Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng, a top name in the Pokémon Video Game Championship series, just made it to the 2023 World Championships in Yokohama, Japan. This will be his first big event in six years.
A Popular Player
Cybertron is famous for his YouTube channel, which has over 200,000 subscribers. He started it in 2010. Besides making videos, he’s been studying, working, and even commentating at the Knoxville and Portland Regionals this year.
A Rough Start
However, things didn’t look good at the start. Cybertron missed the deadline to submit his team for the Fresno Regionals. This mistake meant he lost his first round automatically. He had to do better than a 6-3 record on Day 1 to get his invite to Worlds.
Luckily, he went 8-1, winning all matches except the first due to his penalty.
Cybertron shared his joy on Twitter. He said, “I JUST QUALIFIED FOR THE 2023 POKÉMON VIDEO GAME WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. It’s my first qualification since 2017 after focusing on commentary the last few years. I wanted to show I could balance school, my career, YouTube, commentary, and competing this year. I’m so happy “.
He finished 24th at Fresno but still earned enough points for Worlds. It will be his first time competing there since 2017.
A Dream of Winning
Last year, Cybertron went to the World Championships in London not to compete but to be an analyst. He also shared his dream of winning it someday. This year, he gets another chance.
He showed he’s a top North American player with his performances in Fresno and Vancouver Regionals. He’ll be one to watch at Worlds, alongside other big names.
What’s Next?
The Worlds’ Regulation D ruleset could bring the craziest match-ups yet in Scarlet and Violet. The main event starts in mid-August.
Update: Cybertron told ESN.GG he’s not sure about competing at Worlds yet. He may have to pick between competing and commenting.