| Event | 2026 World Championships |
|---|---|
| Location |  San Francisco, CA, United States |
| Date | 28–30 August 2026 |
| Attendance | 436 qualified players (MA) + TBC SR + TBC JR |
| Videogame | Pokémon Champions |
| Season | 2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set M-B |
| Format | 2-phase Swiss rounds + single-elimination top cut Open team lists |
| Organizers | The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) |
Check the official website of the World Championships for further info!
Table of Contents
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on several platforms and in several languages.
- In English: streamed live on Twitch and YouTube. Check out more info soon.
- In Japanese: streamed live on Niconico and YouTube. Check out more info soon.
- In Korean: streamed live on YouTube. Check out more info soon.
The schedule for the streams is the following:
- Opening ceremony and Day 1: stream starts on 28 August at 15:30 UTC.
- Day 2, including top cut (except finals): stream starts on 29 August at 15:30 UTC.
- Finals: stream starts on 30 August at 15:15 UTC. VGC finals will come after Pokémon UNITE, Pokémon Go and Pokémon TCG, and they are estimated to start on 30 August at around 23:00 UTC.
Take a look at the following matches. 
You can take a look at the Feature Station matches playlist here!
Check out this info soon!
Check out this info soon!
Check out this info soon!
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!
Venue and schedule
The tournament will be held in the following location:
Moscone Center
747 Howard St
San Francisco, CA 94103, United States
Check-in and badge pickup location will be announced soon.
Day 1 players must be ready in the venue on 28 August at the conclusion of the opening ceremonies, approximately at 9:15 am PDT (16:15 UTC) for the players meeting. The tournament starts right thereafter with the Day 1 Swiss rounds. All players with 2 or fewer losses at the end of the Swiss rounds advance to the Day 2 Swiss rounds.
Day 2 players must be ready in the venue on 29 August at 8:45 am PDT (15:45 UTC) for a new players meeting. The tournament continues right thereafter with the Day 2 Swiss rounds and the top cut, until only two players remain.
The tournament will move to a stadium on Sunday for the finals:
Chase Center
1 Warriors Wy
San Francisco, CA 94158, United States
Finals will be played on 30 August at 9 am PDT (16:00 UTC), starting with Pokémon UNITE, Pokémon Go, Pokémon TCG and finally Pokémon VGC (VGC finals estimated at around 4 pm PDT / 23:00 UTC).
Prizes
This event is the most important event in the 2026 official circuit for all regions. It does not reward Championship Points (CPs).
All participating players receive a special kit of goodies.
Additionally, the best-placed players will receive the following prizes (TBC):
| Placement | Prize money | Other prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | $30,000 |
|
| Runner-up | $20,000 |
|
| Semifinalists | $15,000 |
|
| 5th to 8th | $10,000 |
|
| 9th to 16th | $5,000 |
|
| 17th to 32nd | – |
|
| 33rd to 64th | – | 36 Pokémon TCG booster packs |
| 65th to 128th | – | 18 Pokémon TCG booster packs |
| Placement | Prize money | Other prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | $30,000 |
|
| Runner-up | $20,000 |
|
| Semifinalists | $15,000 |
|
| 5th to 8th | $10,000 |
|
| 9th to 16th | $5,000 |
|
| 17th to 32nd | – |
|
| 33rd to 64th | – | 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs |
| Placement | Prize money | Other prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | $30,000 |
|
| Runner-up | $20,000 |
|
| Semifinalists | $15,000 |
|
| 5th to 8th | $10,000 |
|
| 9th to 16th | $5,000 |
|
| 17th to 32nd | – |
|
| 33rd to 64th | – | 9 Pokémon TCG booster packs |
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 Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card). For lower prizes, it will be given as cash (for minors, as a Pokémon Visa® Prepaid Card).
Overview
The World Championships is the most important event for Pokémon VGC, Pokémon TCG, Pokémon GO and Pokémon UNITE for every region (either in TPCi, TPC or Pokémon Korea), as the culmination of all events throughout the season.
It is the 16th edition of the World Championships for Pokémon VGC. After a special event held during the 2008 Pokémon TCG World Championships, dubbed the Video Game Showdown (and won by Japanese player 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 by
Kazuyuki Tsuji - 2010, won by Ray Rizzo
- 2011, won by Ray Rizzo, for the 2nd time
- 2012, won by Ray Rizzo, for a record 3rd time
- 2013, won by
Arash Ommati - 2014, won by
Sejun Park - 2015, won by Shoma Honami
- 2016, won by Wolfe Glick
- 2017, won by Ryota Otsubo
- 2018, won by
Paul Ruiz - 2019, won by Naoto Mizobuchi
- 2022, won by
Eduardo Cunha - 2023, won by Shohei Kimura
- 2024, won by Luca Ceribelli
- 2025, won by Giovanni Cischke
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set M-B and it is played using open team lists.
A little bit of history
The United States has been part of the North America region of the official TPCi circuit since the very beginning, also being home to the TPCi headquarters. It has hosted multiple major events, including Regional Championships, old-era National Championships, all editions of the North America International Championships and most World Championships (only excluding 2013, 2022 and 2023). The United States’ greatest VGC success are the five World Championship wins achieved by Ray Rizzo (2010, 2011 and 2012), Wolfe Glick (2016) and Giovanni Cischke (2025), not even counting being the home country of 7 Senior Division and 7 Junior Division World Champions too.
The most recent tournament held in the United States was the 2026 North America International Championships (NAIC), hosted in New Orleans, LA, and played with the VGC Regulation Set M-A in June 2026. The finals saw 2026 EUIC semifinalist Francesco Pio Pero defeat 2022 EUIC Champion Eric Rios to win his first International title!
The last time the World Championships were held was the 2025 edition, held in Anaheim, CA, and played with the VGC Regulation Set I. The finals saw American player Giovanni Cischke defeat 2018 Senior World Champion James Evans to win the crown of World Champion!
It’s the second time that San Francisco is the host city of the World Championships, after the 2016 edition, played with Pokémon Omega Ruby & Pokémon Alpha Sapphire with the VGC16 ruleset. The finals saw 2012 Worlds finalist Wolfe Glick defeat American player Jonathan Evans to win the crown of World Champion!
Sign-up instructions
Qualified players need to register through Rk9 Labs by 31 July at 11:59 pm PDT (1 August at 06:59 UTC).
Team lists must also be submitted through Rk9 Labs 3 hours before the event starts, by 15 August at 6 am PDT (13:00 UTC).
