2018 World Championships
The 2018 World Championships was held at the Nashville Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee from August 24 to 26, 2018. It was the fifteenth invitation-only championships for players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the tenth for players of the Pokémon video games, and the third for players of Pokkén Tournament. This was the first time the competition was held in Nashville.
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World Championships |
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Invitations for the Trading Card Game and the video game events were awarded to players who accumulated enough Championship Points throughout the season. Invitations for Pokkén Tournament were awarded to the top placements at two International Championships and the UK Regional Championships. There were also Last Chance Qualifiers held on Friday for Pokkén Tournament.
Saddle Up, Trainers! was composed as the competition's theme song.
Trading Card Game Championships
The Pokémon Trading Card Game featured the 2017-18 Standard format, using all cards from BREAKthrough onward. Players received invitations from gaining enough Championship Points throughout the year or from the previous year's World Championships.
Day One of the tournament consisted of Swiss rounds for all players who didn't receive a Day Two invitation. Players with enough points moved onto Day Two, where a new set of Swiss rounds were played that did not carry over Day One's records. Decks could be changed between the two days. The top eight then competed in a single-elimination tournament.
Junior Division
Tobias Strømdahl was the defending champion but became eligible for the Senior Division in 2018. He earned an invitation to Day Two where he finished 72nd.
Naohito Inoue of Japan became the new World Champion with a record of 9-0-1.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||
| 1 | Naohito Inoue | |||||||||||
| 8 | Sechan Oh | |||||||||||
| 1 | Naohito Inoue | |||||||||||
| 5 | Walker Halliburton | |||||||||||
| 5 | Walker Halliburton | |||||||||||
| 4 | Kota Onohara | |||||||||||
| 1 | Naohito Inoue | |||||||||||
| 2 | Sebastian Enriquez | |||||||||||
| 3 | Rune Heiremans | |||||||||||
| 6 | Benjamin Bussert | |||||||||||
| 3 | Rune Heiremans | |||||||||||
| 2 | Sebastian Enriquez | |||||||||||
| 7 | Joao Gabriel Penteado | |||||||||||
| 2 | Sebastian Enriquez | |||||||||||
Senior Division
Zachary Bohkari was the defending champion but did not attend.
Magnus Pedersen of Denmark finished with a record of 8-1-1 to become the new World Champion.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||
| 1 | Takumi Kaji | |||||||||||
| 8 | Tanner Hurley | |||||||||||
| 1 | Takumi Kaji | |||||||||||
| 4 | Connor Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 5 | Jihun Choi | |||||||||||
| 4 | Connor Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 4 | Connor Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 7 | Magnus Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 3 | Caleb Banwarie | |||||||||||
| 6 | Matthew Campbell | |||||||||||
| 6 | Matthew Campbell | |||||||||||
| 7 | Magnus Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 7 | Magnus Pedersen | |||||||||||
| 2 | Benjamin Branch-Trevathan | |||||||||||
Master Division
Diego Cassiraga was the defending champion, which earned him an invitation to Day Two where he finished 96th.
Robin Schulz of Germany became the first German Pokémon World Champion with a record of 8-0-2.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||
| 1 | Robin Schulz | |||||||||||
| 8 | Brian Miller | |||||||||||
| 1 | Robin Schulz | |||||||||||
| 5 | Klive Jun Jie | |||||||||||
| 5 | Klive Jun Jie | |||||||||||
| 4 | Shuto Itagaki | |||||||||||
| 1 | Robin Schulz | |||||||||||
| 6 | Jeff Kolenc | |||||||||||
| 3 | Nicolas Galaz | |||||||||||
| 6 | Jeff Kolenc | |||||||||||
| 6 | Jeff Kolenc | |||||||||||
| 7 | Pedro Eugenio Torres | |||||||||||
| 7 | Pedro Eugenio Torres | |||||||||||
| 2 | Eric Smith | |||||||||||
Video Game Championships
Day One of the tournament consisted of Swiss rounds for players who didn't receive a Day Two invitation. Invitations from the 2017 World Championships were only for Day One, meaning all Day Two invitations were awarded through Championship Points accrued through the year. Players with two or fewer losses and no ties advanced on to Day Two. Day Two consisted of a new set of Swiss rounds not using the previous day's records and players could change teams between the days. Players from this round with two or fewer losses and no ties were then seeded into a single-elimination tournament.
Matches took place in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and were all Double Battles. All Pokémon except Ash-Greninja, Mythical, and special Pokémon were eligible, given they had an Alola symbol. All held items were allowed, including Mega Stones. Levels for all Pokémon were adjusted to level 50 and no duplicate Pokémon or items were allowed. Players were given five minutes of move selection time per game.
Junior Division
Nicholas Kan was the defending champion but became eligible for the Senior Division in 2018. He finished 25th on Day Two.
Wonn Lee, a South Korean living in Japan, became the new World Champion.
| First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Justin Miranda-Radbord | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Ricco Cantrell | 16 | Ricco Cantrell | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Ignacio Del Compare | 8 | Bilel Lakehal | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Bilel Lakehal | 8 | Bilel Lakehal | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Yuri Yahashi | 14 | Wonn Lee | ||||||||||||||
| 13 | Jaesung Lee | 5 | Yuri Yahashi | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | Wonn Lee | 14 | Wonn Lee | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Emily Eastham | 14 | Wonn Lee | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Connor Yuen | 11 | Sota Tamemasa | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Haley Repas | 12 | Haley Repas | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Sota Tamemasa | 11 | Sota Tamemasa | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Junhyuk Song | 11 | Sota Tamemasa | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Yujiro Arai | 7 | Yujiro Arai | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Aidan Patterson | 7 | Yujiro Arai | ||||||||||||||
| 15 | Teddy French | 15 | Teddy French | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Keigo Tatsuma | ||||||||||||||||
Senior Division
Hong Juyong was the defending champion but was eligible for the Masters Division in 2018. He received an invitation to Day Two where he placed 43rd.
