LONDON — 16 February 2026 — After three days of incredible skills, perseverance and sportsmanship, top Pokémon players were crowned 2026 Pokémon Europe International Champions on the Excel London stage in the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO and Pokémon UNITE.
The highly competitive weekend (13 to 15 February 2026) saw players, supporters and fans from across the globe gathering in London. Challengers battled it out for direct invitations to the 2026 Pokémon World Championships taking place in San Francisco in August, as well as commemorative prizes, Pokémon TCG booster packs and over $500,000 spread across the four games.
The 2026 Pokémon Europe International Champions are:
Video Game Junior Division:
1st place: Hideo Uezu [JP]
2nd place: Zachary Thomas [US]
Video Game Senior Division:
1st place: Charlie Kim [US]
2nd place: Leland Smith [US]
Video Game Masters Division:
1st place: Paul Chua [US]
2nd place: Zachary Weed [US]
Trading Card Game Junior Division:
1st place: Koutarou Matsudaira [JP]
2nd place: Reo Otake [JP]
Trading Card Game Senior Division:
1st place: Jacob Lee [US]
2nd place: Maurycy Wilczek [PL]
Trading Card Game Masters Division:
1st place: Edwyn Mesman [NL]
2nd place: Drew Stephenson [UK]
Pokémon GO:
1st place: Leo “P4T0M4N” Marín Torres [ES]
2nd place: Colin “Colin6ix” Spa [NL]
Pokémon UNITE:
1st place: Team Peps [EU]
2nd place: Evil Geniuses [North America]
Keep up to date with the latest news from the 2026 Pokémon Championship Series here.
To find out about the Play! Pokémon program and how you can participate, be sure to visit Play.Pokemon.com.
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About The Pokémon Company International
The Pokémon Company International manages the Pokémon property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, please visit www.pokemon.co.uk.
About Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has been providing a wide range of entertainment products and experiences since its founding in 1889, beginning with the manufacture and sale of Hanafuda playing cards. Since the 1983 release of the Family Computer (Famicom) system in Japan, and continuing through Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo’s focus has been the development, manufacturing, and sale of its gaming systems and software. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 5.9 billion video games and over 860 million hardware units globally, and has created franchises such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Pokémon™, Metroid™, Kirby™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™, and Splatoon™. Nintendo strives to expand the number of people who have access to its characters and worlds. Its continuing mission is to put smiles on the faces of everyone it touches with unique entertainment experiences, centered on its integrated video game hardware and software products. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Frankfurt, Germany, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe. For more information about Nintendo of Europe, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nintendo.com/eu.
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