Summary
APokemon TCGplayer’s big win during the quarter-finals of the World Championship Tournament was quickly taken away following their celebration. The surprisingPokemon TCGjudgment came down quickly, and has shaken up the results of the competition.
ThePokemonWorld Championshipsis a big deal in the gaming community. Every year, the World Championships event celebrates the games and pits invited players against each other in thePokemonvideo games and the tabletop card game. The winner brings home bragging rights, a significant cash prize, and the title of World Champion for the year. However, this player’s path to become champion was derailed seemingly due to their own actions.
In thePokemon TCGWorld Championships Masters bracket, competitor Ian Robb was facing Fernando Cifuentes to proceed to the semi-finals. Robb successfully beat his competitor, and had the right to move on to potentially bring home the crown. However, Robb was quicklyhanded a disqualificationshortly after the win, with the only reason stipulated being that he exhibited “inappropriate conduct.” Though officials didn’t go into further detail, fans believe they know what happened.
Why Did a Pokemon TCG Quarter-Finalist Get Disqualified?
Although the official broadcast has since been edited to remove the moment, fans believe that an apparentlyobscene hand gesturemade by Robb as he celebrated his win was the reason for his removal. In an uploaded version of the clip, it appears that Robb did it as a way of celebrating and possibly mocking his competitor. It didn’t take long for the win to be removed, and as a result, Cifuentes was allowed to proceed to the semi-finals in his stead.
Considering this2024Pokemoneventis a competition players have to earn an invitation to, Robb can’t be happy with this outcome. To make matters worse, Cifuentes went on to win the entire Masters bracket tournament, which came with a cool $50,000 USD cash prize to boot. Robb was guaranteed to bring home $15,000 USD of his own by making it to the quarter-finals, and would have taken home $20,000 minimum if he had been allowed to proceed to the semi-finals. Robb has since stated that he finished in “the Top 8,” but it’s not clear if he was allowed to claim his cash prize or not.
To be fair, Ian Robb has since stated that he was rooting for Cifuentes after the fact, and claims that he’s a “deserving champion.” Whether the gesture was intentionally obscene or insulting or not, this isn’t the end of the road for Ian Robb. Perhaps the two competitors will meet again at anotherPokemon TCGtournamentsomeday under better circumstances.
Pokemon TCG
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
