Three of the top players in the Pokémon Video Game Championship (VGC) scene, including current 2024 world champion Luca Ceribelli, claim they have been barred from the 2026 Pokémon World Championship. The exclusion occurred after event security confiscated their passes due to a disagreement in the Pokémon Center queue.
Ceribelli, Ruben Gianzini and Luca Lussignoli had secured their places to compete in the World Cup, which takes place in San Francisco, with their teams duly registered on the official list.
The tournament takes place between August 28th and 30th and represents the first time that VGC battles have been played through the Pokémon Champions system.
Ceribelli, who had previously won the Master Division at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, was prevented by this dispute from seeking a second consecutive title.
Initially, security staff reportedly assured players that replacement passes would be provided.
Details of the Pokémon Center queue controversy
In a statement posted to his Pokémon X (formerly Twitter) account, Ceribelli explained that the problem began when he and Lussignoli allowed Gianzini to join them in line at the Pokémon Center.
Ceribelli highlighted that Gianzini has a disability that causes great discomfort in crowded environments and that he had not received the necessary adaptations that were granted in previous editions of the event.
The former champion admitted that allowing Gianzini into the queue was a mistake on their part and did not question security’s initial decision to prevent the group from accessing the Pokémon Center.
Promise of passes was not fulfilled by security
The biggest problem, according to Ceribelli, arose when security seized their event passes, preventing them from returning to the store. He alleges that they were repeatedly assured that passes could be reprinted before competitions began the following day.
However, when trying to obtain replacements, players were informed that passes confiscated by security staff could not be reissued.
