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It's official: Singapore is getting the Pokémon World Championships. The annual tournament – the grand finale of the Pokémon competitive season, where the world's best trainers battle it out for the title of World Champion – is set to take place at the Singapore Expo from August 13 to 15, 2027.
The announcement was made by Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara during the closing ceremony of the 2026 championships in San Francisco on August 30, which drew a crowd of more than 50,000 fans.
This is a big deal for Singapore, as it's only the fourth time that the World Championships have been held outside of the United States, and the first time it returns to Asia since it was hosted in Yokohama, Japan in 2023. For Southeast Asia, it's a first.
The tournament spans four competitive formats over three dates: Pokémon Video Game Championships, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Unite, with a combined prize pool over $2 million USD and return invitations to the following World Championships on the line.
Even getting into the competition is no easy feat. Competitors must qualify through the Pokémon Championship Series season by earning Championship Points at sanctioned events throughout the year, or by finishing in top positions at regional, international, or special championships. For Asia-Pacific competitors, invitations are awarded through regionally organised play and esports programmes rather than the Championship Points system.
If you want to attend as a spectator, ticketing details haven't been announced yet. But based on previous World Championships, public tickets are usually allocated through a lottery system. So, if you're planning to go, watch the official Pokémon channels closely for registration information.
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