- Primary Subject: Pokemon Orlando Regional Championships Controversy
- Key Update: Play! Pokemon stripped Firestar73 of his Pokemon GO championship title due to alleged rule violations.
- Status: Ongoing
- Last Verified: 2026-04-21
- Quick Answer: Play! Pokemon issued a statement regarding the decision to strip Firestar73 of his victory at the Orlando Regional Championships; have removed judges siding with the player
The controversial and bizarre Pokemon Orlando Regional Championships situation just keeps on giving, as Play! Pokemon, the official competitive subdivision of The Pokemon Company, issued a statement explaining the decision behind stripping Firestar73 from his fully deserved win.
If you're out of the loop, let me explain: two weeks ago, on April 5, Firestar emerged victorious in the Pokemon GO grand finals at the Pokemon Orlando Regional Championships. He celebrated effusively, throwing the headphones provided by the organizers in the process.
Play! Pokemon states that there were recurring issues with Firestar throughout the event, with two warnings issued during the grand finals alone: first, during game one of the bracket reset, with officials claiming he hit the table, disrupting gameplay. The second issue, the more well-known, was Firestar throwing his headphones as he popped off following his victory.
The Play! Pokemon statement reads: "Actions such as these can have a negative impact on the experience of participants and disturb the match in progress. Then, during game five, this same player’s behavior continued to be disruptive, including shaking the table to the point that there was a disruption to the broadcast experience."
Firestar responded to the statement by saying on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the first incident, which was never discussed until this point, had no impact on the game, adding: "Section 2.1 requires a 'clear explanation of any infraction and its penalty, ' and I was never given this as the basis at all."
Former Pokemon Judge Professor Rex chimed in, essentially stating that, while rules are rules, there should be a human touch to decide when to be a bit more lax about enforcing them. This ended up with him being removed from the Pokemon Professors Discord and is now awaiting a disciplinary email from Play! Pokemon. Adding: "They deleted all of my messages regarding the incident. Will update everyone when I get my disciplinary email from Play!Pokemon. @Firestar73_ you deserved to win. They can’t silence me on that."
We know Nintendo, and by extension The Pokemon Company, have a very black and white way of looking at things such as competitive scenes. While they're not in the wrong, I agree with Rex that organizers should've just read the room and let it slide with a slap on the wrist at most.
And that's it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: your go-to source for all things Pokemon.