2017 Pokémon World Championships: VG Masters Finals

Watch Ryota battle Sam in the finals of the 2017 Pokémon Video Game World Championships Masters Division! Learn more about the Pokémon Championship Series on our site: bit.ly/ST1xUq

[@dxscopezz9746]

Me as a kid : everything that doesnt do damage is bad

[@shiny5053]

DxScopeZz lol same

[@acedragon543]

I mean thats how i still am in the story play throughs lol friends try to be competitive like that

[@ligmaidola2476]

Kaan Turgut me too

[@patrickstar5136]

Kaan Turgut As a kid i thought these moves were as useless as splash xD

[@georgeporter1836]

everyb single time someone used a stat move on me i shouted yes as i thought it didnt do anything and i got a free turn

[@TheAdamHawk]

Amazing sportsmanship from the second place kid. Well done man. Didn't even pout. Got up and raised the champions hand himself. Love that level of respect.

[@KCCCX]

ZeldaVGC hi sam

[@midnightz6699]

Adam Hawk duh this is the pokemon community ofc there's gonna be good sportsmanship

[@mitchj.2357]

So much respect for this guy

[@ShadowSkyX]

Midnight Z you'd be surprised how horrible the sportsmanship actually is. This respectable sportsmanship isn't overly common. Many get so salty about losing, make excuses, or throw shade to the player they lost to. Often refusing to shake hands with the other player. A terrible winner is an even worse loser and no one should like someone who acts like that.

[@marcosespinozaelwalfitasin4069]

*The best plays:* *-**31:56** (Mandibuzz blocks the Z-Move Prankster of Whimsicott)* *-**40:03** (Predict of the Garchomp's protect)*

[@skullgrunt457]

yo I saw that live it was so epic

[@krishonboucher-best2550]

That part with mandibuzz have me dying psychic dont affect dark

[@marcuswong730]

krishon boucher-best moonblast is a fairy type attack. However it is prankster-boosted which causes mandibuzz to be immune to it

[@MexicanAkatsuki]

This must be the best Worlds finals that I have ever seen. Even better than the one with Se Jun and his Pachirisu. The reads, the techs, the hype, the gambles. A well all-round Pokémon battle indeed.

[@ATROFlAR]

and, most importantly, no hax

[@raphaelkgh218]

Zlatant so true!😍😍😍😍😍

[@edwinyu7186]

Zlatant I still think that pachirisu was magnificent

[@DisasterLord]

Zlatant People still fall for the Pachirisu meme in this year...Jesus, why do people forget that Gothithelle was the real hero of that team?

[@ilooklikeamovie7039]

DisasterLord who knows

[@YoshipPL]

32:20 For anyone wondering: Ryota has been using Nature power which is priority boosted by the Prankster ability. In Gen VII Prankster has been nerfed and DOESN'T affect dark types such as Mandibuzz, so the Z-move was blocked

[@infernoprod8102]

YoshipPL wow that's something I didn't know thanks for the heads up

[@TheBomberman122]

YoshipPL i understand the mechanic but i dont think it should work the same way with a z move. Just my opinion.

[@raphaelkgh218]

YoshipPL thnx for telling us!😍 you're the MVP!😍😍😍 Lels i have soooo much to learn😂

[@gabrip7]

ooooh thank you didn't know that since I'm from tcg and just like watching

[@Toby98]

YoshipPL pholak rhodak taki kumaty :ooooo

[@Jetliner]

I think the best part is that they have 0 of the same Pokemon

[@betohax]

They all run Tapu, just like everyone does in doubles....

[@pikaijzer]

FYI there are 4 tapu's

[@CurriB09]

That’s boring... I want everyone running ALL the SAME pokes.

[@mahez4874]

maybe you cant

[@ChasmRift]

That isnt a real issue of similar pokemon making it to finals, it's all about how players were seeded and who won out. 6 out of the top 8 couldve made it to the finals based on talent

[@ShouldOfStudiedForTheTest]

Amazing how a small side effect of Brick Break was a major contributor to win the finals.

[@randomcatmeow1394]

You[']r[e] wrong i love this match, they rely alot more on strategies than plain damage.

[@GRmRApR-iz8xn]

Also the 4 moonblasts for the win

[@Masterlink01]

This is so far my favorite Worlds finals. Such an incredible display of pure skill from both players. This is what the game needs to attract new people.

