2011 World Championships

The 2011 Pokémon World Championships were held at the hotel in , in the United States from August 12 to 14, 2011. Run under the auspices of Play! Pokémon, the Organized Play division of The Pokémon Company International, the event was the eighth annual invitation-only championships for players in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as the third year for players of the Pokémon video games. It marked the third time San Diego played host to the event, previously hosting in 2005 and 2009.
==Trading Card Game Championships==
Due to the July 1st mid-season rotation, the format used was , using all cards from onward.
The second day of the tournament featured seven rounds of Swiss Pairings for each division. The top 16 players in all three divisions were then seeded into single-elimination tournaments on Sunday to determine each division’s World Champion.
===Junior Division===
Yuka Furusawa, of Japan, was the defending Junior Division TCG World Champion, but became eligible for the Senior Division in 2012. There, she finished in 15th place, losing in the Round of 16.
Gustavo Wada, of Brazil, succeeded Yuka as World Champion, finishing the tournament 10-1.
===Senior Division===
Jacob Lesage, of Canada, was the defending Senior Division TCG World Champion. Jacob finished in sixth place, losing in the quarterfinals to Christopher Kan, who would go on to succeed him as World Champion, finishing the tournament 9-2.
===Masters Division===
Yuta Komatsuda, of Japan, was the defending Masters Division TCG World Champion, and finished 61st in Swiss Rounds.
David Cohen, of the United States, succeeded Yuta as World Champion, finishing the tournament 9-2.
==Video Game Championships==
Participants had to use for the tournament, and matches were conducted via the Live Event Battle Competition function that is found within the game. This feature allows players to preview the opponents Pokémon at the start of the match without revealing held items or learned moves.
This year, players competed in one of three divisions instead of two: the Junior Division, the Senior Division and the Masters Division.
All matches were Double Battles and only Pokémon in the Unova Pokédex could be entered, with the exception of , , , , , and .
Similar to Flat Battle mode, Pokémon of Levels 51 and above would be temporarily reduced to Level 50, while Pokémon Level 50 and below would retain their levels. Held items may be used, but no two Pokémon from the same team may hold the same held item. Players were not allowed to change their held items after they have registered, and could only use items from within the game and those received at an official Pokémon event or promotion.
Moves were restricted to those learnt from the game through leveling up, breeding, TMs and HMs, from a character in the game or from an official event or promotion. was banned due to a glitch.
===Junior Division===
Shota Yamamoto, of Japan, was the defending Juniors Division VG World Champion, but with the addition of a third division, competed in the Seniors Division.
Brian Hough, of the United States, became the new Junior Division World Champion, finishing the tournament 7-1.
===Senior Division===
Ray Rizzo, of the United States, was the defending Seniors Division VG World Champion, but with addition of a third division, competed in Masters.
Shota Yamamoto, the 2010 Junior Division VG Champion, finished in fourth place, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Sejun Park.
Kamran Jahadi, of the United States, became the new Seniors Division World Champion, finishing the tournament 7-1.
===Masters Division===
Ray Rizzo, the 2010 Senior Division VG Champion, became a two-time World Champion, defeating Italy's Matteo Gini to claim his second consecutive World Championship, with a record of 8-1. In doing so, he tied TCG Player Jason Klaczynski's record of two titles, and became the only player in either discipline to win two straight championships.
==Event Pokémon==
==External links==
* Official website
Category:Video Game World Championships
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