| Event | Victory Road to San Francisco (2026) |
|---|---|
| Location | Online |
| Date | 15ā16 August 2026 |
| Capacity | Phase 1 tournament: 1,461 players Phase 2 tournament: 94 players |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Champions |
| Season | 2026 SeasonĀ āĀ VGC Regulation Set M-B |
| Format | Phase 1 tournament: 10 Swiss rounds Phase 2 tournament: 7 Swiss rounds + X-2 asymmetrical top cut |
| Organizer | Victory Road |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-2 |  |
Hyungwoo Shin (ģ¼ģ“) |
$1,400 |
      |
 |
|
| 2 | 5-2 |  |
JoĆ£o Felipe Leite (Thacrow) |
$900 |
    |
|
|
| 3 | 5-2 |  |
Dorian QuiƱonez (GarnetSP) |
$500 |
   |
|
|
| 4 | 5-2 |  |
HƩctor SƔnchez (Torch) |
$500 |
    |
|
|
| 5 | 5-2 |  |
Shunsuke Minami (ćć”ććæ) |
$250 |
|
|
|
| 6 | 5-2 | |
Shohei Kimura (ćć³ć¹) |
$250 |
   |
|
|
| 7 | 5-2 | |
Kandai Nagatome (Candy) |
$250 |
|
|
|
| 8 | 5-2 | |
Masahiro Ito (ććÆć) |
$250 |
    |
|
|
| 9 | 7-0 |  |
Markus Hamann (Yoshi) |
$70 |
  |
|
|
| 10 | 6-1 |  |
MichaÅ Kwiatkowski (Narret) |
$70 |
 |
|
|
| 11 | 6-1 |  |
Marco Silva (marcofiero) |
$70 |
 |
|
|
| 12 | 6-1 |  |
Marcus Koh (Calculus) |
$70 |
|
|
|
| 13 | 6-1 | |
Louis Markl (Louis) |
$70 |
|
|
|
| 14 | 6-1 | |
Naoto Mizobuchi (seal) |
$70 |
 |
|
|
| 15 | 5-2 |  |
LĆ©o Fontvieille (Leo) |
$70 |
|
|
|
| 16 | 5-2 | |
Carlos Cabal (miraii) |
$70 |
|
|
|
| 17 | 5-2 |  |
JƩrƩmy CƓtƩ (Kangourou) |
ā |
|
|
|
| 18 | 5-2 | |
Giulio Tarlao (Giulio) |
ā |
 |
|
|
| 19 | 5-2 |  |
Justin Burns (Justin) |
ā |
|
|
|
| 20 | 5-2 | |
Juan Manuel Odriozola (Juanma) |
ā |
|
|
|
| 21 | 5-2 | |
Tyler Betcher (BananaFree) |
ā |
   |
|
|
| 22 | 5-2 |  |
Sebastian Liu Li (Federer) |
ā |
|
|
Phase 2 Swiss rounds
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 4-3 | | Yuya Tada (ććć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 24 | 4-3 | | Francesco Iozzia (Nokia) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 25 | 4-3 | | Pedro MartĆnez (Pedro) | ā | | | Ā |
| 26 | 4-3 | | Davide Carrer (Nirinbo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 27 | 4-3 |  | Oleksandr Polishchuk (M-rada) | ā |    | | Ā |
| 28 | 4-3 | | Rayan Guezi (ēå®) | ā | | | Ā |
| 29 | 4-3 | | Alex Madara (brovacado) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 30 | 4-3 | | Tomoki Kinoshita (kino6) | ā | | | Ā |
| 31 | 4-3 | | AurĆ©lien Soula (Sakura) | ā |     | | Ā |
| 32 | 4-3 | | Ko Tsukide (ć¹ćć¬ćŖćć¢) | ā | | | Ā |
| 33 | 4-3 | | Flavio Del Pidio (PADĆ) | ā | | | Ā |
| 34 | 4-3 | | Jeffrey Lehmann (JEFF) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 35 | 4-3 | | Lorenzo Antognoni (GERRY SCOTTI) | ā | | | Ā |
| 36 | 4-3 | | William Brown (billy) | ā | | | Ā |
| 37 | 4-3 | | Selahattin Sturm (Sela) | ā | | | Ā |
| 38 | 4-3 | | Yan Sym (Hellraiser) | ā | | | Ā |
| 39 | 4-3 | | Federico Camporesi (Campo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 40 | 3-4 | | Davide Cognetta (Davide) | ā | | | Ā |