[@MoneyMovesWithDang]

same was terrible, and predictable. his only game plan was set-up and click buttons. that isn't "pure skill"

[@PokePixel_YT]

@@MoneyMovesWithDang Bro. Do u even know what pure skill is? Just because he was using set up strategy doesn't mean he doesn't have skill. Skill means to do something well. He used the strategy very well as u saw in the first match. Oh well if u think that's not pure skill kindly proove it by showing what is pure skill and use it to go to the world finals

[@i_am_dgg]

What I like about the finals is not only the plays they have and make, but the music that is played during this, the VS World Champion Theme

[@thebeandemon3449]

I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to competitive play but I love the world championships

[@raphaelkgh218]

Cra Speirs me too!😍😍😍😍

[@nudelsuppe2090]

Cra Speirs just steal a team and play a bit on Pokemonshowdown

[@overLastend]

Feel you bro 😂👌 same here 😁

[@KingLucarioxx]

Use Blue’s team from black and white 2 on Pokémon showdown trust and believe you will piss people off in the OU tier 😂

[@ryandennison8754]

Omg so great to see A-Ninetales make the finals! He may not have brought it home, but I'm just so grateful to see such a comeback!

[@underdogtv2855]

The nine tails is the reason he lost

[@ryandennison8754]

UnderdogReviews even so, just seeing him in the finals was worth it.

[@andrewflores8729]

Also seeing mandibuzz being used was great

[@angelossakkalis]

Props to Sam for having the balls to appear to the finals with a female character and the name " ♥️Judy♥️"

[@calds6705]

Sam is transgender

[@mau3328]

@@calds6705 sam is not transgender LMFAO

[@kin5275]

This was hands down the best best of Three of this pokemon world championships, both player were truly amazing in these matchs

[@lucastissoka8806]

I love pokemon

[@Boolievard]

me too I just got into it about a year ago but I'm in love with it

[@raphaelkgh218]

Nerdwithaword _ me too!😍 i got really into it a year before and i'm loving it too!😍😍😍

[@LizardLogan]

I know! I have been a fan for about 5 years now

[@ph-jx4bd]

Raphaël Khoury same I've been playing for 7 years now

[@StriderZessei]

These replies make me feel old. I was only 6 or 7 years old when Red and Blue came out. Now I'm nearly 30 and still play the games. It's truly a magical series that transcends a lot of barriers.

[@piotr5261]

Who would ever have thought we would see a MAROWAK in the finals!

[@infernoprod8102]

Piotr I know right it's my favorite alolan form I caught a shiny one in wild and have been raising it to be a good vgc pokemon ever since.

[@cian2168]

Alolan marowak is really good though...

[@piotr5261]

Egg Benedict Yeah I know, but 2 years ago if someone said a Marowak would win Worlds you wouldn't believe it.

[@MazterP28]

Marowaks was always a good Pokemon after gen 1, gen 2 with thick club

[@pokeblade1016]

well this is the alolan one not the normal one so saying that is still nor believable.

[@raquel7939]

I'd never watched a competitive match before yet I attended the WC to see it and the gameplay was insane. This match was so great, spectacular on both sides. I'm totally in awe of how much strategy and skill was displayed.

[@Felixkeeg]

Switching mandibuzz into the whimsicott's nature power was such an amazing play, I just sit in awe

[@cubialpha]

This surpassed 30k viewers on Twitch live today! It was great

[@raphaelkgh218]

Cubialpha wow!😍😍

[@gurungmadan]

Thats terrible compared to other esports. There are twitch streamers with more viewers than that

[@justin-mk9fn]

Anyone else more focused on the cool arena set for VGC? I love that it's like a disco

[@L-Puffin]

JustinPlays Yeah, the background was awesome, too bad we hardly saw it cause of terrain

[@seanoodles7008]

16:35 in the bottom left corner, you can see even professor kukui showed up to check out the moves of these Pokémon. XD

[@perxu2329]

Mudkip 3258 so did red near the center right

[@wifitoaster8552]

Hi

[@wifitoaster8552]

Hi

[@j.a.molina6080]

That seems like something kakui would do

[@theryguysunboxings1560]

I'm a Tcg player, I have no idea whats going on, but I love it😀😀

[@raphaelkgh218]

RyAn12 TCG i also love both the TCG and VGC(pun lels😂) and i'm happy to see a tcg guy here!😍 I'm a competitive battle guy myself and i still enjoy A LOT pack opening vids, even if i don't understand a thing😂! i love you CandyEvie!😍😍😂😂

[@shiny5053]

RyAn12 TCG so the opposite of most people

[@King_of_Africa]

How do u understand one without the other? lol

[@dukerclan1218]

Same 😂😂😂

[@theryguysunboxings1560]

Steven Holloway lol

[@iameartchan]

Ryota Otsubo did what every anime mc do best: losing first, then making a comeback

[@newchannelinsubbox3028]

That Brick Break Marowak is really something else.

