The World Championships, which will be held on 18–21 August 2022, are finally back after three years! In these articles, we will take a look at the best players that are qualified to compete in the biggest event of the year.
Here we have Asia! Let’s meet the 10 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 37 Day 1 invitees this region brings. (Although a part of Asia, Japan has been featured separately!)
Table of Contents
Asia at Worlds
Asia is a whole new region now, as most of the territories it included were part of the Oceania rating zone in previous seasons. However, in June 2020 TPC decided to take over in Asia, which led many countries leave the CP-sanctioned organized play where they had belonged until that moment.
The only country that had already had a separate system is South Korea, which is managed directly by Pokémon Korea.
Asia had lived its best moment when Korean Sejun Park and his iconic Pachirisu made the whole world vibrate and rose to the top as the 2014 World Champion.
Among the best results by Asian players we can find Sejun‘s other top 8 finishes (2012 and 2013), and the top 16 finishes achieved by Hong Kong native Edward Cheung Ka Hin (2016), Koreans Wonseok Jang and Junghoon Shin (2017) and Singaporean Melvin Keh (2018 and 2019).
For two years in a row, Melvin has top cutted the World Championships. Additionally, Taiwan is the home of the current World Champion in the junior division, Wu Pi! Will the Asian players achieve Sejun’s and Pi’s success after eight long years without moving further than top 16 in masters?
Requirements for a Worlds invite
Since Asia has seen some changes mid-season, there are several systems through which players have been able to qualify to Worlds.
As per the Oceanian system, all players from Asia (except South Korea) that have achieved at least 300 CP (or Championship Points) in the 2020 seasons receive an invite to Day 1. No CP earned in 2022 count towards this requirement.
An online Asian Players Cup was held in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand in 2021 that gave out Day 1 invites to the top 8 players and a Day 2 direct pass to the winner.
Finally, in 2022, these same territories recovered the figure of the National Championships and celebrated them, with Day 1 invites for the top 4, plus a Day 2 invite for the winner.
In South Korea, the KP (or Korean Points) system used before was scrapped when the events stopped in 2020. The new method to qualify goes through the annual mixed online/offline Trainers Cup: winning the 2021 edition or making top 8 in the 2022 edition, with the top 4 in 2022 having direct passes to Day 2.
Day 2 players
Jirawiwat has managed to qualify to Worlds for the fourth time, after his successful Day 2 run in 2016 and Day 1 participations in 2017 and 2018.
The Thai got the last spot in the Asia Players Cup as Thailand was granted the final spot due to their participation numbers, so even though he came out second in the Thailand Qualifiers, he earned a place in the Grand Finale and eventually won the event (2021), giving him the first Day 2 spot in the region.
Jirawiwat has participated in the World Cup as part of Team Thailand since 2021, year in which they achieved a fantastic top 8 result. Also, as a result of his Asia Players Cup win, he was invited to the Global Exhibition (2021).
Chaiyawat has received his second Worlds invite, this time with a direct pass to Day 2. He had already qualified to Day 1 in 2016.
The Thai started the season strong with a day 2 participation at the Oceania Internationals (2020), winning his first CP… until they would no longer be a criteria. Chaiyawat then managed to secure a Day 1 invite by winning the Asia Players Cup Thailand Qualifiers (2021), but could not bring the title home in the Grand Finals (2021). Finally, he could claim a Day 2 spot by winning the first-ever live event held in Thailand, the Thailand Nationals (2022), using a surprising Xerneas + Groudon team.
A staple in the Pokémon Showdown high ladder, Chaiyawat has been part of the World Cup since 2021. He initially acted as player-manager of the Thai team as they reached top 8 last year, but has since then dropped the managerial duties to focus on playing.
Watch Chaiyawat’s win at Thailand Nationals! (starts at 1:55:03)
3. 
Chyr Wei
Wei will be playing in Worlds for the first time!
The Taiwanese has only ever played two major events, and has made top cut in both. First, he made it to top 16 in Taipei (2022) and then went on to win the big event at Taiwan Nationals (2022), using a Lunala + Groudon core for which he wrote a team report that you can read here. The title of Taiwan National Champion brought him the Day 2 invite to Worlds!
Wei has also ventured into global online events, reaching top cut at the Victory Road to Frankfurt (2022).
4. Pan Si Ming
Si Ming will also be playing in Worlds for the first time!
The Hong Kong player managed to get the Day 2 invite to Worlds by winning the Hong Kong Nationals (2022) using a Zacian + Kyogre team featuring Celesteela and the three Forces of Nature (Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus).
Si Ming is a name commonly found in the top spots of the in-game monthly ladder seasons of Ranked Battles.
5. Wonseok Jung
Wonseok has received his fourth invite to Worlds, third in the masters division! He has previously reached Day 2 in 2017 as a senior and in 2018 and 2019 as a master.
The Korean got the win in the second edition of the Trainers Cup (2021), which secured him an invite to Day 1 of Worlds. His result led TPCI to invite him to the Global Exhibition (2021), where he finished in second place. The next year, he successfully defended his title and won the tournament again (2022), without knowing that would be enough for a Day 2 invite, as this was announced some weeks after the event.
Wonseok is part of the South Korean roster in the World Cup since 2021, year in which Korea reached semifinals before being eliminated by eventual runners-up Italy.
6. Jeongso Lee
Jeongso will be participating in his first Worlds this year!
With a fantastic online-era record, the Korean qualified for the offline stage of both the second (2021) and third (2022) editions of the Trainers Cup, but fell on the grand finals in both. Then unknowingly to him, the second place in this year’s edition secured him a place in Day 2 of Worlds!
