As fans gear up for the 2025 Pokemon World Championships series to kick off in Anaheim, California, many have been shocked to hear that a number of competitors, including every eligible Chinese team in the Pokemon Unite division, have been forced to drop out after being denied immigration entry into the United States. The Pokemon competition sees teams and players from across the globe coming together to battle it out in a number of games, but with multiple teams no longer able to attend the event, let alone compete after qualifying, critics are questioning if the future of the tournament should focus on hosts outside the US.
The first-ever Pokemon Worlds championship event took place in 2004 and featured players competing in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Over the years, the tournament has evolved to include both digital and physical versions of Pokemon, including video games like Pokemon GO and Pokemon Unite, among others. While the Pokemon World Championships touts itself as an international competition, issues that hinder players from participating have drawn the ire of both teams and attendees.
Pokemon World Championship Loses Multiple Teams to Visa Issues
According to multiple sources on social media, teams from Peru, China, and South Korea have had to withdraw from the Pokemon World Championships 2025, mostly due to immigration complications and some internal issues. The affected teams include Infamous Gaming, Nova Esports, Champion Road (Liten Dream Factory), Team TC, and Last Dance. Noticeably, all Chinese teams who qualified for the Pokemon Unite World Championship were forced to drop out, due to players being denied entry into the United States. While the exact reason for the visa issues has not been publicly stated by any of the affected teams, many have quickly begun questioning if future events should take place in host countries with more lenient entry requirements to allow for a truly global tournament.
Immigration can be a difficult process for many travelers, and both esports and traditional athletes have been refused entry into host nations for various competitions due to visa complications. While the fault may sometimes be on the players, teams, and management for failing to file the proper paperwork in a timely manner, there have been multiple instances of individuals being denied entry for arguably superfluous reasons. In 2024, Moist Esports sued US Immigration for refusing to issue visas to players based on “poor faith arguments” against the individuals’ qualifications to enter the United States.
As the United States is set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics Summer Games, many are questioning if immigration policies will continue to bombard international competitors, similar to the current situation with the Pokemon Worlds 2025 event. It remains to be seen how the loss of these teams will impact the Pokemon World Championships match-ups and future iterations of the competition.
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