[@backpackerraden6268]

I think this is still my favourite VGC Masters Finals. Both Ryota and Sam are playing out of their minds, the casters are amazing, and the teams were so cool for the format this year

[@chuyengyang4380]

"Final two finalist"

[@AVarghul]

There were the junior and senior finalists, masters always come last, save the best for the end ;)

[@yosualeonard4270]

chuyeng yang jhh

[@troyspencer7069]

That Game 3 that I never expected the Prankster nerf to be so relevent for this format.

[@foxloaf8843]

the games always make the player character out the be the best trainer in the world and then there's this

[@erdbeerenrex]

from anime to reality... I feel you on this one. You can't avoid being a bit proud as tou become Pokemon champion, catch all the legendaries, beat the evil organization. But as you watch the pros play. Man I rely too much on my legendaries!

[@simraticate]

Absolutely brilliant play and adaptation from both players! Hats off to Ryota for the amazing comeback. What a superb final!

[@kylin3197]

This was the best finals since Pachirisu. They both did an amazing job. Didn't expect Ryota to win the third battle after meh start with that z-move but him being able to predict the Garchomp protect really sealed his win. That was so risky of him, risking the paralysis from discharge on his own whimsicott

[@RomanticPopPunk]

Kukui at 16:35

[@GetWithTheFro]

So nice to see the genies out of VGC

[@trofulds]

Nice to see the Primal Weather Trio out of VGC

[@lap4162]

@@trofulds that was one year lol

[@YoshipPL]

All's good, but next time they better pick the player owning an English version of the game for POV xD

[@raphaelkgh218]

Sigils, ETHEC. yeah, plus i have played pokemon so much i lnow what happens without the text, plus we have the commentators😂😍

[@noatiendoboludos]

Sigils, ETHEC. Disagree. Japanese people learn English at school. Spanish people learn English at school. Indian, chinese and portuguese people also learn English at school. Nobody learns basic Japanese. English is the way to go in world scale events, no matter where the game is from

[@Rezileen]

What probably happened was that Sam was using an electronic download of the game instead of a physical cart, and they unfortunately don't have the software to capture from an electronic download.

[@Snowbrrd]

YoshipPL XD

[@abutardasalvaje6341]

Weavile ftw!

[@elcristo8206]

One of the best pokemon battle of ever

[@detachedmars158]

I was rooting for Ryota coz he was using krokodile. Highly underrated pokemon.

[@shazam2826]

Detached Mars my fav poke is arcanine. So I rooted for Sam

[@detachedmars158]

Shazam28 krok isn't my favourite but it's definitely top 10. In singles you can use scarf moxie and it's really poweful and you can use it as a stealth rocker .

[@AbhijitZimare]

How to win in style? - A ONE HIT KO

[@Rene4591]

29:35 "Uh Oh.... Sam is THINKING" - Best compliment you can give someone

[@superdavidparty]

Both sides were good. Still they had ultrabeasts and Tapus, they used strategies very good and uniques. Congratulations! Greetings from Colombia. Double moon blast, nature power Z, aurora veil, oh god!

[@MrLawyerBG]

Best Master Final Ever, thx guys!

[@jackinBflat]

That Protect man... he got baited hard!

[@Rodolphin]

I love this year Championship, an awesome way to end off my summer by watching incredible battles :D

[@hypnotic13371337]

Game's in a different language "Your Time" Timer is in English XD

[@Fackinfine]

This years Master Finals was so good compared to 2015 and 2016. So strategic and very balanced teams with both offense and defensive qualities. Did not expect such play from this year vgc-meta. Thank Arceus it got some time to develop.

[@infernoprod8102]

I knew marowak could make finals hooray it's my favorite alolan form and it won finals woo hoo

[@TheBomberman122]

Philip Cohen well its a good check to all the tapus that are so popular

[@raphaelkgh218]

Philip Cohen so true!😍

[@Xgil2Play]

Whimsicott too. It's my current favourite Grass-Type so I'm glad to see someone appreciating a Gen 5 Pokemon

[@VSilver2]

Both teams are really diverse I love the choices can't wait to see how this turns out

[@yokohama2050]

ほんとこの戦いは熱かった！

[@selder_7]

great to see 12 different pokemon in the final teams

[@MatteoSilvestro]

That was really epic! A very balanced match, with a lot of twists!

[@hamstermaniavgc4669]

if you are wondering what hapened to whimsicott z-move game 3 dark type is immune to prankster moves , which whimsicott used (Z-move) , so nothing hapened.

