Pokemon Unite WINTER Tournaments 2023 – Japan Roundup

To qualify for the Asia Champions League 2024, Players in the Asia region would have to attend and fight through the three day event. WINTER 日本代表決定戦 Top 3 would go onto the Regional Stage to then have a chance to represent at the Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League Finals.

This Pokemon Unite Tournament would see the end of many a Unite Team’s winter season. The 4 teams that qualified through the World Championship Series (WCS2023) would be given seeding rights going into the event. Two of these teams declined, battling it out in the Open Bracket. Secret Ship and Mjk would take their seeding advantage to automatically qualify for the 3rd and final day of the Pokemon Unite tournament.

Pokemon Unite Winter Tournaments Format

Day 1 and 2 of Competition would be an Open Qualifier. Meaning any eligible team could enter. Single Elimination Best of 3 is a brutal format, but for those that didn’t qualify through Day 1, could try again in Day 2. Top 3 from each day would join Secret Ship and Mjk in Sunday’s Playoffs. Mjk and Secret Ship would take 1st and 2nd Seeds going into Day 3, with the winner’s of Day 1’s events seeded higher than Day 2’s qualifiers. Day 3 saw Double Elimination to decide the final 3.

Pokemon Unite Tournament Stats

Through the three days of on stream play, we had some notable pick and ban standouts. (Mewtwo remained banned for tournament play)

Zacian was 100% Banned all of day 1. Only seeing few games on stream in Day 2 and 3 where it escaped first ban. And all but 2 times it was let through it won.
Hoopa had 100% Pick/Ban in Day 1 – Until the seeding games of finals after both teams had qualified. Only a handful of games where it was absent. Usually rotating with Edelgloss and Cleffairy.
Urshifu was 100% Pick/Ban Rate Days 1 and 2.
Trevenant ran largely uncontested in games where Blastoise wasn’t picked against it.

Double Elimination Bracket and Finalists

Day 1’s qualifiers saw Kabichans won without dropping a game. The MVP of Day 1 was Trevenant main iamTomato for their incredible space creating. Jet Black Group and Black Goblin followed.
Day 2 saw Unite Holic win, with AFK for 10 minutes and Day 1’s 4th place United Ninjin make the playoffs.

United Ninjin upset Kabichans sending them to LR1, where they would claw their way through losers to a Grand finals reset, falling to overall favourites Mjk, who clutched Game 3 after Game 3 to secure the win.

The full event stream in Japanese can be seen below:

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