Jeongso’s success in online tournaments is one of the best in the world. He has made top 16 at the VR Spring Challenge (2020); top 8 & 16 in a couple of qualifiers (#2 and #4) in the VR Circuit: Winter Series (2021); top 16 at the VR February S12 Challenge (2022); top cut at the Victory Road to Frankfurt (2022); and finally a victory at the VR May S12 Challenge (2022), using a Zacian + Kyogre composition which people started to dub Crystal Rain in his honour. Jeongso has also been part of Team South Korea in the World Cup since 2021, year in which Korea reached semifinals.
7. Hyuk-in Kwon
Hyuk-in has qualified for his first Worlds!
After being mostly absent during this season, Hyuk-in emerged in the last event with a big result. Coming through the losers bracket, he made it all the way to the losers semifinals and benefited from a rival DQ to get the third place at the Trainers Cup (2022), which made him eligible for a Worlds Day 2 invite.
Hyuk-in has joined Team South Korea this year in the World Cup. Outside the playing field, he has been casting in Korean for Pokémon Unite.
8. Kevin Ngim
Kevin NgimKevin has earned his third Worlds invite! He had previously qualified in 2017, playing in Day 1, and 2019, in Day 2.
Kevin started the season earning enough CP for an invite in the Oceania region, making top 16 at both the Latin America (2019) and Oceania Internationals (2020) and reaching a second place in the Singapore Series 3 Open (2020). He was leading the Oceania leaderboards at 979 CP when Malaysia was forced to leave that rating zone and his options for a Day 2 invite through this method faded. During the online era, Kevin managed to win the Asia Players Cup Malaysia Qualifiers (2021), but could not improve his invite for Day 2 in the Grand Finale (2021). Finally, he played in the Malaysia Nationals (2022), qualifying to the offline stage, winning it all with an Ice Rider Calyrex + Palkia team and earning the wanted Day 2 spot.
9. Melvin Keh
Melvin has qualified to Worlds for the fifth straight time! Having played in Day 1 in 2016, he improved that in 2017 participating in Day 2, but his best results came in 2018 and 2019 when he reached top 16.
Still in the Oceania rating zone, Melvin started the season with top 8 at the Melbourne Open (2019) and the Singapore Series 3 Open (2020), earning a total of 676 CP in the 2020 season that secured him a Day 1 invite and would have been enough for Day 2 had not Singapore left the CP system. Melvin played in the Asia Players Cup Singapore Qualifier (2021) but could not make it to the grand finale. His only chances became a reality when he played in the Singapore Nationals (2022) online stage, qualified to the offline stage and earned the title of National Champion and a Day 2 invite to Worlds using an Ice Rider Calyrex + Palkia team.
Melvin has been a part of the Singaporean roster in the World Cup since the 2021 edition, when Singapore made it to top 8.
10. Patrick Elegado
A new face in the VGC scene, Patrick has qualified for his first Worlds!
Patrick managed to qualify to the online stage and made his way to the victory of the Philippines Nationals (2022) using a Crystal Rain (Zacian + Kyogre) standard team.
Day 1 players
The following list comprises all other players that fulfil the requirements for a Day 1 invite, including Asian players that reached 300 CP in the Oceania rating zone based on the official Play! Pokémon leaderboard from 2020, the Asia Players Cup and Trainers Cup, and the National Championships held in 2022.
- Jongyoon Baik (2019 Worlds top 4, seniors)
- Yoko Taguma (657 CP)
- Ismat Myron Beg (564 CP)
- Shawn Tang (469 CP)
- Zarif Ayman (364 CP)
- Zachary Kelly (341 CP)
- Jasdil Singh Deo (320 CP)
- Harrold Khoo (305 CP)
- Fong Kai Wei (830 CP, seniors)
- Chen Yu-ying (616 CP, seniors)
- Ho Chin-wei (2nd)
- Jeremy Delos Santos (top 4)
- Brian Soh (top 8)
- Chou Tsung-hsiao (top 8)
- Ng Shiu Chung (top 8)
- Sanghyeok Kang (top 5)
- Sejun Park (top 5)
- Taeyeong Kim (top 7)
- Yongseo Kim (top 7)
- Narawitch Naenna (Thailand runner-up)
- Terence Dray (Thailand top 4)
- Panyawut Noijan (Thailand top 4)
- Sie Meng-ru (Taiwan runner-up)
- Yang Da-wei (Taiwan top 4)
- Tsai Hau-yu (Taiwan top 4)
- Ma Chun Yeung (Hong Kong runner-up)
- Mak Kwan Ho (Hong Kong top 4)
- Choi Yin Fung (Hong Kong top 4)
- Gary Ng Yeong Jiang (Malaysia runner-up)
- Yong Wai Hou (Malaysia top 4)
- Khairul Fahmi (Malaysia top 4)
- Daanvir Singh Narula (Singapore runner-up)
- Martin Teo (Singapore top 4)
- Matthias Loong (Singapore top 4)
- James Credo (Philippines runner-up)
- Rap Perez (Philippines top 4)
- Sylvester Babanto (Philippines top 4)
Terence Dray (Thailand top 4)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Asian players having qualified for the World Championships! As, arguably, one of the toughest regions in the World, there are high expectations on their shoulders. We wish you all the best of luck.
If you’re not attending but will be following their struggle from home, check the Pokémon World Championships website for detailed infos on the live stream.