[@kingkryptonite0]

I don't even think Krookodile was even used this entire time. And that is Ryota's special Pokemon, right?

[@mudkid9631]

King Kryptonite Yeah that was somewhat disappointing, but Sam's team only really had one powerful physical attacker in garchomp. It wouldn't have been very useful, since intimidate didn't really bother Xurkitree, ninetales and so on.

[@kingkryptonite0]

eppicstarr yeah i dont really watch these tournament things. I don't even know who Ryota is lol i just love pokemon. Krookodile's one of my favorites

[@trofulds]

Cue the bunch casuals that have never played a serious VGC match, whining about how it's always the same Pokémon, even tho VGC17 has been one of the most diverse VGC metas

[@bryansakon9330]

Trofulds and who is you

[@nonsugarnoki]

There is almost no one doing that lol

[@itsikpix5825]

with the shitstorm of X/y meta (just the meta i likend the games) its hard to belive they wouldent

[@minuner]

Anyone else jamming out to the background music?

[@rachu816]

Great match! I really did not know who would win up until the last minute. They both played brilliantly!!

[@kriah777mc6]

Match starts at 5:22 if anyone wants to know 😉

[@peterbengarelick9669]

Kriah777 MC just Got w,snznx

[@justanother2sday]

This battle was amazing

[@Aitomy]

I just love Mandibuzz and Whimsicott since 5th Generation and they are always a must on my team because of reasons. I love the fun and cover they provide to your team. Good job to both players!

[@yootoob8303]

I tried getting into VGC17 this year and I gotta say I really love it. Sadly it costs at lot of money (at least initially) to get anywhere competitively and as result a lot great players never get to go on the big stage.

[@ThePOkemonMater]

???why do you need money to play competitively??? You can just breed your own pokemon or get unwanted breedjects and breeding dittos from sites like reddit.

[@L-Puffin]

thedarkwolve Not sure what you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure YooToob means that tournaments have entry fees, not to mention there are travel costs if you want to play anywhere not local.

[@yootoob8303]

You pretty much need to do multiple regional championships + an international, for which you need to travel a lot, if you want to hope to get anywhere. Also, top players from previous years get travel stipends, so once you make it big once you're good as long as you keep competing.

[@jmhill24]

"Let's bring our first!.. our final, twooo.... finalists to the stage!"

[@oouskawizard]

I hope pokemon can pick up steam as an e-sport so there can be more high level play like this year round.

[@TheStormybob]

First battle's preview starts at 4:23

[@legendoftytoki7222]

what a hyped up grand finals. Nice to see Pokemon like specs fini, xurkitree, and alolawak put in all kinds of work

[@L3ON360Z]

That protect at the end was too predictable.

[@fjg9398]

Well he risks getting moonblasted and loosing his only sweeper left, banking on not getting moonblasted wouldve been pretty balsy

[@misdemeanor7083]

Sam was unbelievably gracious at the end there. What a good dude

[@joross2313]

wow i wanna play pokemon now

[@HanSoloTheScoundrel]

i had no idea these games had a competitive scene! the world sure is changing!

[@lucaperrone7793]

Ma cosa fai se il commentary di Cydonia e del Pardo non ce l'hai ;)

[@isaaciaga]

“…Taunt coming out from Mandibuzz trying to prevent Celesteela from using its annoying support moves” is definitely the funniest thing I’ve ever heard a caster said in VGC and he didn’t even stutter coz he’s definitely right 😂

[@user-ye1un6zd7t]

オーロラベールピンポイントのかわらわりは強すぎる

[@yue9385]

That protect/double moonblast prediction though..holy

[@01MrBLA]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Congrats to both players

[@Mayank-mf7xr]

was well worth. the best match i have seen till date. predicting the obvious protect on garchomp, and priority nature power on xerkit. man it was awesome. also that mandibuzz switch blew my mind.

[@riften1229]

Sam could have won with just one earthquake while the tailwind was up, KOing both Alolan Marowak and Tapu Koko at the end of Round Two.

[@cool140000]

True. He really misplayed that as he had no chance once the Mandibuzz went down

[@palatonian9618]

This set was awesome

[@corvangel3848]

16:33 Is that... *Kukui?!*

[@cecillewolters1995]

What a match! This was so much better than last year! Amazing!

[@awatkins64]

WHIMSICOTT!!!

[@superdavidparty]

Whimshicott is our new lord

[@matijakrmpotic926]

Whimscott is reason why I picked Pokemon Sun.

[@infernoprod8102]

Congrats to both of you this was one of the best matches o seen on vgc yet!

