2024 World Championships: Meet Team Latin America!

The 2024 World Championships, which will be held on 16–18 August 2024, are hosted in Honolulu, HI, United States. This is the third time the World Championships are held in Hawaii, after the 2010 and 2012 editions; and the first time they are held in the United States since 2019. 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 Latin America! Let’s meet the 8 players with a Round 1 bye at Worlds, and take a look at the other 221 invitees this region brings.

Latin America at Worlds

The World Championships is the stage in which Latin American players have surprised everyone time after time, and this may be the case again as they are still considered underdogs.

The best ambassador for Latin America VGC scene has been Ecuadorian Paul Ruiz, that won the 2018 World Championships not only for himself or his country, but for all of Latin America.

The second best result at Worlds for a Latin American player is also Paul‘s top 4 at 2017. Other big results of players from this region are the top 8 finishes achieved by Argentinian Sebastián Escalante (2017), Salvadorian René Alvarenga (2017), Peruvian Dorian Quiñonez (2017) and fellow Argentinian Federico Turano (2018).

The last two World Championships were poor for Latin American players, as none of its representatives reached the top cut. Last year, Brazilian Gabriel Agati was the closest, losing his win-and-in match in the last round. Will they be able to get back up now that they had so much more representation?

Requirements for a Worlds invite

As per the Latin American system, all players that have achieved at least 300 CP (or Championship Points), won a Regional Championship or made finals of an International Championships in the 2024 season receive a Tier 3 invite. Additionally, the players ranked 9th to 12th get a Tier 2 invite, which includes a Travel Stipend, and the top 8 players achieve a Tier 1 invite, which corresponds to a Round 1 bye at the tournament as well as a Travel Award.

The final result is a huge increase in spots from the 2023 World Championships: from 36 invitees last year to a total of 229 this season!

Players with Round 1 bye

1. Juan Salerno

At 1535 CP, Juan will play Worlds for the sixth time, having played as a Senior in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and as a Master in 2022 and 2023. An International Champion in the Senior Division, he made it to the top cut in 2018, and played in Day 2 in both his Masters Division appearances.

Juan started the season with a 5-2 in Curitiba, not enough for top cut due to tiebreakers. He filled the locals BFL and obtained strong results later in the season, with a top 32 at EUIC and a top 8 in São Paulo before his first Masters Division victory at home in Buenos Aires, the first major tournament worldwide in Regulation Set G. He kept getting results with a top 8 in Santiago, a 4-2 out of cut in Lima and a very powerful top 16 at NAIC, again out of cut due to tiebreakers. Overall, he has earned this during this season:

1,000 CP in major events
480 CP in local events (full BFL)
55 CP in Global Challenges
$7,000 in prize money

Juan has been a manager of Team Argentina in the World Cup since 2021. Last year, the team reached the finals for a silver medal, a record best for the country!

He has been favouring Ice Rider Calyrex in Regulation Set G: he used this team at NAIC, a variation from his Buenos Aires winning team!

Watch Juan’s victory over Eric Rios at Day 2 of NAIC!

2. Sebastián Escalante

At 1295 CP, Sebastián has qualified to Worlds for the fourth time, after a long break. He played for the first time in 2015 as a Senior, reaching top 8, and then aged up to Masters for two further top cuts: top 16 in 2016 and top 8 in 2017. Sebastián, who also is a 2-time Regional Champion, will surely try to keep the trend of making top cut at every Worlds he competes in!

Having missed good results in the earlier part of the season, Sebastián took his experience for a top 4 in Goiânia, another top 4 in Buenos Aires, a top 16 out of cut due to tiebreakers in Santiago, and a further top 4 in Lima, where he was seed #1 after a perfect Swiss record. Furthermore, he filled the BFL of locals. Overall, he has earned during this season:

750 CP in major events
480 CP in local events (full BFL)
65 CP in Global Challenges
$2,750 in prize money

Sebastián has been a part of Team Argentina in the World Cup since the 2021 edition. Last year, they reached the finals for a 2nd place finish!

He has been favouring Terapagos in Regulation Set G: the latest version of his team, which he used at NAIC, was this one!

Watch Sebastián’s victory over Diego Gutiérrez at the top 8 of Goiânia Regional!

3. Dorian Quiñonez

At 1245 CP, Dorian has qualified to Worlds for the seventh time. He had qualified with Day 1 invites in 2016, 2017 and 2022 (although he didn’t attend the latter), and with direct Day 2 invites in 2018, 2019 and 2023. However, his best result came in 2017, when he went all the way through Day 1 into Day 2 and into top cut for a top 8 finish!

The Peruvian player, a 6-time Special Event Champion, had a rough start of the season with poor results in major events but filling out the locals BFL. That changed in the later stretch, as he reached top 4 in Santiago after a perfect Swiss record, and got the victory home in Lima. Overall, he has earned during this season:

730 CP in major events
480 CP in local events (full BFL)
35 CP in Global Challenges
$2,000 in prize money

Dorian has been a part of Team Peru in the World Cup since the 2021 edition.

He has been favouring Terapagos in Regulation Set G: he has used a variation of Sebastián Rodríguez‘s team, which you can read all about here!

