Pokémon: 'Pokkén Tournament Players Fight to the Top'

I can’t believe one of the World Champions actually went by the alias of Woomy. 🙂

☆ NintendObs Event – Pokémon World Championships 2016.

Pokémon World Championships 2016

Pokkén Tournament Players Fight to the Top

The Pokkén Tournament World Championships are over! See how the exciting final day played out here in San Francisco.

August 20, 2016

After kicking off the Pokkén Tournament World Championships with an intense last chance qualifier, the finale of the Pokkén Tournament Championship Series provided an amazing main course on the second day of the Pokémon World Championships.

The talented players in the Senior division were first to compete, and showed that they deserve just as much attention as the older competitors. Wayland Lindsay, a favorite to take Worlds after winning a number of prior events, ran into stiff resistance from players like Josh “Woomy!Gun” Simmonite and Dale “Bolimar” Causey.

Lindsay’s dominant Blaziken play, which before the tournament relied heavily on unrelenting pressure, met its match against Bolimar’s equally offensive Lucario. At the end of the day, Bolimar’s superior knowledge of the game allowed him to drop Lindsay over the course of two quick sets, setting up a grand finals match against Woomy.

Sticking with Charizard, Woomy proved to be up to the task against Bolimar’s Lucario. By maintaining control of the mid-range game, Woomy was able to control the entire arena with Charizard’s flight. Where Bolimar was focused entirely on rushing down, Woomy smartly used that aggressiveness against him time and time again.

After a brief period of dominance by Bolimar in the first grand finals set, Woomy took some time to adjust in the second, maintaining distance to dismantle Lucario’s mix-up-heavy game plan and secure a first-place finish at the largest Pokkén Tournament competition yet.

In the Masters division, the biggest story was definitely the breakout performance of Takuma “Azazel” Araki and his main character, Machamp. Long considered by players to be the weakest character in Pokkén Tournament, Machamp has had a rough road over the past few months of competition. Most of the roster can either zone the Superpower Pokémon out or enforce their will in the neutral game, but Azazel did his best to prove any character can succeed.

Even before Azazel could prove Machamp’s mettle, however, the main bracket of the Pokkén Tournament World Championships was an all-out brawl, with high-level players dropping left and right during their surge to grand finals. As a result, some of the best players in the United States, including Wesley “Cat Fight” Garland, Cody “T-Loc” Coleman, and Steven “Coach Steve” Delgado, failed to make the Top-8, showing that no one is safe in the largest Pokkén Tournament competitions.

As the tournament approached its finale, Azazel was forced to face down a number of seemingly difficult matchups. A pair of Sceptile players, Wesley “Bim?” Murray and Tevin “TeeJay” Stokes, were his first true test, as they sought to control spacing like only their chosen Pokémon know how. But Azazel’s unorthodox use of Machamp’s forward strong attack proved to be the difference-maker in many of his matches, despite the move’s lengthy wind-up.

In the grand finals, Azazel was paired up with one more opponent, a fellow Japanese competitor by the name of Masami “Potetin” Sato. With in-depth knowledge of many Pokémon and a fourth-place finish at Evo 2016 in his rearview mirror, Potetin was one of the favorites to take the Pokkén TournamentWorld Championships, and he made his skills known in impressive showings against American players like Alexis “DeityLight” Sims and Devin “Ouro-san” Setiady.

Unable to make any progress with Mewtwo, Potetin would instead opt to pull out a pocket Chandelure to counter Azazel’s Machamp. As the most potent zoner in the game, Chandelure is a challenge for almost any Pokémon, but Machamp’s relatively low mobility makes the matchup nothing short of a nightmare. Behind Chandelure’s assortment of projectiles, Potetin made quick work of Azazel in the first set, flipping the bracket by handing his fellow countryman his first loss.

This theme continued into their second set. Potetin’s control of Chandelure proved to be just as strong as the other Pokémon in his repertoire, and Azazel could do barely anything to keep up. Eventually, Azazel would pair Machamp with Togekiss, an assist Pokémon that provides a much-needed speed boost the main character, but Potetin’s repetitive barrage continued to be a thorn in Azazel’s side until his eventual 0-3 loss to the Chandelure counter-pick.

Like every tournament in the Pokkén Tournament Championship Series, the Pokémon World Championships were a whirlwind of emotions. As the final chapter of an amazing tournament circuit, it did not disappoint, providing enough amazing moments to fill multiple highlight reels. With its fast-paced action and “anything can happen” atmosphere, Pokkén Tournament was a fantastic addition to the competitive Pokémon universe, and the community can’t wait to see what comes next.

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the Pokkén Tournament World Championships. Be sure to keep checking Pokemon.com/Strategy for continuing coverage of Pokémon strategy and event analysis after the conclusion of the Pokémon World Championships.

— Pokémon News
Source: Pokémon.