| 41 | 3-4 | | Sudoz Zen (?) | ā | | | Ā |
| 42 | 3-4 | | Kazuki Ogushi (ććØć) | ā | | | Ā |
| 43 | 3-4 | | Michael Kelsch (Michi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 44 | 3-4 | | Alex Soto (Len) | ā | | | Ā |
| 45 | 3-4 | | Anish Katwal (Code) | ā | | | Ā |
| 46 | 3-4 |  | Eduardo Cunha (Edu) | ā | | | Ā |
| 47 | 3-4 |  | William Raes (Lou) | ā | | | Ā |
| 48 | 3-4 | | Parker Searle (Echo) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 49 | 3-3 | | Tota Nambu (X) | ā | | | Ā |
| 50 | 3-3 | | Hiroto Hayasaki (ć¢ć«ćć¬) | ā | | | Ā |
| 51 | 3-3 |  | HoĆ ng Hį» (Zorya) | ā | | | Ā |
| 52 | 3-4 | | Louis Fontvieille (Louis) | ā | | | Ā |
| 53 | 3-3 |  | Gustav Hedegaard Lund (Gustav) | ā | | | Ā |
| 54 | 3-3 | | ThĆ©otime Massaut (Didi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 55 | 2-3 | | Joseph Ugarte (JoeUX9) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 56 | 2-3 | | Matteo Salvatici (Tolim) | ā | | | Ā |
| 57 | 2-3 | | Mattia Cognetta (Rank_rana) | ā | | | Ā |
| 58 | 2-3 | | Leland Smith (fairtree) | ā | | | Ā |
| 59 | 2-3 | | Koki Hatakeyama (ć±ć) | ā |    | | Ā |
| 60 | 2-3 | | Gabriele Karol Lopez (Gab) | ā | | | Ā |
| 61 | 2-3 | | Cory Sifers (vPronoia) | ā | | | Ā |
| 62 | 2-3 | | Tomoaki Shigeki (RED) | ā | | | Ā |
| 63 | 2-4 | | Audric David (DricsVG) | ā | | | Ā |
| 64 | 2-3 |  | Kosta Daidimos (GreekKoala) | ā | | | Ā |
| 65 | 2-3 |  | Jonathan Zuniga (Jawnzu) | ā | | | Ā |
| 66 | 2-4 | | Simone Tomaiuolo (Silo) | ā | | | Ā |
| 67 | 2-3 | | Nick Schrott (Duckii) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 68 | 2-3 | | Emanuele Savinetti (gahelar) | ā | | | Ā |
| 69 | 1-3 | | JosĆ© Francisco GĆ”lvez (Cereales) | ā | | | Ā |
| 70 | 1-4 | | Yosuke Takayanagi (ććŖć) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 71 | 1-3 | | Toler Webb (Toler) | ā | | | Ā |
| 72 | 1-3 | | Pedro Feitosa (ĀŗvĀŗ) | ā | | | Ā |
| 73 | 1-3 | | Cayden Owens (Sodamario) | ā | | | Ā |
| 74 | 1-3 |  | Lukas Svensson (Lukas) | ā |    | | Ā |
| 75 | 1-3 |  | Leon MĆ¼ller (Scarlet) | ā | | | Ā |
| 76 | 1-3 | | Israel Semedo (NMR | Kuroryu) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 77 | 1-3 |  | Yehor Hrishyn (Yegorushhka) | ā | | | Ā |
| 78 | 1-4 | | Davide Leone (Daazak) | ā | | | Ā |
| 79 | 1-3 |  | Jiang Jin-Hao (PsyGO1) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 80 | 1-4 | | Luca Bertani (B3rtani) | ā | | | Ā |
| 81 | 1-3 | | Oliver Achermann (Jamie) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 82 | 0-1 | | Nicholas Morales (Charmdi) | ā | | | Ā |
| 83 | 0-3 | | Jorge Tabuyo (Tabu) | ā | | | Ā |
| 84 | 0-3 | | Noel Lam Nilsson (elmono) | ā | | | Ā |
| 85 | 0-3 | | Hyeongmin Mo (ģģ“ģ° ėøźø°) | ā | | | Ā |
| 86 | 0-3 |  | Jimmy SuĆ”rez (Sley) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 87 | 0-3 | | Juan BenĆtez (Palo) | ā |   | | Ā |
| 88 | 0-3 | | Quentin Maguire (Eresis) | ā | | | Ā |
