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Pokémon World Championships
The Pokémon World Championships is an invite-only esports event organized by Play! Pokémon. It is held annually in August and features games from the Pokémon series such as the Pokémon video games, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Unite and Pokkén Tournament (until its 2022 edition). Players earn invitations to the World Championships based on their performance in qualifiers and other tournaments held throughout the season and compete for scholarship money, prizes and the title of World Champion. With the exception of Asia, invitations to the World Championships are administered by the Play! Pokémon program.
The Pokémon World Championships first began with the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) in 2004, which was around the time that the franchise was regaining its popularity. In 2008, Play! Pokémon began to organize competitive tournaments for the Pokémon video game series alongside the TCG, which is collectively known as the Video Game Championships (VGC). Like the TCG Championships, players compete with other players in their own age divisions (i.e. Junior, Senior and Masters) in different Premier Tournaments, and the season culminates with the best players earning an invitation to play the Pokémon World Championships in August. The tournaments in VGC were played with a different game each year, mainly the latest Pokémon game from its main series, up until 2025. From 2026, all VGC tournaments will be played on Pokémon Champions.
In 2016, Play! Pokémon announced that Pokkén Tournament would have its own championship series and would be played at the Pokémon World Championships. From 2018 onward, Pokkén Tournament DX was used to support its qualifiers and competitions.
In 2019, it was announced that the 2020 Pokémon World Championships would take place in London, United Kingdom, the first time in which the World Championships would be held in a location outside of North America. This is likely due to the setting of Pokémon Sword and Shield, which takes place in a region inspired by the United Kingdom known as the Galar region, and that is the set of games that would be played by the video game division of the World Championships.
On March 31, 2020, Play! Pokémon cancelled the 2020 Pokémon World Championships and suspended its 2020 season due to health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. This came after earlier announcements in March which saw the cancellation of the 2020 European International Championships and part of its season between March and June 2020. On February 9, 2021, it was announced that the 2021 Pokémon World Championships would postponed till 2022 for the same reasons.
In early January 2022, it was confirmed that Pokémon Unite would be played at the World Championships, making it the newest MOBA game to have an official esports tournament, after League of Legends.
In May 2022, after six seasons of competitions, Play! Pokémon announced the end of the Pokkén Tournament Championship Series after the 2022 season.
At the 2022 edition of the event, it was announced that the 2023 World Championships will take place in Yokohama, Japan (the basis of Vermilion City in the Kanto region). When the 2023 event took place, it was the first World Championships to visit the franchise's country of origin and take place in Asia.
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Pokémon World Championships
The Pokémon World Championships is an invite-only esports event organized by Play! Pokémon. It is held annually in August and features games from the Pokémon series such as the Pokémon video games, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Unite and Pokkén Tournament (until its 2022 edition). Players earn invitations to the World Championships based on their performance in qualifiers and other tournaments held throughout the season and compete for scholarship money, prizes and the title of World Champion. With the exception of Asia, invitations to the World Championships are administered by the Play! Pokémon program.
The Pokémon World Championships first began with the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) in 2004, which was around the time that the franchise was regaining its popularity. In 2008, Play! Pokémon began to organize competitive tournaments for the Pokémon video game series alongside the TCG, which is collectively known as the Video Game Championships (VGC). Like the TCG Championships, players compete with other players in their own age divisions (i.e. Junior, Senior and Masters) in different Premier Tournaments, and the season culminates with the best players earning an invitation to play the Pokémon World Championships in August. The tournaments in VGC were played with a different game each year, mainly the latest Pokémon game from its main series, up until 2025. From 2026, all VGC tournaments will be played on Pokémon Champions.
In 2016, Play! Pokémon announced that Pokkén Tournament would have its own championship series and would be played at the Pokémon World Championships. From 2018 onward, Pokkén Tournament DX was used to support its qualifiers and competitions.
In 2019, it was announced that the 2020 Pokémon World Championships would take place in London, United Kingdom, the first time in which the World Championships would be held in a location outside of North America. This is likely due to the setting of Pokémon Sword and Shield, which takes place in a region inspired by the United Kingdom known as the Galar region, and that is the set of games that would be played by the video game division of the World Championships.
On March 31, 2020, Play! Pokémon cancelled the 2020 Pokémon World Championships and suspended its 2020 season due to health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. This came after earlier announcements in March which saw the cancellation of the 2020 European International Championships and part of its season between March and June 2020. On February 9, 2021, it was announced that the 2021 Pokémon World Championships would postponed till 2022 for the same reasons.
In early January 2022, it was confirmed that Pokémon Unite would be played at the World Championships, making it the newest MOBA game to have an official esports tournament, after League of Legends.
In May 2022, after six seasons of competitions, Play! Pokémon announced the end of the Pokkén Tournament Championship Series after the 2022 season.
At the 2022 edition of the event, it was announced that the 2023 World Championships will take place in Yokohama, Japan (the basis of Vermilion City in the Kanto region). When the 2023 event took place, it was the first World Championships to visit the franchise's country of origin and take place in Asia.