The Pokemon Video Game Championships competitive scene is once again facing a debate over hygiene at tournaments. Donghun Youm, winner of the 2023 Milwaukee Regional Championships, recently wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the body odor of a nearby competitor at the Baltimore Regional Championships was so overwhelming that it severely disrupted his concentration and even made him leave to vomit.
Youm said he was not the only person affected. His friends also struggled to focus and finish the round because of the smell, prompting the group to report the situation to a judge. His message to fellow competitors was simple: "Please take care of your personal hygiene."
"My friends and I couldn't focus at all during that round because the smell was genuinely unbearable," Youm wrote. He did not identify the player involved or say whether tournament officials took any further action after receiving the complaint.
Similar hygiene complaints have surfaced at other esports and trading card game tournaments. Players at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Yu-Gi-Oh! events have previously been accused of disrupting other competitors with strong body odor. In 2023, a professional Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player reportedly scrambled to find deodorant after an opponent commented on his smell. At a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in Japan, a female player once withdrew because she could not tolerate the odor at the venue.
Youm's request was straightforward: competitors should take care of basic personal hygiene before entering the venue so that it does not affect the tournament or the people around them.