PogChamps is a series of online amateur chess tournaments hosted by Chess.com. Players in the tournament are internet personalities, primarily Twitchstreamers. 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]
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.[5][2] PogChamps 2's lineup included some players who were not primarily Twitch streamers.[6] This event featured a slightly different format, with a double-round robin group stage.[7] 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.[6] The tournament was ultimately won by World of Warcraft and Hearthstone streamer Hafu (itshafu).[8]
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; YouTubersMrBeast 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.[9] The tournament was won by French streamer Sardoche.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] The tournament was won by Dutch streamer Fundy.
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.[13] 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."[14]
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."[15] 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."[16] GM Anish Giri responded tweeting that he is "in a complete agreement [with Magnus Carlsen] for once."[17]
Nepomniachtchi later clarified saying that he is "obviously happy more and more people are getting involved into chess."[18] 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."[19] In the twitter post he also mentioned that he had previously contributed to PogChamps by coaching PogChamps 2 winner itsHafu.[19] 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."[20]
* Punz loss on forfeit. Win awarded to Tectone by default.
References
^"Chess.com Launches PogChamps With Top Twitch Streamers". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
^ abMurray, Trent (20 July 2020). "Chess.com Returns to Twitch With $50K PogChamps 2 Streamer Tournament". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
^"Pogchamps: All The Information". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
^Scimia, Ed (21 June 2020). "Voyboy Wins Pogchamps Chess Championship, Artemiev Leads Chessable Masters". Online Gambling. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
^Patterson, Calum (19 August 2020). "How to watch Twitch PogChamps 2 chess tournament ft. xQc, Forsen, more". Dexerto. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
^ ab"Chess.com announces The Next Pogchamps". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
^"Pogchamps 2: Twitch Chess Tournament Returns with New Players, Improved Format". Online Gambling. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
^Kane, Jeremy. "PogChamps Final: Hafu Is Champion". Chess.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
^"MrBeast, Pokimane, Rainn Wilson Headline PogChamps 3 Presented by Grip6". Chess.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
^Dave (Dave). "Over $150,000 Raised For Charity As Sardoche Wins PogChamps 3". Chess.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
^"BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: PogChamps 4 presented by @coinbase begins August 29th!!!". Twitter. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
^"PogChamps 4: All The Information". Chess.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^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.
^"Is Pogchamps a good way to promote chess?". ChessTech. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^Ian Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (21 February 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.
^Magnus Carlsen [@MagnusCarlsen] (22 February 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.
^Anish Giri [@anishgiri] (22 February 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.
^Ian Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (22 February 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.
^ abIan Nepomniachtchi [@lachesiq] (22 February 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.
^"Pogchamps". Pogchamps. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
^"PogChamps 3". Pogchamps. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
^"PogChamps 4". Chess.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
Further reading
Grayson, Nathan (September 14, 2020). "Chess Is An Esport, According To Twitch Star And Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura". Kotaku.
This grand master started a chess revolution on Twitch. Fast Company (Video). September 10, 2020.
January 27, 2023
