Play Pokemon has finally addressed the Orlando Regional Championships controversy, confirming it will not reverse the penalty that stripped Firestar73 of his Pokemon Go title after his viral post-match celebration.
In a statement published on April 21, the company said judges reviewed the incident and upheld the ruling made during the event.
The Orlando finals sparked major backlash earlier this month after Firestar73 appeared to win the event, only for officials to issue a Game Loss over what was initially viewed by many fans as an “unsportsmanlike” celebration.
Firestar73 later published his own statement, arguing that the ruling was a “good-faith mistake,” and formally asked The Pokemon Company to reverse it. Now, Play Pokemon says there was more to the situation than viewers saw on the broadcast.
Play Pokemon says earlier warning led to final penalty
In its statement, Play Pokemon said Firestar73 had already been given a Warning earlier in the bracket reset during game one for “hitting and shaking the table” while the match was still in progress.
According to the company, that behavior was considered disruptive to players and officials. It then said the issue continued in game five, where the same player allegedly shook the table hard enough to disrupt the broadcast, leading judges to escalate the penalty to a Game Loss.
The company added that it would uphold the judges’ decisions from Orlando and defended the officials involved, saying judges are responsible for protecting the competitive integrity of Play Pokemon events. At the same time, it acknowledged that emotional reactions after a win are normal and said celebrations themselves are not the issue unless they become disruptive or negatively affect competitive integrity.
The response does not appear to have calmed the wider community. In the immediate reaction to the statement, many players and fans argued Play Pokemon was “doubling down” rather than addressing the core complaint, which is that Firestar73’s final celebration came after the match had already ended.
For now, that means Firestar73’s result remains unchanged, despite the player’s formal appeal and the wider push from Pokemon Go fans who wanted the Orlando championship restored.
Players publicly dispute Play Pokemon’s version of events
Play Pokemon’s statement quickly drew public responses from both players involved, with each disputing how the company described the incidents.
Firestar73 said the “incident” Play Pokemon is “now, for the first time, claiming was the basis of the decision did not affect the gameplay at all,” and argued that Section 2.1 of the rules requires “a clear explanation of any infraction and its penalty.”
He added that this was never presented to him as the basis for the ruling.
The Pokemon TCG player penalized in the other streamed match also pushed back, calling the community statement “not accurate.”
He claimed that “two separate head judges” told him he was given a Match Loss for “throwing” his headset down and being “dangerous,” and said, “not a single judge told me I was given a game loss for disrupting the board.”
He also claimed he was not given a fair chance to appeal the ruling because, according to him, judges never clearly explained which rule was being enforced.
In a follow-up reply, he said he was able to appeal the “dangerous” penalty to a higher-up head judge, but not the board disruption ruling because “it was never given to me.”
