• A man takes a selfie with a Pikachu during the 2019 Pokemon World Championships at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. AFP
    A man takes a selfie with a Pikachu during the 2019 Pokemon World Championships at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. AFP
  • Stuffed animals depicting characters of Pokemon are seen beside a Nintendo 64 video game console. EPA
    Stuffed animals depicting characters of Pokemon are seen beside a Nintendo 64 video game console. EPA
  • Competitors begin a round of play. AFP
    Competitors begin a round of play. AFP
  • People compete during the first day of the 2019 Pokemon World Championships. AFP
    People compete during the first day of the 2019 Pokemon World Championships. AFP
  • A child picks up some "energy cards" for playing Pokemon. EPA
    A child picks up some "energy cards" for playing Pokemon. EPA
  • People play on stage. AFP
    People play on stage. AFP
  • People look at trophies. AFP
    People look at trophies. AFP
  • A spectator watches. AFP
    A spectator watches. AFP
  • Competitors wait to play a video game. AFP
    Competitors wait to play a video game. AFP
  • Game officials speak. AFP
    Game officials speak. AFP
  • An official watches the competitors. AFP
    An official watches the competitors. AFP
  • A youth playing a yet-unreleased Pokemon video game for Nintendo wears a stuffed animal on her back. EPA
    A youth playing a yet-unreleased Pokemon video game for Nintendo wears a stuffed animal on her back. EPA
  • An inflated Pikachu hangs over a crowd attending the 2019 Pokemon World Championships. EPA
    An inflated Pikachu hangs over a crowd attending the 2019 Pokemon World Championships. EPA

Eyes on the prize: inside the 2019 World Pokemon Championships - in pictures

The annual event sees the best players from around the world come together to compete

Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau
Abu Dhabi

August 19, 2019

  • English
  • Arabic

Gotta catch ‘em all. At least that’s what players were trying to do at the 2019 World Pokemon Championships that took place in Washington DC on Friday, August 16 to Sunday, August 18.

Competing for a share of $500,000 (Dh1.83m) in prize money, the invite-only event saw players in the competition take part in Pokemon video games, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Pokken and, for the first time, a special Pokemon Go Invitational. Winners were crowned in the junior, senior and masters division as well as the first Pokemon Go champion.

Here’s a list of the winners from the three-day event: 

Pokemon World Video Game Champions

  • Junior Division: Pi Wu from Taiwan
  • Senior Division: Ko Tsukide from Japan
  • Masters Division: Naoto Mizobuchi from Japan

Pokemon World Trading Card Game Champions

  • Junior Division: Haruki Miyamoto from Japan
  • Senior Division: Kaya Lichleitner from Germany
  • Masters Division: Henry Brand from Australia

Pokken World Champions

  • Senior Division: Collin "Ashgreninja1" Jones from the United States
  • Masters Division: Subutan from Japan

Pokemon Go Invitational

  • Overall Winner: Pogokieng
  • Second: Poke AK
  • Third: Carrymeh

Next year’s iteration has already been announced with London hosting the 2020 World Pokemon Championships. The game's best players from around the world will come together to compete in the biggest games in the Pokemon franchise.

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