Pokemon TCG player disqualified from tournament and loses $3K in “warpgate” scandal

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I was shocked to hear about what happened at the Milwaukee Regional Championships! A player got disqualified after it came out that he was using damaged, or “warped,” cards in his deck. It was a big deal because it cost him a spot in the top 8 and a potential prize of at least $3,000 – it’s just awful that something like that could happen.

The Milwaukee Regional Championship for the 2026 Championship Series concluded earlier this month with Jackson Ford winning. However, an issue that occurred before the top eight players were determined is causing a stir within the competitive community.

On October 12th, Luke Smith faced accusations of cheating at a Pokemon tournament when his cards were found to be bent, leading officials to suspect unfair play, similar to the ‘Deflategate’ scandal in the NFL.

The situation has caused significant debate about the judges’ actions.

Pokemon TCG gets its own ‘Deflategate’ scandal

Luke’s brother, Hunter Smith, said that Luke received a warning on the first day of the tournament because four marks from his cards were visible through the protective sleeves when viewed in the right light.

Even though the cards didn’t really matter, Luke initially resisted the warning. However, a judge convinced him it was unavoidable, and he eventually accepted it and moved forward.

— Hunter Smith (@Huntiemon) October 13, 2025

But the following day, he was disqualified because two of his cards were found to be marked or damaged, even though he hadn’t been warned about them beforehand.

He stated that the judges only mentioned the card sleeves during the first deck check and didn’t raise any concerns about the Fezandipiti or Squawkabilly cards, issuing just a warning about the sleeves.

Hunter thinks the holographic cards are more prone to bending. He suggests the judges check everyone’s decks and they’ll likely find warped holographic cards.

Dan Squared reported that Luke, having already secured $3,000 for finishing in the top 8, lost that money and the opportunity to win an additional $10,000 after being disqualified from the event.

Here’s a detailed look at a Pokémon card that sold for over $3,000 at a recent tournament. Is the card damaged enough to be unusable? We’ll let you be the judge!

Thanks,
Dan (6’3″)

— DanSquared🌊 🔜 LAIC (@DanSquared___) October 20, 2025

Dan later posted a video showing the card’s design, which led to further debate about whether the disqualification was fair.

“Stuff like this makes me so happy to be a VGC player,” one commented.

One commenter angrily compared judges to sports officials who overshadow the events they oversee. They argued that judges should be held responsible for all their rulings and potentially lose their positions if they make bad ones.

This isn’t the first surprising incident at a Pokemon card tournament. The championship match at the 2026 Pokemon Pittsburgh Regional Championships had an unusual ending when Abaan Ahmed had to give up the game after accidentally losing a card while celebrating a previous win.

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2025-10-23 00:49