It seems like we hear news of the cancellation of yet another event or convention every few weeks nowadays, and unfortunately, this week has brought us a big one. The Pokémon Company has officially announced that the upcoming Pokémon TCG, video game, and Pokkén Tournament DX World Championships in London have been delayed into 2022.
The news was shared via a blog post on the official Pokémon website which promised an “expanded celebration” to be held next year, as well as provided confirmation that all invitations to the 2020 Pokémon World Championships will be honored. The post stated that this decision was made with the safety of all competitors, organizers, employees, local communities, and their partners in mind, which has and will continue to be The Pokémon Company’s top priority while planning events and tournaments:
“After careful review and pursuant to guidance set forth by local, regional, and national health authorities, as well as the World Health Organization, Public Health England, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have made the difficult decision to move out the next Pokémon World Championships to 2022. This event is planned to take place in London, UK.
With the continued suspension of the Play! Pokémon event series, all sanctioned Play! Pokémon events including League Challenge, League Cup, Premier Challenge, and Midseason Showdown will remain suspended until further notice. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of all our competitors at an expanded 2022 Pokémon World Championships in London. All invitations to the 2020 Pokémon World Championships will be honored for the 2022 World Championships.”
The post went on to reassured fans that, even though so many in-person events have been suspended, they will continue to support their competitive online play options: “In addition, we will continue to support competitive online play through our new series, Pokémon Players Cup, the Play! Pokémon Team Challenge, as well as support through our retail partners through League at Home.”
The post does not provide an exact date for the rescheduled tournaments, however, it’s safe to assume that the final date will remain fluid until the pandemic is more under control. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this news as it develops, so be sure to stick around here at Nintendo Wire for the latest updates.
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Written by Marcus Ramirez
A writer and dreamer who loves all things tropical, bright, colorful, and shiny. Marcus is obsessed with Kingdom Hearts and patiently awaits its triumphant return to Nintendo hardware. He has a (totally real) court order that requires him to always have a 3DS or Switch on his person when leaving the house for more than a few hours.
