Pokémon Champions Reveals Bizarre ‘Champion of Champions’ Showmatch for July 29
The Pokémon Company International has confirmed a one-off showmatch called the Champion of Champions Tournament for Pokémon Champions, set to stream live from London on July 29. Rather than pitting elite Video Game Championships (VGC) players against each other, the event gathers eight “champions” from wildly unrelated disciplines — including whistling, pizza acrobatics and competitive pillow fighting — for a coached, made-for-broadcast battle.
The Pokémon Company International announced the tournament on 2 July 2026, confirming it will take place on 29 July 2026 at 2pm BST in London. The event culminates in a live-streamed global showdown on the Official Pokémon Twitch Channel and Official Pokémon YouTube Channel, with the eight competitors battling for the title of Pokémon Champion of Champions.
Whistling, Pizza Tricks and a “Do Nothing” Champion Among the First Four Confirmed
The Pokémon Company has announced the first four competitors that will take part in the event, including whistling champion Ayna Ziordia Botella, pizza acrobatics champion Nicola Matarazzo, pillow fighting champion Leandro Silva, and doing nothing champion Denis Kwan Hong-Wang. Four further participants have yet to be revealed ahead of the showmatch.
The credentials, odd as they sound, check out. Hong-Wang genuinely won a competition with around 100 competitors who all sat still on a yoga mat and did nothing for 90 minutes, no sleeping, no noise, no checking phones. Botella is the best whistler in the world, having won 1st place at the Master of Whistling in Hollywood in 2023. Leandro Silva is a professional MMA fighter who also competed in and won the completely serious Pillow Fight Championship (PFC). And earlier this year, Matarazzo placed first at the World Pizza Championship for his impressive dough tossing and tricks.
Three-Time World Champion Ray Rizzo Coaches the Non-Pokémon Competitors
Competitors in the event will be coached by Ray Rizzo, a three-time Pokémon Video Game Championships World Champion, and considered by many in the hobby to be one of the greatest Pokémon VGC players of all time. The Pokémon Company International’s press release frames the pairing as proof that the tournament aims to prove that anyone can be a champion in Pokémon Champions, tying the novelty format to the game’s pitch as an accessible entry point into competitive battling.
On the line for the eventual winner is more than bragging rights. The winner of the competition will receive a trip to the Pokémon World Championships in 2027, and a charitable donation made in the winner’s name to the charity of the winner’s choice. The location of the 2027 Pokémon World Championships has yet to be announced, but it’s likely to be revealed next month during the 2026 Pokémon World Championships.
How to Watch: Kickoff Falls Late Night for NZ, Prime Time for Eastern Australia
Broadcast coverage begins at 2pm BST on July 29, which translates to roughly 11pm AEST the same evening for viewers in Sydney and Melbourne, and around 1am NZST on July 30 for fans in Auckland and Wellington — a late one for anyone hoping to catch it live rather than on replay. Pokémon Champions will take place July 29 in London, England, though in-person attendance is unlikely. Pokémon Champions events like Champion of Champions are typically invite-only, so most fans will be watching from home regardless of time zone.
Champion of Champions Lands as Pokémon Champions Pushes Cross-Platform Reach
Pokémon Champions launched on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this year, and following the end of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet era, Pokémon Champions is now used in the Pokémon Video Game Championships as the default title. It later landed on iOS and Android on June 17 as a free-to-play release with optional in-game purchases and cross-platform play between Switch and mobile.
It will make its Pokémon World Championships debut later this year, when the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP take place from August 28-30 in San Francisco, California. The Champion of Champions showmatch functions as a light-hearted, broadcast-friendly appetiser ahead of that far more serious VGC showdown, and echoes an approach the publisher has used before. In June, The Pokémon Company promoted a separate 16-player Pokémon Champions Twitch Rivals event built around streamers and Double Battles, another sign that the company wants the game to live comfortably on broadcast.
Read also: Pokémon Go Go Fest 2026: Mega Mewtwo X or Y in Genetic Mastery Quest?
Join the Conversation