pogchamps, confused, with, pogchamp, series, online, amateur, chess, tournaments, hosted, chess, players, tournament, internet, personalities, primarily, twitch, streamers, takes, place, over, course, weeks, first, second, prize, pools, each, third, fourth, it. Not to be confused with PogChamp 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 PogChampsGameChessFounded2020Owner s Chess comVenue s Twitch online Contents 1 Tournament history 2 Reception 3 Event results 3 1 Overview 3 2 PogChamps 1 3 2 1 Championship bracket 3 2 2 Consolation bracket 3 3 PogChamps 2 3 3 1 Championship bracket 3 3 2 Consolation bracket 3 4 PogChamps 3 3 4 1 Championship bracket 3 4 2 Consolation bracket 3 5 PogChamps 4 3 5 1 Championship bracket 3 5 2 Consolation bracket 4 References 5 Further readingTournament history EditThe 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 citation needed 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 Hafthor Julius Bjornsson played in the tournament for the first time 5 2 PogChamps 2 s lineup included some players who were not primarily Twitch streamers 6 This event featured a slightly different format with a double round robin group stage 7 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 6 The tournament was ultimately won by World of Warcraft and Hearthstone streamer Hafu itshafu 8 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 9 The tournament was won by French streamer Sardoche 10 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 11 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 12 The tournament was won by Dutch streamer Fundy Reception EditChess 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 13 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 14 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 15 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 16 GM Anish Giri responded tweeting that he is in a complete agreement with Magnus Carlsen for once 17 Nepomniachtchi later clarified saying that he is obviously happy more and more people are getting involved into chess 18 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 19 In the twitter post he also mentioned that he had previously contributed to PogChamps by coaching PogChamps 2 winner itsHafu 19 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 20 Event results EditOverview Edit Year Champion Score Runner up Consolation Winner Score Consolation Runner up1 2020 Voyboy 2 0 1 0 Hutch moistcr1tikal 2 0 1 0 ludwig2 itsHafu 2 0 0 0 Gripex90 easywithaces 2 0 0 0 Cizzorz3 2021 Sardoche 2 0 1 0 RainnWilson Neeko 2 0 0 0 MichelleKhare4 Fundy 2 0 1 0 crokeyz MrBeast 2 0 1 0 RubiusPogChamps 1 Edit Group Stage 21 22 Group A Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 Voyboy 1 1 0 22 NateHill 0 1 1 3 fuslie 0 Does not appear 1 1 4 erobb221 1 0 0 Does not appear 1 Group B Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 Hutch 1 1 1 32 Yassuo 0 1 1 23 moistcr1tikal 0 0 Does not appear 1 14 xQcOW 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group C Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 NymN 1 1 1 32 forsen 0 1 1 23 ItsSlikeR 0 0 Does not appear 1 14 xChocoBars 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group D Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 boxbox 1 1 1 32 Papaplatte 0 1 1 23 ludwig 0 0 Does not appear 1 14 Swiftor 0 0 0 Does not appear 0Championship bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal Voyboy2 0 Yassuo0 0 Voyboy2 0 boxbox0 0 boxbox2 0 forsen1 0 Voyboy2 0 Hutch1 0 NymN2 0 Papaplatte0 0 NymN1 0 Hutch2 0 Hutch2 0 NateHill0 0Consolation bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal fuslie0 5 xQcOW1 5 xQcOW1 0 ludwig2 0 ludwig2 0 xChocoBars0 0 ludwig1 0 moistcr1tikal2 0 ItsSlikeR1 0 Swiftor0 0 ItsSlikeR1 0 moistcr1tikal2 0 moistcr1tikal2 0 erobb2210 0PogChamps 2 Edit Group Stage 23 Group A Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 Gripex90 3 2 3 82 forsen 0 3 3 63 Cizzorz 1 0 Does not appear 3 44 CallMeCarsonLIVE 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group B Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 itsHafu 3 3 3 92 DavidPakman 0 3 3 63 easywithaces 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 xQcOW 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group C Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 TFBlade 0 3 3 62 dogdog 3 1 2 63 TSM ZexRow 0 2 Does not appear 3 54 QTCinderella 0 1 0 Does not appear 1 Group D Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 WagamamaTV 3 3 3 92 Hafthorjulius 0 3 3 63 ConnorEatsPants 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 AustinShow 0 0 0 Does not appear 0Championship bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal Gripex902 0 DavidPakman0 0 Gripex902 0 dogdog1 0 WagamamaTV1 0 dogdog2 0 Gripex900 0 itsHafu2 0 TFBlade2 0 Hafthorjulius1 0 TFBlade0 0 itsHafu2 0 itsHafu2 0 forsen0 0Consolation bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal Cizzorz2 5 xQcOW1 5 Cizzorz2 0 QTCinderella0 0 ConnorEatsPants1 0 QTCinderella2 0 Cizzorz0 0 easywithaces2 0 TSM ZexRow2 0 AustinShow0 0 TSM ZexRow0 5 easywithaces1 5 easywithaces2 0 CallMeCarsonLIVE0 0PogChamps 3 Edit Group Stage 24 Group A Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 benjyfishy 3 3 3 92 Sardoche 0 3 3 63 Neeko 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 Myth 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group B Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 xQcOW 3 3 3 92 dnegspoker 0 3 3 63 pokimane 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 Rubius 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group C Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 RainnWilson 2 3 2 72 logic 1 3 3 73 Tubbo 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 MichelleKhare 1 0 0 Does not appear 1 Group D Player 1 2 3 4 Total1 ludwig 2 3 3 82 moistcr1tikal 1 3 3 73 MrBeast6000 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 CodeMiko 0 0 0 Does not appear 0Championship bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal benjyfishy2 0 dnegspoker1 0 benjyfishy0 5 RainnWilson1 5 RainnWilson1 5 moistcr1tikal0 5 RainnWilson1 0 Sardoche2 0 ludwig2 0 logic1 0 ludwig1 0 Sardoche2 0 xQcOW0 0 Sardoche2 0Consolation bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal Neeko2 0 Rubius1 0 Neeko2 0 Tubbo1 0 Tubbo2 0 CodeMiko0 0 Neeko2 0 MichelleKhare0 0 MrBeast60000 0 MichelleKhare2 0 MichelleKhare2 0 pokimane0 0 pokimane2 0 Myth0 0PogChamps 4 Edit Group Stage 25 Group A Player 1 2 3 4 Pts1 5uppp 2 3 3 82 Ludwig 1 2 3 63 MrBeast 0 1 Does not appear 3 44 jakenbakeLIVE 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group B Player 1 2 3 4 Pts1 boxbox 3 3 3 92 Sapnap 0 3 3 63 JustaMinx 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 harrymackofficial 0 0 0 Does not appear 0 Group C Player 1 2 3 4 Pts1 Fundy 3 3 3 92 QTCinderella 0 3 2 53 Tectone 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 NickEh30 0 1 0 Does not appear 1 Group D Player 1 2 3 4 Pts1 crokeyz 3 3 3 92 IamCristinini 0 3 3 63 Rubius 0 0 Does not appear 3 34 Punz 0 0 0 Does not appear 0Championship bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal 5uppp2 0 Sapnap0 0 5uppp0 0 Fundy2 0 IamCristinini0 0 Fundy2 0 Fundy2 0 crokeyz1 0 Ludwig0 5 boxbox1 5 boxbox1 0 crokeyz2 0 crokeyz2 0 QTCinderella0 0Consolation bracket Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal harrymackofficial0 5 MrBeast1 5 MrBeast2 0 Tectone0 0 Punz0 0 Tectone2 0 MrBeast2 0 Rubius1 0 jakenbakeLIVE2 0 JustaMinx0 0 jakenbakeLIVE0 5 Rubius1 5 Rubius2 0 NickEh300 0 Punz loss on forfeit Win awarded to Tectone by default References Edit Chess com Launches PogChamps With Top Twitch Streamers Chess com Retrieved 6 August 2020 a b Murray Trent 20 July 2020 Chess com Returns to Twitch With 50K PogChamps 2 Streamer Tournament The Esports Observer Retrieved 10 September 2020 Pogchamps All The Information Chess com Retrieved 6 August 2020 Scimia Ed 21 June 2020 Voyboy Wins Pogchamps Chess Championship Artemiev Leads Chessable Masters Online Gambling Retrieved 6 August 2020 Patterson Calum 19 August 2020 How to watch Twitch PogChamps 2 chess tournament ft xQc Forsen more Dexerto Retrieved 14 February 2021 a b Chess com announces The Next Pogchamps Chess com Retrieved 6 August 2020 Pogchamps 2 Twitch Chess Tournament Returns with New Players Improved Format Online Gambling Retrieved 26 August 2020 Kane Jeremy PogChamps Final Hafu Is Champion Chess com Retrieved 10 September 2020 MrBeast Pokimane Rainn Wilson Headline PogChamps 3 Presented by Grip6 Chess com January 11 2021 Retrieved January 11 2021 Dave Dave Over 150 000 Raised For Charity As Sardoche Wins PogChamps 3 Chess com Retrieved 2021 03 01 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT PogChamps 4 presented by coinbase begins August 29th Twitter July 6 2021 Retrieved July 6 2021 PogChamps 4 All The Information Chess com July 26 2021 Retrieved July 26 2021 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 Is Pogchamps a good way to promote chess ChessTech 13 June 2020 Retrieved 1 September 2020 Ian Nepomniachtchi lachesiq 21 February 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 Magnus Carlsen MagnusCarlsen 22 February 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 Anish Giri anishgiri 22 February 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 Ian Nepomniachtchi lachesiq 22 February 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 amp fun to watch And indeed it serves the aformentioned purpose Tweet via Twitter a b Ian Nepomniachtchi lachesiq 22 February 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 Chess Twitter Is Something Else on YouTube Chess com on Twitch Twitch Retrieved 6 August 2020 VoyBoy MoistCr1tikal Win Chess com PogChamps Finals chess com Retrieved 6 August 2020 Pogchamps Pogchamps Retrieved 10 September 2020 PogChamps 3 Pogchamps Retrieved 15 February 2021 PogChamps 4 Chess com Retrieved 27 August 2021 Further reading EditGrayson Nathan September 14 2020 Chess Is An Esport According To Twitch Star And Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura Kotaku This grand master started a chess revolution on Twitch Fast Company Video September 10 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title PogChamps amp oldid 1130945050, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
