World Championships: Difference between revisions

The '''Pokémon World Championships''' (Japanese: '''ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップス''' ''Pokémon World Championships'') are an annual event held by the [[Play! Pokémon]] organized play division of [[The Pokémon Company International]]. The first ever World Championship was hosted in Sydney, Australia, during the [[wp:2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Summer Olympics]] which were also held there. Players from Australia, Belgium, {{pmin|France}}, {{pmin|Germany}}, {{pmin|the Netherlands}}, {{pmin|Spain}}, {{pmin|the United Kingdom}}, and {{pmin|the United States}} competed using {{game|Red and Blue|s}} and {{game|Yellow}}. The second event was run by [[Wizards of the Coast]], a division of [[Hasbro]], in August 2002 in Seattle, WA,<ref>[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=68329&p=irol-newsArticlePR_pf&ID=322673&highlight= First-Ever Pokemon Trading Card Game World Champion Titles Won by Dylan Austin, 14 of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Mindy Lambkee, 10 of Kent, Washington] Deadlink</ref> but instead the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game|Trading Card Game]] was used. Due to the transfer of the licensing of the TCG from Wizards to Nintendo, neither company staged a World Championship in 2003. Nintendo resumed World Championships in 2004 and have held them each year since then (excluding 2020 and 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]), with the video games returning to the event alongside the TCG from 2008 onwards. Prior to the start of the World Championships {{DL|Play! Pokémon|TCG Premier Events|tournament}} structure, the best TCG players from around the world competed at the [[Tropical Mega Battle]] from 1999 to 2001, as well as at several Super Trainer Showdown events held in the US in 2000 and 2001.

Minor announcements are usually revealed during the events, such as upcoming types of TCG cards, the ruleset of the following VGC format, and the city where the next World Championships will be hosted.