The Champions Arena

Event	The Champions Arena
Location	Online
Date	18–19 April 2026
Attendance	1,039 players
Videogame	Pokémon Champions
Season	2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set M-A
Format	8+5 Swiss rounds + X-2 top cut Open team lists
Organizer	Victory Road ft. Sekiam, Folagor, PokeAlex

Teams and results

Top cut

#	Swiss	Player	Prize
1	11-2	Hyungwoo Shin (MZ)	VRtSF Ph2 $3,120
2	11-2	Jorge Tabuyo (Tabu)	VRtSF Ph2 $1,870
3	11-2	Juan Benítez (Palo)	VRtSF Ph2 $1,040
4	11-2	Joseph Ugarte (JoeUX9)	VRtSF Ph2 $1,040
5	12-1	Jiang Jin-Hao (PsyGO1)	VRtSF Ph2 $520
6	12-1	Pedro Martínez (Daniel)	VRtSF Ph2 $520
7	11-2	Francesco Iozzia (Nokia)	VRtSF Ph2 $520
8	11-2	William Brown (billy)	VRtSF Ph2 $520
9	11-2	Conan Yoshikawa (コナン)	$155
10	11-2	Marcus Koh (Calculus)	$155
11	11-2	Pablo Rico (Logane)	$155

Phase 2 Swiss rounds

#	Swiss	Player	Prize
12	10-3	Francesco Rasini (Olymak)	$155
13	10-3	Aaron Brok (Aaron)	$155
14	10-3	Kiyoshiro Arai (じぇらーる)	$155
15	10-3	Michael Kelsch (Michi)	$155
16	10-3	Toler Webb (Toler)	$155
17	10-3	Shunsuke Minami (Asagiri Aya)	–
18	10-3	Justin Cerioni (byte_v24)	–
19	10-3	Maurizio D’Andrea (Animod)	–
20	10-3	Alessandro Fantinato (AleK)	–
21	10-3	Santino Tarquinio (Santino)	–
22	10-3	Alexavier Alvarez (Areku)	–
23	10-3	Eduardo Cunha (Mangueiras)	–
24	10-3	Michael Klymchuk (SeaWolfMikes)	–
25	10-3	Juan Manuel Santizo (Teka)	–
26	10-3	Federico Camporesi (Campo)	–
27	10-3	Noah Earlenbaugh (Noah)	–
28	10-3	Alejandro Tovar (Tovar)	–
29	10-3	Oliver Ramsay (Mareeoh)	–
30	10-3	Marcus Dion (striider)	–
31	10-3	Leland Smith (fairtree)	–
32	10-3	Hugo Soler (Hugolas)	–
33	10-3	Noah Stern (Noah)	–
34	10-3	David Blandón (Pyrus_M4)	–
35	10-3	Carson Confer (Carson)	–
36	9-4	Sudoz Zen (…)	–
37	9-4	Javier Parada (Bahamut)	–
38	9-4	Matteo Salvatici (Hoza)	–
39	9-4	Jordan Wiseman (Slayerjor)	–
40	9-4	Matthew Robinson (Chevski)	–
41	9-4	Noah Stransky (Lux)	–
42	9-4	Alex Qian (Alex123)	–
43	9-4	Liu Jia-Ming (Edward)	–
44	9-4	Alessandro Marchionne (Miku)	–
45	9-4	Masayoshi Kuroo (ピエール)	–
46	9-4	Matthew Tennant (Matt)	–
47	9-4	Juan Lucin (Samuel)	–
48	9-4	Ciro Fayos (Blimbur)	–
49	9-4	Víctor León (VeeVee)	–
50	9-4	Luca Gesualdo (Luca)	–
51	9-4	Gabriel Cedeño (Gabuu’)	–
52	9-4	Sebastián Lobos (PollitoA7)	–
53	9-4	Waleed Helmy (Welmey)	–
54	9-4	Aleix Rodríguez (Nicky)	–
55	9-4	Kris Gillies (Kiwi)	–
56	9-4	Mason Cutler (ChessBoard)	–
57	9-4	Ángel Olmos (Anyelou)	–
58	8-5	Gilberto Espejel (Gilberto R.)	–
59	8-5	Sergio Giménez (Minixopo23)	–
60	8-5	Campbell Hodgins (Draxolotl)	–
61	8-5	Cristian González (CrisVanx)	–
62	8-5	Nicolás Eulogio Alen (Panzete)	–
63	8-5	Sahil Shaikh (Darklucia)	–
64	8-5	Enrique Schwartz (Metakross)	–
65	8-5	Michael Maus (Mitch)	–