| 89 | 0-3 | | Yudai Fukue (YU) | ā | | | Ā |
| 90 | 0-1 | | James Bostock (James) | ā | | | Ā |
| 91 | 0-2 | | Stefano Greppi (Ste) | ā | | | Ā |
| 92 | 0-2 | | Joey Scudiero (JR) | ā | | | Ā |
| 93 | 0-3 | | Chris Large (Chris) | ā |  | | Ā |
| 94 | 0-3 | | Lucas Mester-Christensen (Lucas) | ā | | | Ā |
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on Twitch by Victory Road, with Ashton Cox, Cedric Bernier, Dillon Kleinvehn, Hayden McTavish, Shonali Kenn and Zoe Lou as casters.
- Phase 1 tournament: stream starts on 15 August at 13:00 UTC
- Phase 2 tournamentĀ (Swiss rounds + Top Cut): stream starts on 16 August at 13:00 UTC
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Jinho Park  |
vs | Eduardo Cunha |
| R2 |  Guntur Prabowo |
vs | Carlos VerƔstegui |
| R3 | Justin Tang |
vs | Behzad Muntazir |
| R4 |  Juan Salerno |
vs | Samuel Pereira |
| R5 | Ethan Yang |
vs | Minjun Oh  |
| R6 |  Jonathan Barradas   |
vs | Tanner Mask |
| R7 | HoĆ ng Hį» |
vs | Sebastian Liu Li |
| R8 | Jeramy Striker |
vs | Gustav Hedegaard Lund |
| R9 | Leon MĆ¼ller |
vs | Justin Tobias  |
| R10 | Oleksandr Polishchuk |
vs |  Juan Lucin |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Kosta Daidimos |
vs | Shohei Kimura |
| R2 | Davide Cognetta |
vs | JoĆ£o Felipe Leite |
| R3 | Carlos Cabal |
vs | MichaÅ Kwiatkowski |
| R4 | Markus Hamann |
vs | Davide Carrer |
| R5 | Marcus Koh |
vs | LĆ©o Fontvieille |
| R6 | Justin Burns |
vs | Naoto Mizobuchi |
| R7 | Juan Manuel Odriozola |
vs | Francesco Iozzia |
| Top 32 | Giulio Tarlao |
vs | Hyungwoo Shin |
| Top 16 | Marco Silva |
vs | HƩctor SƔnchez |
| Top 8 | Shohei Kimura |
vs | Dorian QuiƱonez |
| Top 4 | JoĆ£o Felipe Leite |
vs | HƩctor SƔnchez |
| Top 4 | Dorian QuiƱonez |
vs | Hyungwoo Shin |
| Finals | Hyungwoo Shin |
vs | JoĆ£o Felipe Leite |
Usage stats
General usage
| # | PokƩmon | Ph2 | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 59.6% (56) | 50% (11) |
| 2 | | 53.2% (50) | 55% (12) |
| 3 | | 51.1% (48) | 68% (15) |
| 4 | | 47.9% (45) | 55% (12) |
| 5 | | 38.3% (36) | 27% (6) |
| 6 |  | 31.9% (30) | 27% (6) |
| 7 | | 28.7% (27) | 45% (10) |
| 8 | | 27.7% (26) | 23% (5) |
| 9 | | 26.6% (25) | 36% (8) |
| 10 | | 25.5% (24) | 27% (6) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph2 | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | 18.1% (17) | 23% (5) |
| 12 | | 16.0% (15) | 18% (4) |
| 13 | | 12.8% (12) | 14% (3) |
| 14 |  | 10.6% (10) | 14% (3) |
| 15 |  | 9.6% (9) | 9% (2) |
| 16 |  | 8.5% (8) | 14% (3) |
| 17 | | 8.5% (8) | 0% (0) |
| 18 | | 7.4% (7) | 14% (3) |
| 19 |  | 7.4% (7) | 5% (1) |
| 20 |  | 7.4% (7) | 0% (0) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph2 | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 |  | 6.4% (6) | 9% (2) |
| 22 | | 6.4% (6) | 9% (2) |
| 23 |  | 6.4% (6) | 5% (1) |
| 24 | | 6.4% (6) | 5% (1) |
| 25 | | 6.4% (6) | 0% (0) |
