (NCL) | 2026 Worlds |  | | |
| 6 | 5-1 | | Jeongkyu Choi (정규) | 2026 Worlds |  | | |
| 7 | 4-2 | | Suhyeon Moon (재키) | 2026 Worlds |    | | |
| 8 | 4-2 | | Jiseok Lee (MeLuCa) | 2026 Worlds |  | | |
| 9 | 5-1 | | Juyoung Hong (니시키노마키) | 2026 Worlds |   | | |
| 10 | 5-1 | | Minseok Kim (와이리) | 2026 Worlds | | | |
| 11 | 5-1 | | Seongmo Byeon (치클리스) | 2026 Worlds | | | |
| 12 | 4-2 | | Yoonho Park (PYH) | 2026 Worlds |     | | |
| 13 | 4-2 | | Jinho Park (플로젤) | 2026 Worlds |  | | |
| 14 | 4-2 | | Seongjae Jeong (A) | 2026 Worlds | | | GM9PL 3P2Q3 |
| 15 | 4-2 | | Sangwoo Kim (김꼼수) | 2026 Worlds |   | | |
| 16 | 4-2 | | Junhyuk Song (DIZ) | 2026 Worlds |  | |
The top 16 players at the end of the Swiss rounds advanced to Top Cut!
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Top 4
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-1 | | Hojun Y. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | P41L3 BSYRX |
| 2 | 5-1 | | Jong One M. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | |
| 3 | 5-1 | | Beomjin P. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |  | | |
| 4 | 4-2 | | Minjae J. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | |
Junior Top 4
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4-1 | | Hyunwook C. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | |
| 2 | 3-2 | | Wooyoung J. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | |
| 3 | 3-2 | | Sanghyeon L. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | |
| 4 | 3-2 | | Baron C. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |    | |
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on YouTube by PKI, in Korean, with Dongmin Park and Yongnyeo Kim as casters for the Junior and Senior divisions (on Sunday 24), and Dongmin Park and Mori Ahn as casters for the Masters division (on Monday 25).
- Junior and Senior divisions: stream starts on 24 May at 01:00 UTC.
- Masters division: stream starts on 25 May at 01:00 UTC.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| JR R1 |
Hyowon K. |
vs | Byungkyu P.  |
| SR R2 |
Jeonghwan J.  |
vs | Changwoon H.  |
| JR R3 |
Wooyoung J. |
vs | Yongbin C.  |
| SR R4 |
Hyeongmin M. |
vs | Joowon L.  |
| JR R5 |
Seowoo L. |
vs | Seojun L.    |
| SR R6 |
Jong One M. |
vs | Minjae J. |
| JR Top 16 |
Yuhwi K.    |
vs | Sanghyeon L. |
| SR Top 8 |
Hojun Y. |
vs | Junwoo R.  |
| JR Top 4 |
Baron C. |
vs | Hyunwook C. |
| JR Finals |
Wooyoung J. |
vs | Hyunwook C. |
| SR Finals |
Hojun Y. |
vs | Jong One M. |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Gyuho Lee  |
vs | Jeonghoon Jang |
| R2 | Yoonho Park |
vs | Junhee Lee |
| R3 | Jinho Park |
vs | Minseong Cho |
| R4 | Sejun Park |
vs | Juyoung Hong |
| R5 | Cheolhwan Yeom  |
vs | Jeongso Lee |
| R6 | Junhwan Kim |
vs | Jiseok Lee |
| Top 16 | Sanghyeon Na |
vs | Seongjae Jeong |
| Top 8 | Jeongso Lee |
vs | Jeongkyu Choi |
| Top 4 | Sejun Park |
vs | Junhee Lee |
| Finals | Junhee Lee |
vs | Jeongso Lee |
Junior & Senior divisions
Masters division
Usage stats
Overall usage
Mega Evolution usage
Participating players
The 2026 Trainers Cup is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 64 among players in South Korea in the Global Challenge
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in the Hall C (C홀) of the following location:
COEX Convention & Exhibition Center
코엑스 전시장
513, Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu
Seoul 06164 Republic of Korea
서울특별시 강남구 영동대로 513
Masters players must be in the venue on Monday, 25 May, with details regarding the day schedule sent to the qualified players.
Senior and Junior players play one day earlier and must be in the venue on Sunday, 24 May, again with details regarding the day schedule sent to the qualified players.
The tournament structure is as follows. Players play up to 6 best-of-3 Swiss rounds with open team lists. Then, the 16 best players advance to a best-of-3 single-elimination bracket.
Prizes
This event is an official tournament and is part of the 2026 official circuit in South Korea.
Qualified players play for invites to the 2026 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards. All participating players earn the Pokémon Champions title “PTC2026 Challenger“.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award (flight and accommodation) Champion trophy + Pokémon Champions title “PTC2026 Champion” + Pokémon HOME medal |
| Finalist | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award (flight) Finalist trophy + Pokémon Champions title “PTC2026 Finalist” + Pokémon HOME medal |
| Semifinalists | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award (accommodation) Top 4 trophy + Pokémon Champions title “PTC2026 Elite” + Pokémon HOME medal |
| 5th to 8th | Invite to the 2026 World Championships Pokémon Champions title “PTC2026 Leader“ |
| 9th to 16th | Invite to the 2026 World Championships |
Overview
The Pokémon Trainers Cup is the most important VGC competition for players in South Korea, where PKI is responsible for the circuit, and is the only tournament through which players in South Korea can earn invites to the World Championships.
It is the seventh edition of the Pokémon Trainers Cup, which has been the major tournament in South Korea since the Korean points system with Leagues and a National was abandoned in the 2020 season. See the previous editions:
- 2020, won by Sangyoon Jeong
- 2021, won by Wonseok Jung
- 2022, won by Wonseok Jung for the 2nd time
- 2023, vacant in the Masters division
- 2024, won by Juyoung Hong, 2017 Senior World Champion
- 2025, won by Taeseok Roe
The 2026 edition introduces a Swiss-round system for the first time, followed by a single-elimination top cut, and it is played in person in its entirety; previous instances of the Trainers Cup had always featured only single- or double-elimination brackets with no Swiss rounds, and only the final phase was played in person. Qualification is kept through an in-game ladder qualifier, though this time it comes directly from the Global Challenge with no second stage.
The ruleset is Regulation Set M-A with open team lists including Natures.
A little bit of history
South Korea has been a part of the official Pokémon Korea circuit since the first years of VGC, running in parallel to the TPC and TPCi circuits. It has hosted multiple major events, including Korean Leagues, Trainers Cups and old-era National Championships. South Korea’s greatest VGC success was the iconic victory achieved by Sejun Park at the 2014 World Championships. Juyoung Hong also achieved this feat in the Senior Division at the 2017 World Championships.
The last time the Pokémon Trainers Cup was held was the 2025 edition, with the PTC Finals hosted in Seoul, South Korea, and played in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet with the VGC Regulation Set I in June 2025. The finals saw 2020 Korean League S1 Champion Taeseok Roe defeat fellow Korean player Wonjae Kim to win his first National Championship title in the Masters division and fourth overall!
