PogChamps
GameChess
Founded2020
Owner(s)Chess.com
Venue(s)Twitch (online)

PogChamps is a series of online amateur chess tournaments hosted by Chess.com. Players in the tournament are internet personalities, primarily Twitch streamers. PogChamps takes place over the course of two weeks. The first and second PogChamps had prize pools of $50,000 each, and the third and fourth iterations had prize pools of $100,000 each.[1][2]

Tournament history

The first PogChamps tournament was announced in late May 2020 by Chess.com. The games were in a Rapid 10+5 Time control and all 16 players were streamers on Twitch.[3] Running from June 5–19, the tournament was won by League of Legends streamer Voyboy.[4] Coaching and commentary was provided primarily by Grandmaster (GM) Hikaru Nakamura and Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Alexandra Botez.[5]

PogChamps 2 was announced on July 20, 2020 and was played from August 21 through September 6. Some players returned from the first tournament, while others (such as David Pakman and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) played in the tournament for the first time.[6][2] PogChamps 2's lineup included some players who were not primarily Twitch streamers.[7] This event featured a slightly different format, with a double-round robin group stage.[8] Coaches included previously mentioned Nakamura and Botez, as well as GM Daniel Naroditsky, Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Qiyu Zhou, International Master (IM) Anna Rudolf and IM Levy Rozman.[7] The tournament was ultimately won by World of Warcraft and Hearthstone streamer Hafu (itshafu).[9]

PogChamps 3 was announced on January 11, 2021 and was played from February 14 through February 28. Notable contestants for the third event include streamers xQc (marking his third time participating), Ludwig and MoistCr1tikal (marking their second times participating), as well as Myth, Pokimane, and Neekolul; YouTubers MrBeast and Michelle Khare, rapper Logic, actor Rainn Wilson and poker player Daniel Negreanu. In the announcement article, Chess.com noted how previous PogChamps tournaments, as well as other external events such as the success of The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, had led to a dramatic increase in the number of site registrations and daily games played, allowing them to gain several sponsorships for the third iteration of the series, which in turn led to an increased prize pool of $100,000.[10] The tournament was won by French streamer Sardoche.[11]

PogChamps 4 was announced in a video via Chess.com's official Twitter account on July 6, 2021 to be played beginning on August 29. Sponsored by cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase, the fourth iteration of the tournament has a $100,000 prize pool, with Chess.com matching up to $100,000 additionally for charity. In a Chess.com stream of the FIDE World Cup, Daniel Naroditsky confirmed that previous PogChamps participants MrBeast and Ludwig will return.[12] This information was further corroborated by an article announcing that in addition to MrBeast and Ludwig returning, notable Spanish streamer Rubius would return as well for the fourth iteration of the event.[13] The tournament was won by Dutch streamer Fundy.

PogChamps 5 was announced on June 29, 2023 from a Chess.com announcement video on YouTube. The event began on July 26.[14] For the first time, the event featured over-the-board play. Only the finals were over-the-board, where it was held in Los Angeles on August 18.

Reception

Chess.com claimed that viewership for the first tournament exceeded its "ambitious estimates." Trent Murray of The Esports Observer commented that the number of hours of chess watched on Twitch increased in June 2020, the month in which the first PogChamps took place.[15] Viewership increased especially after video of Cr1TiKaL checkmating xQc within 6 moves went viral. David Llada, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for FIDE, said that the competition "demonstrates that chess can be fun from minute one."[16]

The reaction to PogChamps from the Chess community has been mixed. While GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky, and Robert Hess; IMs Anna Rudolf, Levy "GothamChess" Rozman, and Daniel Rensch; WGM Zhou; and WFMs Botez and Cramling have all supported PogChamps by coaching players and providing commentary for the matches, a few others have been critical of its popularity and growth. In February 2021, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi tweeted saying PogChamps 3 is promoted "as a popcorn stuff" and "is replacing and displacing any real chess content."[17] GM Magnus Carlsen has called PogChamps a "good initiative" and tweeted that "[PogChamps 3] is doing a great job in [bringing] chess to more people."[18] GM Anish Giri responded tweeting that he is "in a complete agreement [with Magnus Carlsen] for once."[19]

Nepomniachtchi later clarified saying that he is "obviously happy more and more people are getting involved into chess."[20] He voiced his concern saying the "indisputable success of Chess.com Pogchamps might set a new standard of a chess show" and he "can’t be sure it won’t prevail over other formats."[21] In the twitter post he also mentioned that he had previously contributed to PogChamps by coaching PogChamps 2 winner itsHafu.[21] GM Nakamura has shared his perspective on multiple occasions, supporting the tournament saying that "anything that brings chess to a bigger audience, anything where people can get into the game (and) understand it, is always going to be helpful for growing the game without a doubt."[22]

Event results

Overview

# Year Champion Score Runner-up
1 2020 Voyboy 2.0–1.0 Hutch
2 itsHafu 2.0–0.0 Gripex90
3 2021 Sardoche 2.0–1.0 RainnWilson
4 Fundy 2.0–1.0 crokeyz
5 2023 CDawgVA 3.0–1.0 Franks-is-heres

PogChamps 1

Group Stage[23][24]

Group stage play was a single game against each opponent.

