| Event | Victory Road September Challenge #1 (2026) |
|---|---|
| Location | Online |
| Date | 12ā13 September 2026 |
| Attendance | 392 players |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Champions |
| Season | 2027 SeasonĀ āĀ VGC Regulation Set M-C |
| Format | 8+3 Swiss rounds + X-2 top cut Open team lists |
| Organizer | Victory Road |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10-1 |  | Michael Kelsch (Michi) | VRtSG $1,330 |       |  | Ā |
| 2 | 9-2 | | Louis Markl (Louis) | $665 |     | | Ā |
| 3 | 9-2 |  | Jacopo De Astis (jzdr) | $335 |      | | Ā |
| 4 | 9-2 |  | Shunsuke Minami (Yoshizawa Sumire) | $335 |     | | 1DP66 F7QFN |
| 5 | 10-1 | | Marco Silva (marcofiero) | $170 |     | | Ā |
| 6 | 9-2 |  | JĆ©rĆ©my CĆ“tĆ© (Kangourou) | $170 |   | | Ā |
| 7 | 9-2 | | Dorian Kang (SlycedBread) | $170 |   | | Ā |
| 8 | 9-2 |  | Cori Corley (Amethyst) | $170 |     | | Ā |
| 9 | 9-2 | | Ko Aida (yura) | ā |  | | 7C8RL WGQWV |
| 10 | 9-2 | | Shuji Endo (ćć) | ā |  | | PGARJ CNDJJ |
| 11 | 9-2 |  | Gonzalo Estrada (GonesTR) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 12 | 9-2 |  | Lucas Gardes (Lucas) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 13 | 9-2 | | Francisco Javier Carvajal (Fcjavic) | ā |    | | Ā |
Phase 2 Swiss rounds
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 8-3 |  | Cristian Contreras (Astterio) | ā | | | Ā |
| 15 | 8-3 | | Alex Soto (Len) | ā | | | Ā |
| 16 | 8-3 |  | Jude Lee (ćć®ć«ć¦ć©) | ā | | | Ā |
| 17 | 8-3 | | Matthew Tennant (Matt) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 18 | 8-3 | | Samad Ahmed (oofperson720) | ā | | | Ā |
| 19 | 8-3 | | Marcus Koh (Calculus) | ā | | | Ā |
| 20 | 8-2 | | Joan Garcia (JG) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 21 | 8-3 | | Francesco Iozzia (Nokia) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 22 | 8-3 | | Daniele Bianchi (Daorys) | ā |    | | Ā |
| 23 | 8-3 |  | Matteo Boschmans (Matteo) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 24 | 8-3 | | Anish Katwal (Code) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 25 | 8-3 |  | Eden Batchelor (#1RalseiFan) | ā | | | Ā |
| 26 | 8-3 | | Jackson Finch (chunk) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 27 | 8-3 | | Luca Schianchi (dialghite) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 28 | 8-3 | | Jaden Aguilar (Professor J) | ā | | | YLDMB CDXY2 |
| 29 | 8-3 | | Tsubasa Kawashima (ćøć³ććććÆ) | ā | | | Ā |
| 30 | 8-3 | | Santino Tarquinio (Santino) | ā | | | Ā |
| 31 | 7-4 | | Josiah Kim (Image) | ā | | | Ā |
| 32 | 7-4 | | Archie Hare (ArchieH) | ā | | | Ā |
| 33 | 7-4 | | Jackson Manning (Draco) | ā | | | Ā |
| 34 | 7-4 |  | Vivienne Gafner (Vivienne) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 35 | 7-4 |  | Seowon Kim (Tsuyu) | ā | | | Ā |
| 36 | 7-4 | | Yuma Kinugawa (ććć¬ćÆ) | ā | | | Ā |
| 37 | 7-4 | | Rich Cuddy (Rich) | ā | | | Ā |
| 38 | 7-3 | | Michele Trevisan (Trev) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 39 | 7-4 |  | Daniel Marcelo Reyes (Daniel) | ā | | | Ā |
| 40 | 7-3 | | Stefano Greppi (Ste) | ā | | | J4JDG YG5NG |
| 41 | 7-4 | | Miguel Rubio (Owi Owa) | ā | | | Ā |
| 42 | 7-3 | | Zach Scott (culcat) | ā | | | 9RDLR V42RF |
| 43 | 6-5 | | Wadim Hermann (Kat) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 44 | 6-3 | | Jeongkyu Choi (ģ ź·) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 45 | 6-4 |  | Jarvis Marcano (Heartbeat) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 46 | 6-4 | | Tomoyuki Yoshimura (SNOW) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 47 | 6-4 |  | Lorenzo Baldera (Lorenzo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 48 | 6-3 | | Yosuke Takayanagi (ććŖć) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 49 | 6-4 | | Timothy Ong (tina) | ā | | | Ā |
| 50 | 6-3 | | Sierra Elsbecker (SEA) | ā | | | Ā |
| 51 | 6-4 | | Kris Gillies (Kiwi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 52 | 6-3 | | Yuta Uehara (ććććæć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 53 | 6-3 |  | Benny Vasquez (Benny) | ā | | | Ā |
| 54 | 6-3 | | Louis Fontvieille (louis) | ā | | | Ā |
| 55 | 6-3 | | Jeonghwan Jeon (ķė”ė”) | ā |  | | Ā |
Usage stats
General usage
| # | PokƩmon | Ph1 | Ph2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 57.9% (227) | 58% (32) |
| 2 | | 53.1% (208) | 42% (23) |
| 3 | | 41.8% (164) | 40% (22) |
| 4 |  | 41.6% (163) | 31% (17) |
| 5 | | 37.8% (148) | 44% (24) |
| 6 |  | 26.5% (104) | 24% (13) |
| 7 | | 24.2% (95) | 22% (12) |
| 8 | | 21.4% (84) | 20% (11) |
| 9 | | 15.8% (62) | 13% (7) |
| 10 |  | 14.3% (56) | 15% (8) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph1 | Ph2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | 13.5% (53) | 20% (11) |
| 12 | | 13.0% (51) | 13% (7) |
| 13 | | 12.0% (47) | 16% (9) |
| 14 | | 11.7% (46) | 15% (8) |
| 15 |  | 11.2% (44) | 9% (5) |
| 16 | | 9.4% (37) | 11% (6) |
| 17 | | 9.2% (36) | 16% (9) |
| 18 |  | 8.9% (35) | 16% (9) |
| 19 | | 8.9% (35) | 5% (3) |
