For nearly a year, the goal for tens of thousands of Pokémon™ Trading Card Game (TCG) and video game players around the world has been becoming World Champion, but only a few hundred made it to the big stage this weekend, August 14-15, at the 2010 Pokémon World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. When the dust settled after two days of intense competition featuring more than 375 players from over 25 countries, five World Champions were crowned. The Pokémon Company International announced today its 2010 World Champions: Junior TCG World Champion Yuka Furusawa from Japan and Junior video game World Champion Shota Yamamoto from Japan; Senior TCG World Champion Jacob Lesage from Canada and Senior video game World Champion Ray Rizzo from the United States; and Masters TCG World Champion Yuta Komatsuda from Japan.

Many of the world's elite Pokémon TCG and video game players traveled to Hawaii to compete in the prestigious, invite-only Pokémon World Championships, vying for the title of World Champion, custom Nintendo® DSi XL game systems, trophies, vacations, and more than $100,000 in scholarships. Staged as two separate tournaments under the same roof at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, the two-day event emphasized the skill, strategy, creativity, sportsmanship, and fun involved in playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version video games for the Nintendo DS family of systems. Players, called "Trainers," enjoyed an entire weekend of action-packed battles in the tropics to determine the world's best. 

"We are so proud of all the players who competed in another exciting Pokémon World Championships, and we want to extend special congratulations to the 2010 World Champions who battled their way through a truly global event," said J.C. Smith, Director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Company International. "Hawaii was an amazing backdrop for this year's tournament, providing a breathtaking arena for the hundreds of Pokémon players who competed with skill and sportsmanship."

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists -- Junior Division (born in 1999 or later)
World Champion: Yuka Furusawa from Japan
Second Place: Juan Pablo Arenas from the United States

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists -- Senior Division (born in 1995-1998)
World Champion: Jacob Lesage from Canada
Second Place: Mychael Bryan from the United States

2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Finalists -- Masters Division (born in 1994 or earlier)
World Champion: Yuta Komatsuda from Japan
Second Place: Michael Pramawat from the United States

2010 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists -- Junior Division (born in 1998 or later)
World Champion: Shota Yamamoto from Japan
Second Place: Santa Ito from Japan

2010 Pokémon Video Game World Finalists -- Senior Division (born in 1997 or earlier)
World Champion: Ray Rizzo from the United States
Second Place: Yasuki Tochigi from Japan

The official Pokémon World Championships website has also posted a few YouTube clips from the event. The clip also features a cameo appearance by Golgo and Professor Red from Pokémon Sunday.

2010 Pokémon World Championships Winners

2010 Pokémon World Championships Opening Ceremony

Sources: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ & http://www.pokemonworldchampionships.com/2010/