| 26 | | 6.4% (6) | 0% (0) |
| 27 |  | 5.3% (5) | 9% (2) |
| 28 | | 4.3% (4) | 5% (1) |
| 29 | | 4.3% (4) | 0% (0) |
| 30 | | 3.2% (3) | 9% (2) |
Mega Evolution usage
| # | PokƩmon | Ph2 Usage | Cut Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 58.5% (55) | 50% (11) |
| 2 | | 31.9% (30) | 27% (6) |
| 3 | | 10.6% (10) | 14% (3) |
| 4 | | 9.6% (9) | 9% (2) |
| 5 | | 8.5% (8) | 14% (3) |
| # | PokƩmon | Ph2 Usage | Cut Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | | 7.4% (7) | 5% (1) |
| 7 | | 7.4% (7) | 0% (0) |
| 8 | | 6.4% (6) | 9% (2) |
| 9 | | 6.4% (6) | 9% (2) |
| 10 | | 6.4% (6) | 5% (1) |
Usage stats - Phase 1 tournament
General usage
| # | PokĆ©mon | Total | āPh2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 47.0% (676) | 55% (36) |
| 2 | | 36.9% (531) | 52% (34) |
| 3 | | 34.3% (493) | 55% (36) |
| 4 | | 32.8% (472) | 48% (32) |
| 5 | | 32.2% (464) | 42% (28) |
| 6 | | 26.9% (387) | 30% (20) |
| 7 | | 23.8% (343) | 30% (20) |
| 8 | | 23.5% (338) | 26% (17) |
| 9 | | 21.2% (305) | 15% (10) |
| 10 | | 20.4% (294) | 11% (7) |
| # | PokĆ©mon | Total | āPh2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | 18.7% (269) | 12% (8) |
| 12 | | 18.1% (261) | 32% (21) |
| 13 | | 15.2% (219) | 20% (13) |
| 14 | | 14.3% (206) | 9% (6) |
| 15 | | 12.9% (185) | 8% (5) |
| 16 | | 11.4% (164) | 6% (4) |
| 17 | | 11.1% (160) | 5% (3) |
| 18 | | 10.8% (155) | 5% (3) |
| 19 | | 10.2% (147) | 5% (3) |
| 20 | | 8.8% (127) | 5% (3) |
| # | PokĆ©mon | Total | āPh2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 |  | 8.1% (117) | 3% (2) |
| 22 | | 8.1% (116) | 18% (12) |
| 23 | | 7.6% (109) | 3% (2) |
| 24 | | 7.4% (107) | 5% (3) |
| 25 | | 6.7% (97) | 5% (3) |
| 26 | | 6.6% (95) | 6% (4) |
| 27 | | 6.3% (91) | 2% (1) |
| 28 | | 6.2% (89) | 6% (4) |
| 29 | | 5.8% (84) | 5% (3) |
| 30 | | 5.8% (83) | 15% (10) |
Mega Evolution usage
| # | PokĆ©mon | Total | āPh2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 33.7% (485) | 53% (35) |
| 2 | | 18.1% (260) | 32% (21) |
| 3 | | 18.1% (260) | 12% (8) |
| 4 | | 13.6% (196) | 9% (6) |
| 5 | | 10.1% (145) | 5% (3) |
| # | PokĆ©mon | Total | āPh2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | | 9.7% (139) | 5% (3) |
| 7 | | 9.4% (135) | 6% (4) |
| 8 | | 8.1% (116) | 18% (12) |
| 9 | | 6.1% (88) | 6% (4) |
| 10 | | 6.1% (88) | 3% (2) |
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 Victory Road to San Francisco will feature a structure reminiscent of pre-Scarlet & Violet World Championships, which means this will actually be two separate tournaments, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. This also means that players qualified to the Sunday tournament will be free to change their Saturday teams and submit a new one:
- 15 August at 13:00 UTC:
- Phase 1 Tournament. Any player that does not have a direct invite to Phase 2 can play this tournament, which consists of a single phase of Swiss rounds.
