Updated [Sat 24th Aug, 2024 00:30 BST]:
Pokémon has always been promoted as a family-friendly brand, and at the World Championships last weekend, a competitor in the Trading Card Game tournament was “retroactively handed a loss” after winning his quarter-final match.
This took place in the Masters bracket (the top division for players 16 years and older), with competitor Ian Robb thrown out of the top eight, which was live streamed on Twitch and YouTube. According to an official statement shared with Comicbook.com, The Pokémon Company International issued Robb with a match loss for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.
While The Pokémon Company didn’t elaborate on this, the source notes how it’s “likely due to Robb making a gesture” with his hand after winning the match. You can see the edited match video (which removes this) above, but clips of this particular scene are still circulating on social media.
What’s even crazier is that Robb’s opponent Fernando Cifuentes actually went on to win the entire tournament! It’s mentioned by Comicbook how Robb has also “potentially lost out on a guaranteed $20,000 prize money for making the semifinals” although he could still “recoup $15,000 of this” if he’s considered a top eight finisher.
Fortunately, the tournament continued, and during the closing ceremony, multiple game annouments were made, including some about the Trading Card Game. The mobile pocket version of the TCG even locked in a release date.
