Disqualified Pokemon Go champion officially challenges ruling he celebrated too hard

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At the 2026 Pokemon Orlando Regional Championships, a player known as Firestar73 lost a win after being penalized for celebrating in a way officials deemed unsportsmanlike. This decision sparked strong reactions from the Pokemon community, and Firestar73 has now publicly asked Play Pokemon to reconsider.

In early April, a player who won the 2026 Pokémon Orlando Regional Championships became an online sensation, but not for the right reasons. Judges deemed his celebratory behavior “unsportsmanlike,” resulting in his win being overturned and costing him the championship title.

After a video of the incident quickly spread online, many people came to his support, urging the judges and Play Pokemon officials to reconsider their ruling. Now, Firestar73 has released a statement explaining his side of the story and asking for improvements to the process.

Firestar73 calls for Play Pokemon to reverse its “good-faith mistake”

Firestar73 posted on X, thanking fans for the strong reaction to a recent decision. He wrote that almost everyone disagreed with it and expressed his gratitude for their overwhelming support.

Hi everyone, I have two quick announcements! First, I’ve released an official statement regarding the recent events in Orlando. You can find it from @playpokemon. Second, I’m excited to announce I’ll be streaming on Twitch tonight at 10 pm EST! I’d really appreciate your support if you could tune in for my very first stream!

— Firestar73 (@Firestar73_) April 11, 2026

He’s trying to get the decision changed and has already contacted The Pokémon Company to ask them to reconsider. He also wanted to explain why he thinks the judge didn’t intend to do anything wrong.

Firestar73 explained that their celebration was typical for their community and aligned with how Play Pokemon usually encourages players to act. Even if the celebration was considered unsportsmanlike, it didn’t violate the rules that would warrant a penalty. Therefore, Firestar73 is politely requesting Play Pokemon reconsider its decision.

He then points out several comparable celebrations that weren’t penalized with a loss, including one instance where a celebration caused the phone used for communication to fall without any repercussions.

Honestly, it’s really heartening to see how everyone in the Go community has come to the same conclusion – this ruling was a genuine mistake, even if it wasn’t intentional. I’ve seen so many dedicated players and trainers, hundreds if not thousands, agree on this. It wouldn’t be about disrespecting the Tournament Organizer if they changed their minds, it would just be admitting they were put in a tough position with a complicated issue, and they simply made the wrong call – which is understandable, considering they probably weren’t as familiar with our community’s background.

As of now, Play Pokemon hasn’t said anything about overturning the win, and Firestar73 is waiting to hear back from them. However, he’s determined to appeal the decision and fight for his victory.

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2026-04-13 14:49