Group A
Player1234Total
1Voyboy1102
2NateHill0½1
3fuslie0½Does not appear1
4erobb221100Does not appear1
Group B
Player1234Total
1Hutch1113
2Yassuo0112
3moistcr1tikal00Does not appear11
4xQcOW000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1NymN1113
2forsen0112
3ItsSlikeR00Does not appear11
4xChocoBars000Does not appear0
Group D
Player1234Total
1boxbox1113
2Papaplatte0112
3ludwig00Does not appear11
4Swiftor000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Voyboy 2.0
Yassuo 0.0
Voyboy 2.0
boxbox 0.0
boxbox 2.0
forsen 1.0
Voyboy 2.0
Hutch 1.0
NymN 2.0
Papaplatte 0.0
NymN 1.0
Hutch 2.0
Hutch 2.0
NateHill 0.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
fuslie 0.5
xQcOW 1.5
xQcOW 1.0
ludwig 2.0
ludwig 2.0
xChocoBars 0.0
ludwig 1.0
moistcr1tikal 2.0
ItsSlikeR 1.0
Swiftor 0.0
ItsSlikeR 1.0
moistcr1tikal 2.0
moistcr1tikal 2.0
erobb221 0.0

PogChamps 2

Group Stage[25]

Beginning with PogChamps 2, group stage play went to a two game match format against each opponent. 3 points were awarded for winning a match outright and 2 points were awarded for winning a match via a tiebreaker game. The loser of the tiebreaker game would receive 1 point.

Group A
Player1234Total
1Gripex903238
2forsen0336
3Cizzorz10Does not appear34
4CallMeCarsonLIVE000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Total
1itsHafu3339
2DavidPakman0336
3easywithaces00Does not appear33
4xQcOW000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1TFBlade0336
2dogdog3126
3TSM_ZexRow02Does not appear35
4QTCinderella010Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Total
1WagamamaTV3339
2Hafthorjulius0336
3ConnorEatsPants00Does not appear33
4AustinShow000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Gripex90 2.0
DavidPakman 0.0
Gripex90 2.0
dogdog 1.0
WagamamaTV 1.0
dogdog 2.0
Gripex90 0.0
itsHafu 2.0
TFBlade 2.0
Hafthorjulius 1.0
TFBlade 0.0
itsHafu 2.0
itsHafu 2.0
forsen 0.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Cizzorz 2.5
xQcOW 1.5
Cizzorz 2.0
QTCinderella 0.0
ConnorEatsPants 1.0
QTCinderella 2.0
Cizzorz 0.0
easywithaces 2.0
TSM_ZexRow 2.0
AustinShow 0.0
TSM_ZexRow 0.5
easywithaces 1.5
easywithaces 2.0
CallMeCarsonLIVE 0.0

PogChamps 3

Group Stage[26]
Group A
Player1234Total
1benjyfishy3339
2Sardoche033 6
3Neeko00Does not appear33
4Myth000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Total
1xQcOW333 9
2dnegspoker0336
3pokimane00Does not appear33
4Rubius000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1RainnWilson232 7
2logic133 7
3Tubbo00Does not appear33
4MichelleKhare100Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Total
1ludwig2338
2moistcr1tikal1337
3MrBeast600000Does not appear33
4CodeMiko000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
benjyfishy 2.0
dnegspoker 1.0
benjyfishy 0.5
RainnWilson 1.5
RainnWilson 1.5
moistcr1tikal 0.5
RainnWilson 1.0
Sardoche 2.0
ludwig 2.0
logic 1.0
ludwig 1.0
Sardoche 2.0
xQcOW 0.0
Sardoche 2.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Neeko 2.0
Rubius 1.0
Neeko 2.0
Tubbo 1.0
Tubbo 2.0
CodeMiko 0.0
Neeko 2.0
MichelleKhare 0.0
MrBeast6000 0.0
MichelleKhare 2.0
MichelleKhare 2.0
pokimane 0.0
pokimane 2.0
Myth 0.0

PogChamps 4

Group Stage[27]
Group A
Player1234Pts
15uppp2338
2Ludwig1236
3MrBeast01Does not appear34
4jakenbakeLIVE000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Pts
1boxbox3339
2Sapnap0336
3JustaMinx00Does not appear33
4harrymackofficial000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Pts
1Fundy3339
2QTCinderella0325
3Tectone00Does not appear33
4NickEh30010Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Pts
1crokeyz3339
2IamCristinini0336
3Rubius00Does not appear33
4Punz000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
5uppp 2.0
Sapnap 0.0
5uppp 0.0
Fundy 2.0
IamCristinini 0.0
Fundy 2.0
Fundy 2.0
crokeyz 1.0
Ludwig 0.5
boxbox 1.5
boxbox 1.0
crokeyz 2.0
crokeyz 2.0
QTCinderella 0.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
harrymackofficial 0.5
MrBeast 1.5
MrBeast 2.0
Tectone 0.0
Punz 0.0*
Tectone 2.0*
MrBeast 2.0
Rubius 1.0
jakenbakeLIVE 2.0
JustaMinx 0.0
jakenbakeLIVE 0.5
Rubius 1.5
Rubius 2.0
NickEh30 0.0

* Punz loss on forfeit. Win awarded to Tectone by default.

