Three VGC players, including 2024 world champion Luca Ceribelli, say confiscated passes barred them from 2026 Pokémon World Championships
Luca Ceribelli, Ruben Gianzini and Luca Lussignoli say they were unable to compete at the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco after security confiscated their event passes following a dispute in the Pokémon Center line. The players say they were told the passes could not be reprinted, effectively barring them from the venue. The Pokémon Company has not publicly responded.
Sources (1)
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Extracted facts (6)
- contextreported
Ceribelli won the Masters Division at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships
“Ceribelli previously won the Masters Division at the 2024 Pokemon World Championships”source
- eventreported
2026 Pokémon World Championships held in San Francisco from August 28 to August 30
“The tournament is being held from August 28 to August 30 and marks the first Pokemon World Championships where VGC battles are being played through Pokemon Champions.”source
- formatreported
VGC
“Three top VGC players, including 2024 world champion Luca Ceribelli”source
- player_claimreported
Ceribelli says passes were confiscated to prevent return to the Pokémon Center store and staff later said they could not be reprinted
“According to Ceribelli, the larger problem began when security confiscated their event passes to ensure they could not return to the store. He alleges they were repeatedly assured that the passes could be reprinted before competition began the following day.”source
- player_claimreported
Ceribelli described the situation as effectively a ban from the event
“Ceribelli said this ended up “effectively turning the decision into a ban from the event itself,” as none of the three could enter the venue without their passes.”source
- responsereported
The Pokémon Company had not publicly responded at time of writing
“The Pokemon Company has not publicly responded to the trio’s account at the time of writing.”source
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Three VGC players, including 2024 world champion Luca Ceribelli, say confiscated passes barred them from 2026 Pokémon World Championships
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