66	8-5	Álvaro Román (Koke)	–
67	8-5	Adrià Martínez (Adria)	–
68	8-5	Daniel Kelsch (daniel)	–
69	8-5	Max Mills-Wren (Katyrna)	–
70	7-6	Èric Rodríguez (Erdrick)	–
71	7-6	Arthur Mosca (Thurmos)	–
72	7-6	Cori Corley (Amethyst)	–
73	7-6	Luis Alejandro Basurto (LalexBaco)	–
74	7-6	Ugo Chang (Ugo)	–
75	9-3	Hiroto Imai (naru)	–
76	9-3	Keanu Inosanto (Keanu)	–
77	9-3	Tomás Vargas (Usagi)	–
78	9-4	Máximo Fernández (Maaxidiazz)	–
79	9-4	Alberto Romero (BluffCatcher)	–
80	8-4	Mario Vincitorio (Duxlemon)	–
81	8-4	Mike Fiorita (Mike)	–
82	8-4	José Francisco Gálvez (Cereales)	–
83	8-4	Matteo Moscardini (MadMosca)	–
84	8-4	Isaac Moreira (Isaac)	–
85	8-3	Cristhian Andrade (mah)	–
86	8-4	Marcos de Flora (Destro)	–
87	8-3	Alessio Fuscà (NikyuAlex)	–
88	8-4	Gael Soler (Miwer)	–
89	8-3	Simone Sanvito (☆Sanvy)	–
90	8-3	Jong One Moon (싸리용)	–
91	8-3	Lucas Mester-Christensen (Lucas)	–
92	8-4	Andrea Pagano (Paghy)	–
93	7-5	Javier Nieto (Javo)	–
94	7-3	Manuel Barea (LeunamTG)	–
95	7-4	Sergi Ponga (Ponga)	–
96	7-4	Justin Burns (Justin)	–
97	7-4	Alejandro García (Xareu)	–
98	7-5	Adrián Gálvez (Kidra)	–
99	7-4	Louis Milich (Uncle Lou)	–
100	7-5	Marc Seguí (Metarizard)	–
101	7-3	Elizabeth Sturm (Bonnie)	–
102	7-3	Rahim Farzan (Pres)	–
103	7-4	Miguel Rubio (Owi Owa)	–
104	7-3	Francesco Pio Pero (CICCIOTT)	–
105	7-3	Théotime Massaut (Didi)	–
106	7-3	Lee Jin Yang (Mortis)	–
107	7-3	Adam Colson (Adam)	–
108	7-4	Francesco Deiana (Francis)	–
109	7-3	José Fernández (AchoJose)	–
110	7-4	Shun Kato (あかとし)	–
111	7-3	Niccolò Longo (Nicco)	–
112	7-3	Max van Westrop (Giel)	–
113	7-3	Kian Campbell (Kian)	–
114	7-5	Zehao Chen (zez)	–
115	7-3	Jesús Padilla (Jesús)	–
116	7-4	Carlos Cabal (miraii)	–
117	7-3	Christopher Howe (chris17c)	–
118	7-3	Aitor Gutiérrez (Aithor)	–
119	7-3	Juan Manuel Odriozola (Juanma)	–
120	6-3	Mario Valencia (Onir)	–
121	6-3	Chema Enrique (SnaGy)	–
122	6-3	Oliver Achermann (Jamie)	–
123	6-5	Yosuke Takayanagi (やなぎ)	–
124	6-3	Wonseok Jeong (셀리아)	–
125	6-5	José Manuel Martínez (_jmmp10)	–
126	6-4	Ignacio Olivares (Sombrita)	–
127	6-4	Cristian Aniorte (Piedrer)	–
128	6-3	Max Simon (Poppy)	–
129	6-4	Sergio Ramírez (Sergio)	–
130	6-4	Zachary Mnich (XZacLee)	–
131	6-3	Vivienne Gafner (Vivienne)	–
132	6-4	Diego Luque (PokeGuito)	–
133	6-3	Marco Silva (marcofiero)	–
134	6-4	Marco Zoso (marcoz)	–
135	6-3	David Espina (Daes)	–
136	6-3	Brian Collins (Angelo)	–
137	6-4	Andrea Calligari (Andre)	–
138	6-3	Michael Spinetta-McCarthy (BIG MIKE)	–
139	6-3	Rubén García (Yeamu)	–
140	6-3	Giulio Tarlao (Giulio)	–
141	6-4	Damiano La Barbera (saitamasan)	–
142	6-3	David Peralta (Deivid)	–
143	6-4	Hugo Peñalba (MandoPs4)	–
144	6-4	Arnau Sánchez (Arnauz10)	–
145	6-3	Carmine Ragone (Carmine)	–
146	6-3	Roxanne Joniau (Midori)	–

