Peruvian 15-year-old becomes Pokémon world runner-up and prepares for Singapore tournament

At 15, Carlos Verástegui has already reached one of the biggest milestones of his competitive Pokémon career: second place at the Pokémon Champions World Championship in the United States.

He faced players from Europe, North America, South America and Asia at the tournament held in late August. The result brought recognition to Peruvian talent in esports and opened the next challenge for the young player, the 2027 Pokémon World Championship in Singapore.

Carlos started playing Pokémon titles such as Pokémon X and Pokémon Ruby on a Nintendo 3DS during primary school. He entered the competitive circuit about three years ago after his father, Pablo Verástegui, found information about tournaments on social media and accompanied him to one. That first experience encouraged Carlos to compete more regularly.

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You make one mistake and the game may be almost decided.

Pokémon Champions is a free video game focused exclusively on strategic battles. Players select six Pokémon and prepare them for each opponent, making anticipation and decision-making central to every match. “You make one mistake and the game may be almost decided,” Carlos said.

His parents supported his effort to reach the world championship during the past year. Although this was his first world event, Carlos had already competed internationally in Brazil, England and the United States. Those results gave him the points needed to represent Peru and later Latin America. “I am very grateful to them, because without the help they have given me, honestly, I would not be here,” he said of his parents.

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I am very grateful to them, because without the help they have given me, honestly, I would not be here.