Player disqualified for fist pump
Player Firestar73 was disqualified on April 11, 2026 — the day after winning a Pokémon GO event — after judges ruled his celebratory fist pump violated tournament rules and revoked his championship title. The incident was reported as a formal disqualification following the win. (nationaltoday.com)
A Pokémon GO regional winner in Orlando lost his title after judges ruled his postmatch fist pump was unsportsmanlike conduct. (nationaltoday.com) Reports published between April 6 and April 11 say Firestar73 won the final, stood up, removed his headset, raised his fists, and then shook hands with his opponent, nitetimeclasher. Tournament officials later recorded the result as a disqualification and awarded the championship to nitetimeclasher. (ign.com) (nationaltoday.com) The match was the Pokémon GO final at the 2026 Orlando Regional Championships, one of the Play! Pokémon circuit events that feed into the 2026 World Championships season. Coverage from multiple outlets says the deciding set went to a fifth game before the ruling reversed the finish. (powerupgaming.co.uk) (ingamenews.com) Play! Pokémon’s rules framework gives judges broad authority over conduct at sanctioned events. The official rules and resources page links the general tournament handbook, the Pokémon GO handbook, penalty guidelines, and standards of conduct that govern player behavior across the circuit. (pokemon.com 1) (pokemon.com 2) Those documents were updated for the first quarter of 2026 on April 7, according to The Pokémon Company, which said competitive players and judges should review the latest rules before events. The Pokémon GO handbook now carries an April 7, 2026 revision date. (pokemon.com 1) (pokemon.com 2) The ruling drew immediate backlash from players and fans who argued the celebration shown on video looked routine and ended with a handshake. IGN reported that community criticism spread across social media, where posters called the penalty excessive and asked Play! Pokémon to restore the result. (ign.com) (kotaku.com) Some reports also noted uncertainty about the exact trigger for the penalty. In Game News said fans speculated about how the headset was removed, while published accounts still described the official basis as unsportsmanlike conduct tied to the celebration. (ingamenews.com) (nationaltoday.com) As of April 12, 2026, public coverage reviewed for this thread does not show a detailed official explanation from Play! Pokémon beyond the conduct ruling described by reporters and community accounts. That has left the Orlando result standing as a case study in how much discretion judges hold over behavior after the game itself is over. (pokemon.com) (ign.com)
