That’s especially true for fans from the United Kingdom, as a young man from York took the top prize from the Pokémon World Championship final’s gaming Senior division bracket.
The latter is especially interesting in this case, as Worlds would normally run with the latest mainline game (previously Scarlet & Violet), but this is the first year that the new free-to-play battler, Pokémon Champions, has been the default competitive platform for the VGC scene — and it will be going forward.
Worlds matches were all held from Friday to Saturday at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center. For the finals on Sunday, however, all matches were showcased at the competition's biggest venue yet: the NBA’s Chase Centre — housing thousands of screaming, passionate Pokémon fans circling a gloriously lit centre arena stage.
Where normally basketball fans would be checking out three-pointers and dunks on the Chase’s giant monitors, Pokémon lovers got to use it for epic high-resolution plays, knockouts, and match-winning moves that were followed with energetic commentary and effects as if you were watching the NBA playoffs or World Cup indoors.
Who were Pokemon Worlds' 2026 VGC winners?
After an intense back-and-forth between teams both featuring Charizard and Venusaur, it was 16-year-old Vikram Thiagarajan who won his own tie-break game to become Great Britain’s first world champion since Mark McQuillan in 2015.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Shoma Honami and Kotone Yasue took the crowns for the VGC finals’ Master (17+) and Junior (12 and under) divisions respectively.
Representing the UK as a World Champion
"It just feels unbelievable", Thiagarajan answered.
At 2025’s Worlds in Anaheim, Vikram made it to the top four as a semi-finalist with his team including Calyrex, Groudon, Smeargle, and Fluttermane — which is still a great achievement in its own right.
With all of that, players have had to adjust to a whole new meta compared to last year.
View oEmbed on the source websiteAlthough there was some strategic back and forth from the two players, Vikram noted to us during the roundtable the moment he knew he was the new world champion: just above the final round’s ten-minute mark, when Verástegui’s last-ditch effort to use Venusaur’s Sleep Powder on Archaludon only lasted for one turn — allowing Archaludon to finish off the opposing Charizard, soon followed by Carlos's surrender, since he only had a nearly-defeated Incineroar remaining.
How to play Worlds-level competitive Pokémon
"That’s what I did this year, and it turned out pretty well, so just have as much fun as you can".
Take fellow British player Taran Birdee of the Masters division, for example — who placed 19th at this year’s Worlds. Despite his acknowledgement that there’s 'definitely a lot more pressure' compared to regionals, he thinks 'trying to think of it as just another tournament and just trying to play your best is really the best way to go'.
He explained: "Pokémon's one of those games where you have to like playing Pokémon as a whole rather than just the competitive side of it. So, if you like Pokémon, you'll probably enjoy playing competitively, and Pokémon Champions is the easiest way to do it."
Pokémon Worlds makes the most of Champions being fun for beginners
Brooks Johnson, a San Francisco Bay Area local who placed eighth in his first Senior division (but his third time at the tournament altogether) — mentioned to Radio Times Gaming how another family helped build his first team so he could go to an event, before adding: "I think you can just look at sites and events for a team, then if you build it, you can go to an event, learn from that, and play on the ladder."
Therein lies a key contrasting pro and con with having a game like Pokémon Champions as the new VGC baseline, with only 208 out of 1,028 Pokémon available at the time of writing. It may make professional-level players like those at Worlds hungry for more variety, but it makes the barrier to entry for casual Pokémon fans much easier to get over — alongside the easy-to-understand tutorial and training mechanics in place.
View Riddle on the source websiteReflecting on the variety of casual and diehard Pokémon fans who’ve been trying Champions out, we asked not only Hoshino-san how the team went about deciding which Pokémon to add, but also if there’s been any surprise about the impact on the meta either at launch or later updates.
The Pokémon Champions boss explained: "Especially with the mobile launch, there's an influx of a lot of first-time players, and especially, you don't want to make Champions too daunting for these new players."
"But even within this limited roster and the current regulation, as we can see in [the World Championships], there's a lot of people who are coming up with, like, new metas, and right now [I feel] that it is a pretty good meta environment at the moment."
Where will the 2027 World Championships be held?
Vikram did mention to us that if he could pick any Pokémon to go into Champions next, it would be the Gen V Grass/Steel-type Ferrothorn.
Read more on Pokémon:
Best Pokémon gifts - the greatest merchBest Pokémon games on Switch - our rankingBest shiny Pokémon - the coolest creaturesBest Dragon-type Pokémon - who's your fave?All cat Pokémon - the felines to catchPokémon natures guide - all you need to knowPokémon type chart - strengths and weaknesses explainedLegendary Pokémon - the full listPokémon Scarlet and Violet cheats - handy hacksPokémon Emerald cheats - what you need to knowPokémon Fire Red cheats - all codesPokémon Go friend codes - and how to find themPokémon games in order - where to startCheck out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Hence then, the article about 16 year old pokemon worlds champion from york reacts to his unbelievable win was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 16-year-old Pokémon Worlds champion from York reacts to his "unbelievable" win )
Also on site :
- Outdoor gear retailer Patagonia sues Trump for shrinking beloved Utah national monument managed by tribes
- Pink Floyd’s Beloved 1975 Masterpiece, Ranked Among ‘Greatest Albums of All Time,’ Is Suddenly Climbing the Charts Again
- Hello, sailors! USS Lincoln’s port-deprived troops finally get to hit the town in Thailand’s ‘Sin City’