Nearly three weeks ago, the Pokémon Go finals at the Orlando Regional Championship ended with confusion as judges revoked Firestar73's win live on stream after he celebrated victory. Following a similar incident in the TCG earlier in the tournament, the community assumed that this was due to the celebration involving Firestar73 throwing down his headset onto the table, but an official Play! Pokémon statement has finally clarified what exactly went down.
It's rare that Play! Pokémon, the official competitive body behind Pokémon Go events and other championship series tournaments, weighs in on controversial rulings, or even clarifies disqualifications and bans in the space, so this statement - especially so late after the tournament date - comes as quite a shock to the community. According to this statement, Firestar73, the Pokémon Go competitor who fought his way through the Losers Bracket to the Grand Final against NiteTimeClasher, received a "Warning for the action of hitting and shaking the table during gameplay" in game one of the five-game set.
The statement continues, "During game five, this same player's behavior continued to be disruptive, including shaking the table to the point that there was a disruption to the broadcast experience." This resulted in Firestar73 receiving a Game Loss and NiteTimeClasher winning the set 3-2. So, despite what the community believed at the time, the potentially overzealous celebration wasn't the issue at all. I'm not a judge, and I wasn't at the event, but as a viewer at least, I can say that my broadcast experience wasn't disrupted by any of Firestar73's actions - in fact, I can't even see him shaking the table in the VOD.
Based on the community reaction on X, it's clear that other fans and competitors aren't happy with this outcome. It's even worse when you consider Firestar73's response to this statement, where he says that he was "never given" the initial warning, which would discount the Judges' decision to escalate to a Game Loss, if true. Of course, with Play! Pokémon keeping many of the specific details hidden, we'll likely never truly know what happened.
As a TCG competitor and frequent attendee of Play! Pokémon events, I understand the body's decision to trust the Judges' rulings and stand by them, because Judges do so much for the community at large, but I'm still not sure I agree with the outcome as a whole. As many have already pointed out, it's hard not to shake the table when competing in Pokémon Go battles simply due to the nature of the combat mechanic. I can only hope that the community can move forward from this and continue to foster a welcoming, fun, and fair competitive environment for all Pokémon fans.
If you're looking to get involved in the Pokémon Go scene on a more local level, check out our Pokémon Go raids guide to see which 'mon are appearing in your area soon. We've also got a list of Pokémon Go codes for some extra resources to keep your journey running smoothly. Plus, if you're looking for more Pokémon Go friends, you can join the Pocket Tactics Discord server to meet new people to trade, battle, and raid with!