Streaming

The event is broadcast live on Twitch by Victory Road, with Cedric Bernier, Charlie Merriman, Gabby Snyder and Shonali Kenn as casters.

Day 1 (Swiss rounds): stream starts on 18 April at 14:00 UTC
Day 2 (Swiss rounds + Top Cut): stream starts on 19 April at 14:00 UTC

You can find all the videos of the matches in this playlist!

Streamed

Day 1

Day 2

Streamed

Day 1

Round	Player 1	vs	Player 2
R1	Gael Soler	vs	Tomoyuki Yoshimura
R2	Alexavier Alvarez	vs	Joaquín Blanch
R3	William Brown	vs	Justin Cerioni
R4	Kiyoshiro Arai	vs	Juan Naar
R5	Francesco Pio Pero	vs	Toler Webb
R6	Shunsuke Minami	vs	Alejandro Tovar
R7	Michael Kelsch	vs	Joseph Ugarte
R8	Juan Manuel Santizo	vs	Francesco Iozzia

Day 2

Round	Player 1	vs	Player 2
R9	Hiroto Imai	vs	Matthew Tennant
R10	Sudoz Zen	vs	Francesco Iozzia
R11	Hyungwoo Shin	vs	Francesco Rasini
R12	Aaron Brok	vs	Pedro Martínez
R13	Joseph Ugarte	vs	Oliver Ramsay
Top 16	Joseph Ugarte	vs	Pablo Rico
Top 8	Jiang Jin-Hao	vs	Jorge Tabuyo
Top 4	Joseph Ugarte	vs	Hyungwoo Shin
Top 4	Jorge Tabuyo	vs	Juan Benítez
Finals	Jorge Tabuyo	vs	Hyungwoo Shin

Usage stats

#	Ph1	Ph2
1	53.8% (549)	54% (79)
2	45.9% (468)	40% (58)
3	44.8% (457)	52% (76)
4	37.1% (378)	46% (67)
5	32.2% (328)	40% (59)
6	28.9% (295)	38% (55)
7	26.3% (268)	25% (36)
8	22.4% (228)	24% (35)
9	21.4% (218)	14% (21)
10	20.0% (204)	25% (36)

#	Ph1	Ph2
11	15.8% (161)	12% (17)
12	15.2% (155)	15% (22)
13	12.8% (131)	8% (11)
14	12.0% (122)	8% (11)
15	11.7% (119)	9% (13)
16	11.4% (116)	10% (15)
17	10.5% (107)	10% (15)
18	10.4% (106)	8% (11)
19	9.9% (101)	10% (14)
20	8.9% (91)	10% (14)

#	Ph1	Ph2
21	8.9% (91)	9% (13)
22	8.9% (91)	8% (11)
23	7.3% (74)	6% (9)
24	7.2% (73)	14% (20)
25	7.0% (71)	8% (11)
26	6.8% (69)	5% (8)
27	5.1% (52)	10% (15)
28	4.9% (50)	8% (11)
29	4.4% (45)	2% (3)
30	3.8% (39)	5% (7)

Platform and schedule

The tournament is held online through Battlefy. All communication between the players must be done through the Battlefy chat enabled in each round.

