Pokémon Player Disqualified From Tournament for Chatting With His Mom

A Pokémon TCG player has been disqualified from a tournament because his mom was asking him questions about his game while he streamed. Luke 'Celio's Network' Morsa was competing at the Pokémon Online Global Championships 2021 when the bizarre infringement occurred and had made it to Day 2 of the tournament.

Celio's Network was streaming his matches live on Twitch, as the competition was taking place using Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. At points during the stream - the VOD of which he has left up in case the tournament organiser changes their mind - you can hear his mom asking him questions about his match, as she is also a keen Pokémon TCG player.

This interaction was reported to the organiser, and Celio's Network was disqualified for being coached. His name has been deleted from the final leaderboard, and he will presumably forfeit the $50 prize for placing in the top 16.

Read more: Pre-order Pokémon Legends: Arceus to get this sweet Arceus V card

Pokémon Player Disqualified From Tournament for Chatting With His Mom

"I was DQ’d from POG 2021 due to my mom discussing and suggesting plays while in the room with me," Celio's Network writes on Twitter. "I never got any warnings and honestly am desensitized to this due to the resources of online play like Twitch chat, Discord calls, notes. I’ll refer to my place as 14th still.

"I don’t believe I gained any advantage at any point. My mom is very passionate about the game and was upset she didn’t make Day 2 so I allowed her to enjoy the experience with me. I would not have allowed this if I felt immoral or advantageous due to the behaviour."

Viewers point out that Celio's Network did gain information from his mom. Mia, a game designer for Pokémon, replied to his tweet pointing out that his mom told him what cards his opponent pulled after using Cynthia and Cait, as it wasn't listed in the game log.

Celio's Network believes that he was just saving time, and if his mom wasn't there he would have asked his opponent directly but didn't want to disrupt the match.

Celio's Network is a seasoned Pokémon TCG player and is more upset about his name being struck from the leaderboard than any prize money or positioning penalties. However, other Pokémon fans are wondering exactly why he has been disqualified. Some suggest it has come under the "Unsporting Conduct" section of the rules, but there has been no official word as of yet. Gfinity has reached out to Tournament Organiser Limitless TCG for comment.

Many people point out that those who don't stream their matches could be receiving play-by-play coaching for their matches, and there is no way of knowing - Celio's Network feels that the ruling potentially puts on-stream players at a disadvantage. However, Limitless TCG must maintain competitive integrity in its tournaments.