Six Pokémon Trainers Crowned World Champions at the 2014 Pokémon World Championships
WASHINGTON, DC—August 17, 2014—The 2014 Pokémon World Championships drew to a close this weekend in Washington, DC. Players from more than 30 countries competed in Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) matches and video game battles playing Pokémon X or Pokémon Y. The road to the World Championships was a challenging one, with players qualifying through a yearlong series of regional and national tournaments. After two days of intense battles that saw the world's best Pokémon TCG and video game players competing at the highest level, six players across two disciplines and three age divisions were crowned Pokémon World Champions.
More than 3,000 players, fans, and supporters attended the event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center while over 800,000 Pokémon fans watched the action from home via the official live stream at Pokemon.com/Worlds and Twitch.tv/Pokemon. A rebroadcast of the 2014 Pokémon World Championships will air on both sites beginning Monday, August 18.
The 2014 Pokémon TCG and Video Game World Champions are:
- 2014 Pokémon TCG Junior Division World Champion, Haruto Kobayashi from Japan.
- 2014 Pokémon Video Game Junior Division World Champion, Kota Yamamoto from Japan.
- 2014 Pokémon TCG Senior Division World Champion, Trent Orndorff from the United States.
- 2014 Pokémon Video Game Senior Division World Champion, Nikolai Zielinski from the United States.
- 2014 Pokémon TCG Masters Division World Champion, Andrew Estrada from Canada.
- 2014 Pokémon Video Game Masters Division World Champion, Se Jun Park from South Korea.
Winners of this year's invitation-only tournament earned the title of Pokémon World Champion, collected scholarship money, won an invitation and Travel Award to the 2015 Pokémon World Championships, and received a special Pokémon World Championships trophy featuring Pikachu. The Pokémon Company International has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships since it began running tournaments a decade ago.
“The Pokémon World Championships is a celebration of the global Pokémon community and embodies the Pokémon spirit of fun, friendship, and mutual respect,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. “We extend well-earned congratulations to our new Pokémon World Champions. They will travel home as heroes and will inspire others to strive for greatness.”
2014 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Junior Division (born in 2002 or later)
World Champion: Haruto Kobayashi (Japan)
Second Place: Takashi Oguni (Japan)
2014 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists—Junior Division (born in 2002 or later)
World Champion: Kota Yamamoto (Japan)
Second Place: London Swan (United States)
2014 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Senior Division (born in 1998–2001)
World Champion: Trent Orndorff (United States)
Second Place: Alex Croton (United States)
2014 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists—Senior Division (born in 1998–2001)
World Champion: Nikolai Zielinski (United States)
Second Place: Mark McQuillan (United Kingdom)
2014 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists—Masters Division (born in 1997 or earlier)
World Champion: Andrew Estrada (Canada)
Second Place: Igor Costa (Portugal)
2014 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists—Masters Division (born in 1997 or earlier)
World Champion: Se Jun Park (South Korea)
Second Place: Jeudy Azzarelli (United States)
For more information on how to participate in future Pokémon Championship Series events, please visit www.pokemon.com/play.
To connect with Pokémon online:
- Visit www.pokemon.com
- Like the official Pokémon Facebook page at Facebook.com/Pokemon
- Follow @Pokemon on Twitter
Check out the official Pokémon YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/pokemon
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children's entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