- As soon as a player reaches the amount of victories needed to advance, they will be qualified to Phase 2 and will no longer play. They will receive an invite to the Phase 2 Tournament.
- 16 August at 13:00 UTC:
- Phase 2 Tournament: All players with an invite (either from their results in a tournament throughout the season or the Phase 1 tournament) start this tournament with a clean score. Players from Phase 1 are free to change their teams if they want.
- This tournament will be played as a single stage of Swiss rounds, followed by a single-elimination asymmetrical top cut forĀ those players with 2 or fewer losses (X-2) at the end of the Swiss rounds.
Given the special structure of this tournament, the amount of rounds to be played each day will slightly differ from the usual:
- Phase 1 (Saturday):
- Up to 700 players: 8 rounds
- 701 to 1,150 players: 9 rounds
- 1,151 to 1,900 players: 10 rounds
- 1,901 or more players: 11 rounds
- Phase 2 (Sunday): It will very likely be 7 rounds with a top cut of between 16 and 32 players.
Sign-up instructions
Phase 1 Tournament
Sign-ups for the event are done throughĀ BattlefyĀ platform. Sign-ups are FREEĀ and open upon announcement of the event.
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!
Since this tournament is free to enter, check-in will be enabled in Battlefy 60 minutes before the tournament starts. Remember to check in to confirm your participation!
Sign-ups close right before the event starts. Players that do not show up and get their third loss areĀ dropped from the tournament.
Phase 2 Tournament
All players that qualify to the Phase 2 Tournament will receive a personal, non-transferable invite code and link to a new tournament. They will need to submit their team lists in the same way as before.
Players qualified from the Phase 1 tournament are free to change their team heading into the Phase 2 tournament. Even if they want to keep playing the same team, they need to submit it again for Phase 2.
Take a look at the list of players that have earned an invite to the Phase 2 Tournament.
Matthew Henry, winner of the VR Oct. Challenge- Pedro Feitosa, winner of the VR Jul. Challenge
- JƩrƩmy CƓtƩ, winner of the VR Dec. Challenge #2
- Louis Markl, winner of the VR Jun. Challenge #2
- Michael Kelsch, winner of the VR Aug. Challenge #2
- Lucas Mester-Christensen, winner of the VR Sep. Challenge #1
- Nikolaj HĆøj Nielsen, winner of the VR May Challenge #5 and top 4 at The Champions Arena II
- Jorge Tabuyo, winner of the VR Sep. Challenge #2, finalist of The Champions Arena I and top 4 at The Champions Arena II
- JosƩ Francisco GƔlvez, winner of the VR Jun. Challenge #1
- Juan BenĆtez, top 4 at The Champions Arena I
- Pedro MartĆnez, top 8 at The Champions Arena I
- ThƩotime Massaut, winner of 2 VR Challenges (Jan. #1 and Mar. #3)
- Davide Carrer, winner of the VR May Challenge #2
- Federico Camporesi, winner of the VR Mar. Challenge #2
- Francesco Iozzia, top 8 at The Champions Arena I
- Giulio Tarlao, winner of the VR May Challenge #1
- Marco Silva, winner of The Champions Arena II
- Stefano Greppi, winner of the VR Nov. Challenge
- Hiroto Hayasaki, winner of the VR Dec. Challenge #3
- Kazuki Ogushi, winner of the VR Aug. Challenge #1