| 20 | | 8.2% (32) | 7% (4) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph1 | Ph2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 |  | 7.7% (30) | 4% (2) |
| 22 | | 7.1% (28) | 2% (1) |
| 23 | | 6.1% (24) | 2% (1) |
| 24 |  | 5.9% (23) | 9% (5) |
| 25 | | 5.9% (23) | 2% (1) |
| 26 |  | 5.6% (22) | 13% (7) |
| 27 | | 5.4% (21) | 7% (4) |
| 28 | | 4.8% (19) | 11% (6) |
| 29 |  | 4.8% (19) | 0% (0) |
| 30 | | 4.6% (18) | 4% (2) |
Mega Evolution usage
| # | PokƩmon | Ph1 Usage | Ph2 Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 41.3% (162) | 31% (17) |
| 2 | | 26.5% (104) | 24% (13) |
| 3 | | 14.3% (56) | 15% (8) |
| 4 | | 11.2% (44) | 9% (5) |
| 5 | | 8.9% (35) | 16% (9) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph1 Usage | Ph2 Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | | 7.7% (30) | 4% (2) |
| 7 |  | 5.6% (22) | 0% (0) |
| 8 | | 5.4% (21) | 13% (7) |
| 9 | | 4.6% (18) | 9% (5) |
| 10 |  | 4.6% (18) | 0% (0) |
Streaming
There is no stream by Victory Road for this event, but certain matches may be recorded and uploaded toĀ Victory Road’s YouTube channel.
Some content creators may be given access to certain matches in order to feature them live. If you are interested in doing so, please DM us.
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 theĀ 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 2027 season.
- In the rare instances where the end of Phase 2 results in fewer than 8 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:
- 12 September 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.
- 13 September at 14:00 UTC:
- Phase 2 Swiss rounds: The qualified players continue playing Swiss rounds.Ā At the end of this stage, those players with 2 or fewer losses (X-2) at the end of Phase 2Ā will advance to the next stage.
- 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.
- Phase 2 Swiss rounds: The qualified players continue playing Swiss rounds.Ā At the end of this stage, those players with 2 or fewer losses (X-2) at the end of Phase 2Ā will advance to the next stage.
Prizes
This event is a grassroots tournament and isĀ not a part of anyĀ official circuit. This means thatĀ it does not reward any Championship Points (CPs).
The winner gets an invite to the Victory Road to Singapore, an invitational tournament to be held before the 2027 World Championships, and additionally the best-placed players receive the following prizes:
| Placement | Prize money |
|---|---|
| Winner | Invite to the Victory Road to Singapore ~40% of the prizepool |
| Runner-up | ~20% of the prizepool |
| Semifinalists | ~10% of the prizepool |
| 5th to 8th | ~5% of the prizepool |
Overview
The Victory Road September Challenge #1Ā 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 major events of the 2027 season.
It is played withĀ VGC Regulation Set M-C, using open team lists.
All detailed tournament procedures, including rules and penalties, can be foundĀ here.
A little bit of history
Victory RoadĀ 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 theĀ World Cup of PokĆ©mon VGC. Victory Road has also provided streams to several official Regional Championships in Europe since 2019.
Our most recent tournament was the 2026 VR Circuit finale, theĀ Victory Road to San Francisco, played with the VGC Regulation Set M-B in August 2026. The finals saw 2019 Korea National Champion Hyungwoo ShinĀ defeat Brazilian player JoĆ£o Felipe Leite to win $1,400 and his second VR tournament. With this, Hyungwoo won his second 1,000+ player VR tournament in 5 months, while JoĆ£o Felipe went on to reach semifinals at the 2026 World Championships using the same team two weeks after the tour!
As for usual VR Challenges, the last one was the VR August Challenge #2, played with the VGC Regulation Set M-BĀ in August 2026. The finals saw 2023 Worlds finalist Michael KelschĀ defeat Ecuadorian player Juan LucinĀ to win $890 and his first VR tournament!
Sign-up instructions
Sign-ups for the event are done throughĀ BattlefyĀ platform. Sign-ups are $11.50Ā (+ $1.15 Battlefy tax) and open upon announcement of the event. $8.5 of the total entry fee money per player is directed towards the prizes, and $2 is used to compensate the staff members, tournament organizers and judges. The remainingĀ $1 is used as part of an accummulated prizepool for the Victory Road to SingaporeĀ to be held before the 2027 World Championships.
All players need to provide a team list in text export format, shared in a link such asĀ VRPastesĀ Open Team List,Ā with all open team list data about the team’s PokĆ©mon (including form, ability, held item, moves andĀ Stat Alignment). In the case of Mega Evolutions, it is important to use the base form of the PokĆ©mon 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 listĀ (only for TOs) with all previous information and either stat values or Stat Points. This list can also be provided with aĀ VRPastesĀ 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 areĀ dropped from the tournament.