PogChamps 5

Group Stage
Group A
Player1234Pts
1CDawgVA3238
2Franks-is-heres0325
3Jarvis10Does not appear34
4Sykkuno010Does not appear1
Group B
Player1234Pts
1Ghastly2237
2Sapnap1236
3Wirtual11Does not appear35
4Daily Dose of Internet000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Pts
1xQc3339
2Tyler10235
3Squeex01Does not appear34
4Jinnytty000Does not appear0
Group D
Player1234Pts
1I did a thing1337
2Papaplatte2136
3QTCinderella02Does not appear24
4Fuslie001Does not appear1
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
CDawgVA 2.0
Sapnap 1.0
CDawgVA 2.0
I did a thing 0.0
I did a thing 2.0
Tyler1 0.0
CDawgVA 3.0
Franks-is-heres 1.0
Ghastly 1.0
Franks-is-heres 2.0
Franks-is-heres 2.0
xQc 0.0
xQc 2.5
Papaplatte 1.5
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Jarvis 0.0
Daily Dose of Internet 2.0
Daily Dose of Internet 0.0
QTCinderella 2.0
QTCinderella 2.0
Jinnytty 0.0
QTCinderella 0.0
Wirtual 3.0
Wirtual 2.0
Sykkuno 0.0
Wirtual 2.0
Squeex 0.0
Squeex 2.0
Fuslie 0.0

References

  1. "Chess.com Launches PogChamps With Top Twitch Streamers". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 Murray, Trent (20 July 2020). "Chess.com Returns to Twitch With $50K PogChamps 2 Streamer Tournament". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  3. "Pogchamps: All The Information". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. Scimia, Ed (21 June 2020). "Voyboy Wins Pogchamps Chess Championship, Artemiev Leads Chessable Masters". Online Gambling. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  5. "PogChamps | POGchess". www.pogchess.com. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  6. Patterson, Calum (19 August 2020). "How to watch Twitch PogChamps 2 chess tournament ft. xQc, Forsen, more". Dexerto. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Chess.com announces The Next Pogchamps". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  8. "Pogchamps 2: Twitch Chess Tournament Returns with New Players, Improved Format". Online Gambling. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  9. Kane, Jeremy (7 September 2020). "PogChamps Final: Hafu Is Champion". Chess.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. "MrBeast, Pokimane, Rainn Wilson Headline PogChamps 3 Presented by Grip6". Chess.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. Dave (Dave) (28 February 2021). "Over $150,000 Raised For Charity As Sardoche Wins PogChamps 3". Chess.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  12. "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: PogChamps 4 presented by @coinbase begins August 29th!!!". Twitter. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  13. "PogChamps 4: All The Information". Chess.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  14. "Home". PogChamps. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  15. Murray, Trent (23 July 2020). "How Chess.com is Taking Chess 'Off Its Pedestal' Through Twitch Streamer Engagement". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  16. Llada, David; Löffler, Stefan (13 June 2020). "Is Pogchamps a good way to promote chess?". ChessTech. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  17. Ian Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (February 21, 2021). "With all respect towards @chesscom and amount of work they put into promoting chess, #PogChamps3 as a popcorn stuff is replacing and displacing any real chess content and this is just terrifying. #sad" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  18. Magnus Carlsen [@MagnusCarlsen] (February 22, 2021). "I do think the event is doing a great job in bringing chess to more people, I'd never stoop as low as to watch it myself though. If I did watch, I'd probably be rooting for Ludwig" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  19. Anish Giri [@anishgiri] (February 22, 2021). "Tell me you mean @LudwigAhgren and not @gmjlh and we are in a complete agreement for once. Right-facing fistLeft-facing fist #PogChamps3" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  20. Ian Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (February 22, 2021). "Thanks for the dialogue and the passion everyone :) To clarify a little: 1. I'm obviously happy more and more people are getting involved into chess. 2. Although I'm not the biggest fan of #PogChamps, the show is easy&fun to watch. And indeed it serves the aformentioned purpose" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  21. 1 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (February 22, 2021). "3. What are my concerns? Indisputable success of @chesscom #Pogchamps might set a new standard of a chess show, and I can't be sure it won't prevail over other formats. 4. And yes, I actually contributed there a little by a coaching session with @itshafu Smiling face with open mouth Peace for everyone!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  22. "Chess Twitter Is Something Else" on YouTube
  23. "Chess.com on Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  24. "VoyBoy, MoistCr1tikal Win Chess.com PogChamps Finals". chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  25. "Pogchamps". Pogchamps. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  26. "PogChamps 3". Pogchamps. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  27. "PogChamps 4". Chess.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

Further reading

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