- Naoto Mizobuchi, winner of the VR Dec. Challenge #1
- Shohei Kimura, winner of 3 VR Challenges (Aug., Jan. #2 and Feb. #1)
- Shunsuke Minami, winner of the VR Feb. Challenge #2
- Tota Nambu, winner of the VR May Challenge #3
- Hyungwoo Shin, winner of The Champions Arena I
- Jiang Jin-Hao, top 8 at The Champions Arena I
- Jeff Lehmann, winner of the VR Mar. Challenge #1
- Joseph Ugarte, top 4 at The Champions Arena I
- Kyle Livinghouse, winner of the VR May Challenge #4
- Toler Webb, finalist of The Champions Arena II
- William Brown, top 8 at The Champions Arena I
Players with an 8-0 score in Phase 1:
- JoĆ£o Felipe Leite
- Juan Manuel Odriozola
- Ko Tsukide
- Yan Sym
Players with an 8-1 score in Phase 1:
- Audric David
- AurƩlien Soula
- Carlos Cabal
- Dorian QuiƱonez
- Emanuele Savinetti
- Gustav Hedegaard Lund
- HƩctor SƔnchez
- HoĆ ng Hį»
- Jimmy SuƔrez
- Jonathan Zuniga
- Leon MĆ¼ller
- Masahiro Ito
- Mattia Cognetta
- Sebastian Liu Li
- Selahattin Sturm
- Sudoz Zen
- Tomoki Kinoshita
- William Raes
- Yehor Hrishyn
- Yuya Tada
Players with an 8-2 score in Phase 1:
- Alex Soto
- Alex Madara
- Anish Katwal
- Cayden Owens
- Chris Large
- Cory Sifers
- Davide Cognetta
- Davide Leone
- Eduardo Cunha
- Flavio Del Pidio
- Gabriele Karol Lopez
- Hyeongmin Mo
- Israel Semedo
- James Bostock
- Joey Scudiero
- Justin Burns
- Kandai Nagatome
- Koki Hatakeyama
- Kosta Daidimos
- Leland Smith
- LĆ©o Fontvieille
- Lorenzo Antognoni
- Louis Fontvieille
- Luca Bertani
- Lukas Svensson
- Marcus Koh
- Markus Hamann
- Matteo Salvatici
- MichaÅ Kwiatkowski
- Nicholas Morales
- Nick Schrott
- Noel Lam Nilsson
- Oleksandr Polishchuk
- Oliver Achermann
- Parker Searle
- Quentin Maguire
- Rayan Guezi
- Simone Tomaiuolo
- Tomoaki Shigeki
- Tyler Betcher
- Yosuke Takayanagi
- Yudai Fukue
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).
In all VR Challenges of this season since September 2025, $1 of each entry has been saved to grow the accumulated prizepool for this tournament.
The best-placed players receive the following prizes:
| Placement | Prize money |
|---|---|
| Winner | ~30% of the accumulated prizepool |
| Runner-up | ~18% of the accumulated prizepool |
| Semifinalists | ~10% of the accumulated prizepool |
| 5th to 8th | ~5% of the accumulated prizepool |
| 9th to 16th | ~1.5% of the accumulated prizepool |
Overview
The Victory Road to San FranciscoĀ is an online event hosted by Victory Road, the culmination of a season-long circuit of online tournaments, to serve as the final step before everyone enjoys the 2026 World ChampionshipsĀ that are held in San Francisco two weeks after this event.
It is played withĀ VGC Regulation Set M-B, 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.
Last summer, we also held a tournament right before the World Championships, although it was not part of any VR Circuit back then. This was the Victory Road to Anaheim ā The Final Stretch, played in PokĆ©mon Scarlet and PokĆ©mon Violet with theĀ VGC Regulation Set I. The finals saw 2023 Perth Regional Champion Taran Birdee defeat AmericanĀ Giovanni Cischke to win $1,130 and his first VR tournament, while Giovanni went on to win the 2025 World ChampionshipsĀ the next week with the very same team he used here!
