Quick Facts
- Event Date: July 30, 2026
- Winner: Mike Hobbs (UK stinging-nettle-eating world champion)
- Grand Prize: 2027 Pokémon World Championships tickets and a charity donation
- Trainer/Coach: Three-time Pokémon VGC World Champion Ray Rizzo
The Pokémon Champions esports scene took an unconventional turn on July 30, 2026, with the debut of the Pokémon Champion of Champions tournament. Rather than featuring seasoned VGC veterans, the event pitted eight niche world-record holders against each other to battle for 2027 Pokémon World Championships tickets.
Competitors representing diverse disciplines—including nettle-eating, air guitar, pillow fighting, whistling, hobby horsing, pizza acrobatics, french fry making, and competitive doing-nothing—stepped up to the stage. Before the matches began, participants received three days of training from three-time Pokémon VGC World Champion Ray Rizzo.
How the Tournament Worked
Hosted by Jamie Boyt, Charlie Merriman, Lou Akcoş-Cromie, and Barış Akcoş, the competition utilized the open team sheets, bring-six, play-four format. Competitors could inspect each other's Pokémon Champions teams ahead of time, picking four of their six monsters for each match. Played in a single-elimination, best-of-three bracket, players were allowed to swap Pokémon on or off their bench between games.
The nail-biting final came down to a face-off between the nettle-eating and air guitar champions. Mike Hobbs ultimately secured the victory using a team consisting of Charizard, Venusaur, Incineroar, Toxapex, Annihilape, and Garchomp, celebrating his win alongside his children.