2024 Pokemon World Championships in Waikiki attracts thousands of attendees | News [Video]

HONOLULU (Island News) – The 2024 Pokémon World Championships kick off Friday! Thousands of people are on Oahu for this three-day event spanning two properties.

It’s at the Hawaii Convention Center and Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort. Top Pokémon players are competing for a prize pool of over $2 million, and of course the World Champion title.

When the giant Pikachu greets you at the door, you know you’re at the right place. Sara Nielsen, Pokémon Company International public relations, said, “The Pokémon World Championship is the pinnacle of competitive play.”

It kicked off Friday to massive fanfare. Nielsen detailed, “There’s about four different divisions across our game. Whether that be the trading card game, the video game, Pokémon Go and Pokémon Unite.”

There’ll be 14,000 people from 53 countries at this event over the weekend; 3,000 of them …