The 2023 World Championships, which will be held on 11–13 August 2023, are hosted in Japan for the first time! 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 Oceania! Let’s meet the 4 players with a Day 2 invite, and take a look at the other 20 Day 1 invitees this region brings.
Table of Contents
Oceania at Worlds
Oceania is the underdog in the TPCI sanctioned regions. After losing all South East Asian countries in its sphere to TPC except for the Oceanian-proper Australia and New Zealand in 2020, this region’s competitiveness has been reduced… but they still have some of the strongest performances!
Although it is the weakest region in paper, Oceanian players have gone far in previous World Championships, with Australian Sam Pandelis even reaching the 2017 Worlds finals.
Other notable Worlds runs by players from this region include Dayne O’Meara‘s top 8 finish in 2014, Sam‘s top 16 in 2016, Graham Amedee‘s top cut in 2019 and Meaghan Rattle‘s back-to-back top 8 in 2019 and 2022.
After Meaghan’s run in the last World Championships, will Oceania surpass her past records in numbers and positions this year?
Requirements for a Worlds invite
As per the Oceanian system, all players that have achieved at least 200 CP (or Championship Points) in the 2023 season receive an invite to Day 1. Additionally, the top 4 players achieve a direct pass to Day 2 and a Travel Award.
This corresponds to an easier path to a Day 1 invite than in 2022, but a much tougher Day 2 race, with a decrease to a third of the spots there were last season.
Day 2 players
At 598 CP, Alister will play Worlds for the third time. He had played in 2018 and 2019, with the former achieving a Day 2 spot.
Alister took advantage of the short Oceanian season and made Day 2 at both the Oceania and Europe Internationals. Furthermore, he secured a second place in Perth and a top 8 finish in Sydney, the only Regionals in his region!
Alister has been a part of Team Australia in the World Cup since the 2022 edition, when they reached semifinals!
Watch At 586 CP, Alfredo has qualified to Worlds for the sixth straight time, second as a Masters player. He had played in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a Senior, and also qualified with a direct Day 2 spot in 2022 as a Master. He continues the streak!
Alfredo started strong by placing top 8 at the Oceania International, being the highest-ranked Oceanian in their home region flagship event. Making it to Day 2 at the Europe International proved to be enough to secure one of the Day 2 spots in his region.
At 542 CP, Meaghan has qualified for her fourth Worlds. She has the accolade of having been the first-ever Australian to play in Day 2 of Swiss rounds in Worlds since it exists, as she made it all the way from Day 1 in 2016. In her following Worlds, both in 2019 and 2022, she went even further and surprised everyone with back-to-back top 8 finishes!
Meaghan made top 32 at the Oceania International to start the season, and followed it with a top 8 in Sydney and a Day 2 finish at the Europe International. Having also earned some extra CPs, this was more than enough for the third Day 2 invite in Oceania.
Outside the official circuit, Meaghan has played for Australia in the World Cup since 2021, including last year when they made it to the semifinals.
4. 
Sam Pandelis
At 500 CP is Sam Pandelis, Oceania’s best ever result in a World Championships — Finalist in 2017. This is actually his sixth time trying to get the most coveted prize, as he already played in 2018 and 2019 at Day 1 and 2016, 2017 and 2022 directly on Day 2.
Sam achieved a top 16 finish at the Oceania Internataional, and then got a top 4 in Perth and a second place in Sydney to gain the last Day 2 invite to the World Championships in his region.
In the grassroots scene, Sam is a well-known TO for high-roller events, and, as one of the managers of the team, piloted Team Australia in the 2022 World Cup to the semifinals!
Day 1 players
Oceania has 20 representatives in Day 1 of Worlds, some of which are big names in the scene. Watch out for 2017 Junior World Champion & 2022 Senior Worlds finalist Nicholas Kan, 2019 Seniors Worlds finalist Lewis Tan, or 2-time Regional Champion Liam Gilbert!
The following list comprises all other players with 200 or more CP in the Oceania rating zone, and is based on the official Play! Pokémon leaderboard, or who qualified through last year’s Worlds results.
- Nicholas Kan (2022 Worlds finalist, SR)
- Henry Rich (476 CP)
- Liam Gilbert (335 CP)
- James Katsaros (330 CP)
- Thomas Chen (308 CP)
Michael Navas (291 CP)
Alex Donaldson (285 CP)- Lewis Tan (270 CP)
- Danijel Zitko (260 CP)
- Galvin Hui (260 CP)
- Fred Zhou (244 CP)
- James Sullivan (240 CP)
- Mitch Kendrick (230 CP)
Đạt Lương (230 CP)- Vivek Arunagiri (230 CP)
- Ryan Hercus (222 CP)
- Diego Ferreira (220 CP)
Liu Genting (215 CP)- Lochiel Cameron (210 CP)
- Luke Iuele (200 CP)
Closing words
Congratulations to all Oceanian players having qualified for the World Championships! As, arguably, one of the underdog regions in the World, other players should not be sleeping on them. We wish you all the best of luck.
If you’re not attending, you can follow their battles from home. Check all info about the Pokémon World Championships here!
