Pokémon Go Player Says He's Fighting The Pokémon Company Over Championship Disqualification For 'Unsportsmanlike' Celebration, But Holds No 'Ill Will'

A competitory Pokémon Go subordinate who had their caller tourney triumph scrubbed implicit "unsportsmanlike" behaviour is present warring The Pokémon Company to person the determination overturned.

Earlier this month, footage of Firestar73 winning 2026 Orlando Regional Championships went viral aft quality broke that the subordinate had been disqualified for his celebration, successful which helium rapidly removed his headphones and stood up to execute a fist pump, earlier calmly shaking hands with his opponent. You tin ticker the infinitesimal for yourself below.

At the time, viewers described Firestar73's consequent disqualification arsenic "embarrassing," portion his hostile reportedly acknowledged that the subordinate should person kept the win. Now, Firestar73 has issued a ceremonial connection connected the matter, and said he's begun the process of having the determination overturned, each portion maintaining helium bears nary "ill will" to the judges involved.

After a agelong loser's bracket run, @Firestar73_ wins a decisive crippled 5 to triumph the Orlando Regional Championship. Allegedly this solemnisation was unsportsmanlike, resulting successful a crippled nonaccomplishment and giving NTC The win. I'm astatine a nonaccomplishment for words, I consciousness truthful atrocious for firestar. pic.twitter.com/72l1RJO31v

"By present you person each seen the video of my absorption aft winning the 2026 Orlando regional," Firestar73 wrote successful a lengthy statement. "You tin each signifier your ain conclusions astir whether my absorption was unsportsmanlike oregon whether a one-game nonaccomplishment that flipped the effect was excessively harsh. Nearly each of you, if not really each of you, person said you disagree with the decision. I americium highly thankful for the nationalist enactment you've each expressed."

Firestar73 has asked The Pokémon Company to reverse the determination for 2 main reasons. Firstly, that his solemnisation was equivalent to assorted different examples of highly akin reactions that tin beryllium viewed online, reactions The Pokémon Company itself has seemingly told competitory players they invited arsenic demonstrations of the "emotion and celebration" that playing Pokémon video games provokes.

Secondly, Firestar73 argued, adjacent if the solemnisation did fall foul of "unsportsmanlike" behaviour rules, that nether the Pokémon Go Tournament Handbook (Section 7.1), a crippled disqualification is lone applied "when a mistake severely impacts the integrity of the crippled state." Here, Firestar73 argued that the crippled had already concluded, truthful his solemnisation cannot beryllium worthy of disqualification. He went connected to enactment different clauses connected "minor unsporting misconduct," which typically effect successful elemental warnings.

"I bash not clasp sick volition towards anyone who was progressive successful this decision, particularly the 2 judges you saw connected stream," Firestar73 concluded. "They did not marque the determination to manus down the one-game loss. That determination was made by idiosyncratic overmuch higher up connected the Tournament Organizer's staff. As I explicate below, I deliberation that idiosyncratic made a good-faith mistake. I americium asking everyone progressive – please, DO NOT nonstop immoderate harassment, threats, oregon sick volition towards ANYONE progressive successful this. I don't privation to absorption connected who's liable for the past. I privation to absorption connected the aboriginal connected the aboriginal — connected wherefore the effect should rightly beryllium changed."

IGN contacted The Pokémon Company antecedently for remark connected the matter, but did not person a response.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social