Pokémon Championships Returns to New Orleans in 2026

Credit: The Pokémon Company

The Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC) will return to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2026, marking the third consecutive year the event is held in the same city.

While the official venue for next year hasn't been confirmed yet, Game Rant (via Esports Insider) reports that the competition is set to remain in New Orleans, following a successful 2025 edition at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. That venue, which can host up to 77,000 people, accommodated a significant portion of the sprawling NAIC event this year.

Held from June 13 to 15, the 2025 NAIC brought together top players from across several Pokémon titles — including the Trading Card Game (TCG), Video Game Championships (VGC), Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE. This tournament featured a prize pool of over $500,000, and gave players a hefty amount of Championship Points (CP), which are essential for qualifying for the World Championships.

The event wasn’t all competition, though. Attendees also got to enjoy vendor booths packed with Pokémon-themed merchandise and cards, along with the Play Lab — a beginner-friendly area for newcomers to learn the ropes of various Pokémon games.

In terms of winners, the TCG tournaments crowned Annabelle Oono (Junior), Gabriel Fernandez (Senior), and Isaiah Bradner (Masters). Notably, the Masters division drew an impressive 3,812 players, making it the largest of the TCG categories.

Over in VGC, the trophies went to Joaquin Roquett (Junior), Isaac Moreira (Senior), and Federico Camporesi (Masters). The Masters final stood out for being an all-NOVO Esports face-off, with Camporesi defeating teammate Marco Hemantha Kaludura Silva, showing the organization’s dominance in the scene.

In Pokémon GO, Payden “ItsAXN” Bingham led the scoreboard, while Luminosity Gaming came out on top in the Final Stretch of the Pokémon UNITE tournament. All these players and teams have taken major strides toward qualifying for the 2025 Pokémon World Championships, which are scheduled to run from August 15 to 17 in Anaheim, California.