The 2023 Pokémon World Championships will take place from August 11 to 13, 2023, in Yokohama, Japan. Pokémon GO will be celebrating with an in-game event, and bonuses for those at Worlds, including a special pose for whoever is crowned the Pokémon GO Champion!
Match Dates & Times
Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Stage
Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Stage until Top 2
Saturday, August 12: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT — Grand Finals
Watch here for exclusive timed research on day 1 and 2!
Tournament Format and Structure
Trainers will play in the Great League, with a 1500 max CP.
The following Pokémon are banned from the tournament:
Tournament pairings will be posted to Challonge.
Matches are best of three, except for the Winners Finals, Losers Finals, and Grand Finals, which are best of five.
These events will operate in a “bring-six-pick-three” format. This means that all players will create a team of up to six Pokémon, of which three will be brought to each game. The six Pokémon in a player’s team must stay the same throughout the tournament. No changes may be made to the Pokémon chosen, their moves, their CP, or any other feature. However, the three Pokémon brought to each game may vary.
At the start of each round, there will be a Team Preview phase in which players may view the six Pokémon on their opponent’s team and each Pokémon’s CP. Each player then decides in secret which three of their Pokémon to bring to each game. Only the potential Pokémon and their CP are visible to the opponent. Players are not shown their opponent’s attacks during Team Preview.
For more information on Pokémon GO play, check out this link.
Match Dates & Times
Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. PDT — Day 1 Swiss
Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Stage until Top 2
Saturday, August 12: 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PDT — Final matches for all three Pokémon TCG age divisions
Watch Thursday and Friday here, and Saturday on the main Pokémon channel.
Tournament Format and Structure
The Pokémon TCG World Championships is run in three phases over three days. Matches in Swiss will use the best-of-three game format with a 50-minute timer. Matches in the single-elimination top cut will use best-of-three game format with a 75-minute timer.
The Standard format will be used throughout the entire World Championships. No cards are currently banned in the Standard format
- Match win = 3 match points
- Match tie = 1 match point
- Match loss = 0 match points
Friday: Players who reach the required number of match points during the Swiss rounds will advance to Day Two on Saturday.
The best players in each region will earn an invitation that allows them to advance directly to Day Two without playing in Friday’s rounds.
Saturday: All players, including those who earned Day Two invitations and those who advanced from Friday, will play in a new set of Swiss rounds to be completed on Saturday. This will be treated as a new tournament: match records from Friday will not carry forward, and players are not required to use the same deck they played on Friday.
Sunday: Final rounds will be played on Sunday, August 13, for all age divisions.
For more information on TCG play, check out this link.
Match Dates & Times
Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. PDT — Day 1 Swiss
Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. PDT — Day 2 Swiss, Top 8, and Top 4
Saturday, August 12: 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PDT — Final matches for all three Pokémon VGC age divisions
Watch here
Tournament Format and Structure
The Pokémon VGC World Championships is run in three phases over three days. The number of Swiss rounds will depend on total attendance at the event. Information on the number of expected rounds can be found in the Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook, page 24.
Each player selects four Pokémon from their Battle Team to battle with. At the start of the battle, players send out the first two Pokémon in their party, making a total of four Pokémon on the battlefield. Gameplay continues until a player makes all four of their opponent’s Pokémon faint or until the in-game time limit has expired.
Regulation D
Paldea Pokédex No. 001–398 as well as certain other Pokémon are eligible to participate.
- Only Pokémon obtained in the Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet games or those transferred from Pokémon HOME are eligible.
- Terastallizing is permitted.
The following Pokémon are banned from play:
Arceus
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Calyrex
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Dialga
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Diancie
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Eternatus
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Giratina
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Groudon
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Hoopa
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Iron Treads
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Koraidon
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Kyogre
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Magearna
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Meloetta
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Mew
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Mewtwo
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Miraidon
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Palkia
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Rayquaza
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Volcanion
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Zarude
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Zacian
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Zamazenta
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Walking Wake |
Friday: All players with Day One invitations will play Swiss rounds. Players who finish on Friday with two or fewer losses and no ties will advance to play on Saturday.
The best players in each zone will earn an invitation that allows them to advance directly to Day Two without playing in Friday’s rounds.
Saturday: Players who earned Day Two invitations and players who advanced from Friday will play in a new set of Swiss rounds to be completed on Saturday. This will be treated as a new tournament—match records from Friday will not carry forward, and players are not required to use the same team as on Friday.
Sunday: Final rounds will be played for all age divisions.
For more information on VGC play, check out this link.
Match Dates & Times
Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. PDT — Group Play
Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Play
Watch here.
Tournament Format and Structure
Teams will compete 5-on-5 using the custom tournament lobby feature, playing matches on the Theia Sky Ruins map in Pokémon UNITE.
Friday: The 31 teams will play in the Group Stage, where they will battle other teams in their group in a Single Round Robin format until the Top 8 are determined. These teams will advance to the bracket stage.
Saturday: The Top 8 teams will compete in a newly seeded double-elimination bracket until a Champion is crowned.
For more information on Unite play, check out this link.
Pokémon GO Worlds 2023 Event
Be sure to check out our event guide for the Pokémon World Championships 2023 global event, and timed research guide for the following exciting encounters:
- Pikachu wearing an exclusive Worlds 2023 tee
- Shiny Scraggy debut
- Passimian debut
- The 2023 Worlds Tee (Yellow) will be available globally via a code shared during the Pokémon GO World Championships live stream. You can also get the code when it’s distributed via official Pokémon GO social media channels shortly after the stream. The code will be valid through August 20, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. UTC.