Official communication from the organizer staff is performed through Discord, in the Victory Road Discord server.

The tournament will use the structure of 2-phase Swiss rounds + asymmetrical top cut that is in place for all major events in the 2026 season.

In the rare instances where the end of Phase 2 results in fewer than 8 players or more than 16 players with 2 or fewer losses (X-2), the asymmetrical top cut will only feature those players at X-2 or better.

The schedule of the tournament is as follows:

18 April at 14:00 UTC:
- Phase 1 Swiss rounds. All signed up players can play all these rounds. Those with 2 or fewer losses (X-2) at the end of this stage advance to Phase 2, and all others are dropped from the tournament.
19 April at 14:00 UTC:
- - Phase 2 Swiss rounds: The qualified players continue playing Swiss rounds. At the end of this stage, those players with 2 or fewer losses (X-2) at the end of Phase 2 will advance to the next stage.
    - - The limit of 16 players in top cut present in the official tournaments will not be enforced here. Likewise, if there are fewer than 8 players with X-2 records, players at X-3 will not be part of the top cut.
  - Top Cut: the players in top cut will continue playing right after the end of the Phase 2 Swiss rounds, with a bye to the highest-ranked players if the number results in an asymmetrical top cut.

Prizes

This event is a grassroots tournament and is not a part of any official circuit. This means that it does not reward any Championship Points (CPs).

The winner gets an invite to Phase 2 of the Victory Road to San Francisco, and additionally the best-placed players receive the following prizes:

Placement	Prize money
Winner	Invite to Phase 2 of the Victory Road to San Francisco ~30% of the prizepool
Runner-up	Invite to Phase 2 of the Victory Road to San Francisco ~18% of the prizepool
Semifinalists	Invite to Phase 2 of the Victory Road to San Francisco ~10% of the prizepool
5th to 8th	~5% of the prizepool If attendance exceeds 1,024 players: Invite to Phase 2 of the Victory Road to San Francisco
9th to 16th	~1.5% of the prizepool

Overview

The Champions Arena is an online event hosted by Victory Road, with the purpose of serving as practice for the upcoming live tournaments, with a special focus on the recent launch of Pokémon Champions. The tournament is done in collaboration with Spanish content creators Sekiam, Folagor and PokeAlex.

It is played with VGC Regulation Set M-A, using open team lists.

All detailed tournament procedures, including rules and penalties, can be found here.

A little bit of history

Victory Road has been consistently holding online grassroots tournaments for years, including standalone events, online invitationals featuring qualifier events, and the yearly biggest online team competition in the World Cup of Pokémon VGC. Victory Road has also provided streams to several official Regional Championships in Europe since 2019.

Our most recent tournament was the VR March Challenge #3, played in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet with the VGC Regulation Set I the previous month. The finals saw 2026 LAIC semifinalist Théotime Massaut defeat 2025 World Cup Champions Team Spain’s Martín Pena to win $500 and his first VR tournament!

Sign-up instructions

Sign-ups for the event are done through Battlefy platform. Sign-ups are $12 (+ $1.20 Battlefy tax) and open upon announcement of the event. $10 of the total entry fee money per player is directed towards the prizes, and $2 is used to compensate the staff members, tournament organizers, judges and stream production.

All players need to provide a team list in text export format, shared in a link such as VRPastes Open Team List, with all open team list data about the team’s Pokémon (including form, ability, held item and moves). In the case of Mega Evolutions, it is important to use the base form of the Pokémon with its ability; the held item will already tell you if it is a Mega Evolution, and VRPastes can show the newly acquired ability upon Mega Evolution.

Additionally, all players need to provide another closed team list (only for TOs) with all previous information and either stat values or Nature + Stat Points. This list can also be provided with a VRPastes Closed Team List, with password protection allowed.

Please ask any staff member if you need help registering the team lists!

Sign-ups close right before the event starts. Players that do not show up and get their third loss are dropped from the tournament.