GO Competitor Information
Tournament Structure
Competitors will compete from Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30 using the Competitors Cup (CP less than or equal to 1500) format in Pokémon GO.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with Challonge prior to the event.
Pools Phase (Friday, August 28): Competitors will play in pools in a double elimination bracket. The top competitors from each pool will advance to the Final Phase of the bracket. Tournament pairings will be available on Challonge. *Note, some pool phase matches may be held over to Saturday, August 29. Schedule is subject to change.
Final Phase (Saturday, August 29): The top competitors from each pool will play in a double elimination bracket until only two competitors remain.
Grand Final (Sunday, August 30): The Grand Final will take place to determine the Champion.
Matches are best-of-three, except for the Winners Final, Losers Final, and Grand Final, which are best-of-five.
Competitors must comply with all Tournament Rules.
What to Bring
When you show up for the 2026 Pokémon GO World Championships, you will need to have a team of tournament-legal Pokémon for the Competitors Cup format in your Pokémon GO account.
Pokémon on the Pokémon GO Championships Banned Pokémon list are not permitted for play.
Proof of age may be requested, and failure to provide proof of age may result in the competitor being denied participation in the tournament (at the organizer’s discretion). Competitors must satisfy the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) age of digital consent in their home region or be using a Niantic Kids account if they do not satisfy GDPR age of digital consent in their home region to participate in Pokémon GO Championship Series events. As a reminder, Pokémon GO will compete in a single age division.
Competitors will compete on smartphones provided by the organizer. Competitors will be expected to log in and log out during the tournament. It is the competitor’s responsibility to log out of the device after each match concludes.
Matches for the 2026 Pokémon GO World Championships will be played primarily using a wired network for all matches. To accommodate this, competitors who wish to hear in-game audio will need to bring either USB-A headphones or an audio adaptor that allows for USB-A input.
Team List Submission
Team lists will be submitted online via RK9.gg. All team lists must be submitted by 6:00 a.m. PDT on the first day of the event. You can resubmit your team list as many times as you want prior to the submission deadline; however, you must play the final team you submit.
Any lists not submitted on time may result in a Round 1 loss.
Please read RK9’s support article about preparing for a Pokémon GO event.
