NAIC 2026 Championship Sunday Is Here: The First Pokemon Champions Internationals Crowns Its Finalists in New Orleans
The 2026 North America International Championships wrap up today, June 14, in New Orleans, and it is the first Internationals ever played on Pokemon Champions. Here is what is at stake on Championship Sunday and how to watch the finals and earn Twitch Drops.
It is Championship Sunday in New Orleans. The 2026 Pokemon North America International Championships wrap up today, June 14, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and the finals are the last major checkpoint before the World Championships. If you only tune in for one day of an Internationals, this is the one: the Junior, Senior, and Masters finals all run back to back across the afternoon.
A first for the video game side: Pokemon Champions
This is the eighth edition of NAIC, but it carries a genuine first. It is the first International Championship played on Pokemon Champions, the new competitive title that replaces Scarlet and Violet for the VGC circuit. The ruleset is Regulation Set M-A, played with open team lists, so spectators can see exactly what both finalists brought.
That matters for collectors and viewers alike. A new game engine means new team-building conventions, fresh restricted picks, and a metagame that is still being solved in real time on the biggest stage of the season.
What is being decided today
NAIC is one of three official International stops each season, alongside the Latin America and Europe Internationals, and for the video game it is the third and final Internationals of the 2026 campaign. The finals follow the rest of Championship Sunday, with the Pokemon UNITE, Pokemon GO, and Pokemon TCG finals all sharing the stage before the VGC Masters title is settled.
- Championship Points: NAIC awards a large CP payout that can lock up or shuffle Worlds invitations.
- Prize money and packs: Top finishers take home cash plus Pokemon TCG booster packs scaled to attendance.
- Momentum into Worlds: This is the last Internationals before the season finale, so a deep run here is a statement.
How to watch and earn drops
The finals stream live on the official Pokemon Twitch and YouTube channels, with side coverage from community feature stations. The Masters finals are scheduled for roughly 4 p.m. CDT (21:00 UTC). If you watch on the official Twitch broadcast, you can earn watch time toward Twitch Drops across Pokemon Champions, Pokemon TCG Live, Pokemon GO, and Pokemon UNITE.
The last time NAIC was in Louisiana, in 2025, Italy's Federico Camporesi won his first International title in New Orleans. A year later the city hosts the finale of an entirely new competitive era.
Why it matters for the hobby
International finals are where chase decks and breakout players get made. The lists that win or place today tend to ripple straight into local league nights and into demand for the specific cards those decks lean on. If you collect competitively relevant cards, Championship Sunday is worth a watch even if you never sleeve up for a tournament yourself.