James Evans of the United States defeated Bram De Jonge of the Netherlands to become the new World Champion.
| First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Simone Bernardi | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Shota Yamada | 16 | Shota Yamada | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Finn Cooper | 8 | Victor Medina | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Victor Medina | 16 | Shota Yamada | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Ethan French | 14 | James Evans | ||||||||||||||
| 13 | Noboru Matsuura | 5 | Ethan French | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | James Evans | 14 | James Evans | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Andrew Boudreaux | 14 | James Evans | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Ayumu Iwasaki | 6 | Bram De Jonge | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Westley Long | 12 | Westley Long | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Marco Hemantha Kaludura Silva | 6 | Bram De Jonge | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Bram De Jonge | 6 | Bram De Jonge | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Cedric Derouchie | 10 | Gabriel Duran | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Gabriel Duran | 10 | Gabriel Duran | ||||||||||||||
| 15 | Zachary Lazaroff | 2 | Zach Kelly | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Zach Kelly | ||||||||||||||||
Masters Division
Ryota Otsubo was the defending champion but was knocked out in Day One.
After finishing in the Top 4 in the previous year, Paul Ruiz defeated Emilio Forbes to become the first Ecuadorian Pokémon World Champion.
| First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship match | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Kiwamu Endo | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Federico Turano | 16 | Federico Turano | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Yusie Matsuno | 9 | Yusie Matsuno | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Melvin Keh | 9 | Yusie Matsuno | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Emilio Forbes | 5 | Emilio Forbes | ||||||||||||||
| 13 | Paul Chua | 5 | Emilio Forbes | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | Tomohiro Seki | 14 | Tomohiro Seki | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Brendan Zheng | 5 | Emilio Forbes | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Nils Dunlop | 15 | Paul Ruiz | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Koji Morimoto | 3 | Nils Dunlop | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Alessio Yuri Boschetto | 6 | Arash Ommati | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Arash Ommati | 3 | Nils Dunlop | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Simone Sanvito | 15 | Paul Ruiz | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Roberto Poretti | 10 | Roberto Poretti | ||||||||||||||
| 15 | Paul Ruiz | 15 | Paul Ruiz | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Carson Confer | ||||||||||||||||
Pokkén Tournament World Championships
After the previous year combined the age divisions, the 2018 Pokkén Tournament Championships reintroduced the Senior and Masters Divisions. The limited number of entrants did not increase however, with the Masters Division keeping the 16 player limit and the Senior Division having an eight player limit. Invitations were given out to top placements at the Oceania and North American International Championships and the Sheffield Regional Championships. Two Senior and four Masters invites were awarded at the North American and Sheffield Championships each, while the Oceania Championships only awarded one Senior and two Masters invites. The remaining invitations were split between Japanese players and players who made it through the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Pokkén Tournament DX was used for the tournament, with every player required to use their own HORI Pokkén Tournament DX Pro Pad. Unlike previous years, stages were not limited to Ferrum Stadium. The double-elimination format was used, with matches being best three out of five rounds.
Hisaharu "Tonosama" Abe was the defending champion but did not attend.
Senior Division
Kato Yusuke defeated Colin "Ashgreninja1" Jones to become the Pokkén Tournament Senior Division World Champion.
| Winners Semifinals | Winners Final | Grand Final | Reset | ||||||||||||||
| kato | |||||||||||||||||
| Ashgreninja1 | kato | ||||||||||||||||
| Galactasaur | Galactasaur | Pikachu Libre/Darkrai/Mewtwo | kato | N/A | |||||||||||||
| TheJrJam | Garchomp/Shadow Mewtwo | Ashgreninja1 | N/A | ||||||||||||||
| Losers Quarterfinals | Losers Semifinal | Losers Final | |||||||||||||||
| TheJrJam | Ashgreninja1 | ||||||||||||||||
| rapiD | TheJrJam | Galactasaur | |||||||||||||||
| Ashgreninja1 | Ashgreninja1 | ||||||||||||||||
| William | |||||||||||||||||
Masters Division
Jacob "ThankSwalot" Waller defeated Kota "TARUTARO" Aragaki to become the first American Pokkén Tournament Masters Division World Champion.
| Winners Semifinals | Winners Final | Grand Final | Reset | ||||||||||||||
| Aegislash | haruyuki | ||||||||||||||||
| Aegislash/Pikachu Lubre | subutan | haruyuki | |||||||||||||||
| Sceptile | ThankSwalot | Sceptile | ThankSwalot | Gengar | TARUTARO | Gengar | TARUTARO | ||||||||||
| Chandelure | Mikukey_HIKARI | Sceptile/Empoleon | ThankSwalot | Sceptile | ThankSwalot | ||||||||||||
| Losers Quarterfinals | Losers Semifinal | Losers Final | |||||||||||||||
| Aegislash/Chandelure/Pikachu Libre | subutan | TARUTARO | |||||||||||||||
| Machamp/Shadow Mewtwo | Wingtide | subutan | haruyuki | ||||||||||||||
| Chandelure | Mikukey_HIKARI | TARUTARO | |||||||||||||||
| Gengar | TARUTARO | ||||||||||||||||
Event Pokémon
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| Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Games, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Video Game Championship Tournaments. | ![]() |