4. Renzo Navarro

At 1226 CP, Renzo has qualified to Worlds for the seventh time. He had qualified with Day 1 invites in 2016, 2019 and 2022 (although he didn’t attend the latter), and with direct Day 2 invites in 2017, 2018 and 2023. He gets one of the Round 1 bye spots this year!

The 2021 Players Cup IV Champion, who also is a 3-time Regional and 5-time Special Event Champion, had a pretty balanced season. He started it with a top 8 in Curitiba and a top 32 at LAIC; followed it with a 5-2 record out of cut in Goiânia due to the tiebreakers, a top 128 in EUIC and another 6-2 out of cut in São Paulo; and, already in Regulation Set G, a top 4 in Santiago and a top 8 in Lima. Overall, he has earned during this season:

730 CP in major events
456 CP in local events
40 CP in Global Challenges
$5,750 in prize money

Renzo has been a part of Team Peru in the World Cup since the 2021 edition.

He has been favouring Koraidon in Regulation Set G: although he had successfully played Zamazenta earlier in the metagame, he later used this team for the top 8 in Lima!

Watch Renzo’s victory over Len Deuel at EUIC!

5. Gabriel Agati

At 1190 CP, Gabriel has qualified to Worlds for the fifth time. He previously played in Day 1 in 2018 and in Day 2 in 2019, 2022 and 2023. His best result came in 2019, when he reached the top cut for to finish in top 16.

The Brazilian, who is a 2-time International finalist and former Regional Champion, mainly played in his home country this season. He finished top 16 in Curitiba (out of cut on tiebreakers), top 4 in Goiânia and top 8 in São Paulo, just a couple of weeks after getting top 64 at EUIC. Overall, he has earned during this season:

620 CP in major events
470 CP in local events
100 CP in Global Challenges
$3,750 in prize money

Gabriel has been a player of Team Brazil in the World Cup since the 2021 edition.

He has been favouring Shadow Rider Calyrex in Regulation Set G: he used this team at NAIC!

Watch Gabriel’s victory over Hugo Nascimento at the Goiânia Regional!

6. Paul Ruiz

At 1165 CP, Paul has qualified to Worlds for the sixth time. He has made Day 2 at each of his previous appearances since 2017, when he reached the semifinals, before, just one year later, improve that feat to be crowned as the 2018 World Champion.

The Ecuadorian, who also is a former Regional Champion, is certainly a force to be reckoned, even though six years have passed since his peak achievement. This season, he made it to the top 8 in Curitiba and the top 32 at LAIC; he was out of cut in Goiânia due to tiebreakers; and then proceeded to get top 32 in Orlando, his season’s best top 4 in São Paulo, and another top 8 in Santiago; all while filling out his BFL of locals. Overall, he has earned during this season:

650 CP in major events
480 CP in local events (full BFL)
35 CP in Global Challenges
$6,000 in prize money

He has been favouring Shadow Rider Calyrex in Regulation Set G: he used this team for his top 8 in Santiago!

Watch Paul’s victory over Gabriel Agati at top 8 of the São Paulo Regional!

7. Thiago Lattanzi

At 1157 CP, Thiago has qualified to Worlds for the second time, but it will be his first Worlds as he didn’t attend last year.

The Brazilian rising star had his breakout at the start of this season: he made top 8 in Curitiba and then used one of the most original teams in the format to make it to the finals of LAIC, getting second place. He has been resting ever since, saving his energies for Worlds. Overall, he has earned during this season:

640 CP in major events
437 CP in local events
80 CP in Global Challenges
$11,000 in prize money

Thiago has been a player of Team Brazil in the World Cup since the 2022 edition. He also likes to play grassroots tournaments, making it to top 8 at the VR Winter Challenge.

Watch Thiago’s victory over Riley Factura at the semifinals of LAIC!

8. David Rodríguez

At 1140 CP, David has qualified to Worlds for the sixth time! He qualified for Day 1 in 2016, but didn’t attend; his first Worlds was 2017, and then got invites every year until 2022. After an off season, he’s back and with a Round 1 bye, looking forward to making it to Day 2 for the first time!

Costa Rican players have had a really impressive season this year, and the 4-time Special Event Champion David is no exception. This was his best season since he started competing: he made it to the semifinals of LAIC and then he went on to get his fourth Special title with a victory in Mexico City, an event also won by his son Isaac in the Senior Division. Overall, he has earned during this season:

630 CP in major events
450 CP in local events
60 CP in Global Challenges
$7,000 in prize money

Thiago has been a player of Team Costa Rica in the World Cup since the 2021 edition and a manager since 2022.

Watch David’s win in Mexico City!

Other players

Latin America has 221 other representatives in Worlds, some of which are big names in the scene. Watch out for 2017 NAIC semifinalist César Reyes, 2017 Worlds top 16 Sebastián Bisbal, 2018 Worlds top 32 & 2020 LAIC finalist Javier Valdés, or 2024 NAIC semifinalist Yan Sym!

The following list comprises all other players with an invite, be it through an International finals appearance, a Regional win or with 300 or more CP in the Latin America rating zone, and is based on the official Play! Pokémon leaderboard.

Regional Champions

500+ CP

400-499 CP

350-399 CP

300-349 CP

Regional Champions

500+ CP