[@goodperson656]

A Wild Snorlax appears 1:40

[@signalcj8533]

Fantastic matches

[@Charziken909]

whats more popular double battle single battle are the championships only double battle?

[@ryco9669]

Charziken909 VGC is 4v4 doubles only

[@Destinum]

6v6 singles following the Smogon rules is the most popular format from what I've seen, at least in the western community. It's not the officially supported format though.

[@Bakatora04]

Yes vgc is only double because is faster than singles

[@legendoftytoki7222]

whatupmygoon maybe 3v3 singles could work and maybe 6v6 wouldn't be so toxic with the vgc 2017 rules into play so bye bye mega sableye and multiple leftovers

[@ryco9669]

TheLegendofMOTHER 3v3 singles invalidates a lot of the moves that make doubles so interesting and puts a lot more focus on who is being fielded rather than how they're used. A bad lead choice is a lot more likely to be setup fodder than it is in doubles

[@saadkhan8308]

Sam's play with the Mandibuzz was truly just mind-blowing

[@sjb_92]

Ultra Beasts look so out of place in Pokemon

[@AVarghul]

That's the whole idea? That they aren't technically Pokemon? Congratulations on deceiphering that out.

[@mrrp405]

_That's the point_

[@akeemtaylor8375]

Stephen Bonning yea thats the point.

[@coryjerls3100]

Man, this year was great!

[@naturalTHEATER]

that protect read

[@Flash33c]

Both players played well here. Congrats to both of them.

[@ParfaitOperationalGuidebook]

YOU GUYS BETTER NOT SPOIL THIS FOR ME

[@Bespo]

TheDiamondRiolu they tie

[@androggo148]

Ryota wins c:

[@borntodream0381]

Everyone dies

[@kwokwailok8524]

Joshua Prince Noooooo!!!!!!

[@MochachiiinoWorks]

dumbledore dies

[@pattymelt5825]

It was awesome seeing Mandibuzz in the finals cuz she's one of my favorite pokemon

[@審判ブオナロッティ]

りょうたさん おめでとう

[@robertalbarda3266]

Holy crap that final play from Ryoto was insane with the double moon blast

[@netsquire]

I fought Sam in battle spot wooooo

[@ilooklikeamovie7039]

Finally I been waiting for this I hope it's not gonna stall like last time.

[@KhiTurner]

_Wait Z Moves can go through protect?_

[@Canvas-nb]

AcquaNINJA yeah. Protect does weaken them though ^^

[@filippomaccarini9754]

AcquaNINJA yeah they will do 25% of the damage only tho. However they can still crit because they had to make this mechanic way busted

[@rohaam_k1558]

That double moonblast onto the xurkitree was incredible play well done ryoto well deserved win there :D

[@matty_c]

"Last year was a fluke" But Wolfe won so I wouldn't call that a fluke

[@Ninohaxball]

Cinnamatt Toastcrunch He meant a fluke for japan. Japan has a huge playerbase but they performed bad in 2016. Ryota (the japanese) proved that 2016 was only a flike for japan and that japan is still strong ;)

[@Snowman8frosty]

Is this what sword and shield pvp will be like?!? I’m hyped

[@19rayrayray90]

I quickly judge people when a guy uses a girl character

[@shatteredsentient5321]

Vince Oh Myyy why lol?

[@pokeblade1016]

You will see a lot of boys choosing girl characters just because they are used to being a boy.

[@FeanixFlamage]

think about it this way. if you're gonna be playing a game for a LOOOOONGGG time, do you wanna stare at a dude, or a cute chick for your playable character? also, a lot of people have pointed out in other comment threads that the females this gen have more options for customization and just have better designs all around. if i were to start a new game right now, i'd probably pick the female character since i hate pretty much all the clothes options for the male character, lol.

[@thecatherd]

I'm male but I pick the female character because the clothes options are SO much better. The male clothes options are really dull and limited by comparison. :')

[@denryuu3579]

I picked male because I've been picking male for the past gens. I haven't changed clothes since the beginning and when I saw how my brother customized his character, I quickly regretted picking male...

[@fuyuseetaa]

Part of me died at the failed Twinkle Tackle. Amazing that he came back from that.

[@bennnnable]

why dont people use mega evolution anymore ?

[@Ninohaxball]

Its not allowed this year

[@triforcematter2097]

That was amazing! They were both so good!

36:02 i can die now

[@edoardo7570]

È incredibile come Ryota sia riuscito a vincere. Era un match up difficilissimo per lui. Il predict sulla protect di garchomp al game 3 è impressionante