The 2026 Pokémon World Championships have come to an end, and with them, so does the Pokémon UNITE Championship Series (UCS). I spent much of the weekend holding back tears when I thought about what that meant. But being in a venue full of people and having a job to do, I tamped those emotions down. Writing this is, for me, a way to finally process what the end of the UCS means to me. While I will miss it dearly, the UCS’s sunsetting fills me with both an immense sense of pride in my accomplishments, and also a peaceful sense of closure.
It would be easy to say that UCS ending hits so hard because I was there from the day it launched and saw it through to the end, but there’s more to it than that.
Overwatch ignited my interest in esports 10 years ago. I was going into college for journalism when it dropped, and it quickly became my favorite game of all time. I started by watching the Overwatch World Cup but was engrossed from the start of the Overwatch League (OWL). From there, I knew exactly what I wanted: to work in the OWL.
Thankfully, a social media role opened with the Boston Uprising right as I graduated – somehow, I got it. It was a dream job, but I was green. The first time I flew to Los Angeles to meet the team, I was shy. I was afraid to speak up. I was a starstruck, and I didn’t want to intrude to get the content I needed. That first season, in 2019, was mostly a chance to get my bearings.
Going into the 2020 season, I was ready. I had earned the trust of the higher-ups, I had come to the table with ideas for a social media rebranding, and I was prepared with a whole slew of content ideas for our globe-trotting season.
Then, COVID-19.
All the growth, all the planning, all the upward momentum, dashed in an instant. I’m proud of how my team pivoted to an all-remote season. We did better than most, hitting the ground running with remote media captures and new content series, but the wind was knocked out of my sails. Much of my excitement for the 2020 season was wrapped up in the promise of travel. I knew that a post-COVID OWL wouldn’t be the same OWL I dreamed of, and I left before the start of the 2021 season. It was bittersweet, leaving my team for something new. To this day, I still wonder what could’ve been if I’d stayed.
I never got closure.
While working on a different project at Esports Engine (EE) in 2021, Pokémon UNITE released. I love Pokémon, and I had never played a MOBA team battler before, so I was ecstatic to jump in. When I later found out that EE would be involved in UNITE esports, I was adamant that I wanted to be involved. Just like in 2019, somehow I got my wish.
2022 mirrored 2019 in a lot of ways: I spent my first year on UCS earning the trust of TPCi and learning the ropes of the brand – the cardinal rules, general do’s & don’ts, the little quirks of wording things just so. There was also the matter of learning what the community would be like and how best to serve it. Worlds came around, and there was even more to learn. It was the first time I had worked in-person with players in two and a half years, and it was the first time capturing content in so many languages. I made mistakes, and I learned from them.
Going into the 2023 season, I felt confident once again. Some of the guardrails came off as TPCi trusted me with their brand, allowing me to embrace the wackiness of the UCS and its community. My team and I produced more content, I leaned into a more loose and playful tone, and I tried to deliver what the fans wanted to see. From there, it felt like smooth sailing. Sure, the game and the esport had ups and downs, but I always felt confident in myself and was proud of what my team and I brought to the table.
The Worlds draw shows, Snacks with Snax, ZOINKS’ Power Rankings, The Worlds caster reveal videos, cheesy UNITE-themed pickup lines, and a whole lot of absurd GIFs.
I leaned into the jokes, giving them extra life on socials: The World’s Largest Marble, The Stairs, Obuyan’s antics and LeL’s sunglasses.
More than that, I tried to do right by the players. I constantly looked for ways to highlight their success, give them a platform to share strong builds and their best tips, or just to introduce themselves to a wider audience and convey their excitement for competing at live events. I wanted to balance entertainment and education, and I’m happy with the mix I achieved from 2023-2025.
My favorite part of it all, by far, was getting to work at all 5 World Championships. My love of esports goes beyond the games: I love live events. Sports, concerts, you name it. I love the energy you feel from a cheering crowd. I love watching people put their talents on full display. I love sensing the passion of those performers, as they strive to give their very best in every moment. There’s a beautiful human element when everyone (cheesy as it sounds) unites in a shared experience, bonded by a common interest.
Seeing people travel from all around the world to be part of the same moment in time is moving. Getting to play even a small part in bringing that moment to the world is a huge honor. I long ago stopped caring about whether esports are sports, or what anyone outside esports thinks of it. All that matters is what you feel, what I feel, when we’re in that moment. It’s energy, it’s joy, it’s life. It’s part of the human experience, and it’s beautiful.
When I hit the floor of the Chase Center last weekend, the lights turned purple and orange one last time, and the crowd started to cheer, it moved me in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
How bittersweet is it for an esport’s biggest day to be its last? How perfect is it for our proudest moment to be a bookend for all those moments in between?
And it’s at this point in writing that the tears I held for a week finally flowed. It’s over. It’s all really over.
It may sound melodramatic for a 29 year old man to cry about this, but the UCS was such a large part of my life for the last 5 years. Less so in 2026, but for 4 straight years, it was my job day in and day out to bring life to this esport. My story is forever intertwined with that of the UCS. It changed my life in many ways. It’s hard to be so close to something and not feel the pain when it’s gone.
Several times over the weekend, I had to start sentences with “If I don’t see you again…” There are countless people in our lives that we’ll never see again but just don’t know it yet. But it’s something different when you recognize it as it’s happening. To every person who touched the UCS that I may never see again: Thank you for the energy you brought to each event. Thank you for bringing so much joy to my life. Thank you for helping me grow. I wish you nothing but the best in your next journey. I’ve always been rooting for you, but now it’s as Matthew, not @UNITEesports.
As I said at the beginning of this piece, the end of the UCS brings me both pride and closure. I’m proud of my personal development over the past 5 years. I’m not the same person I was in 2022, in or out of my job. I’m proud of the body of work I’ll leave behind, and I’m proud of the skills I’ll take to my next endeavor.
To echo spragels’ sentiment from Championship Sunday: I had the privilege of writing the very first post from the UNITE Esports accounts, and I’ll have the honor of writing the very last one. I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to see a project through from beginning to end like this again, so I will cherish this forever.
I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to be the voice of UNITE Esports, not just for a time, but at every single step, from start to finish. If I don’t get to work on another World Championships in 2027 or beyond, I can confidently say that I’m satisfied with what I accomplished in the 5 years that I had with UCS.
I have my closure.
It was a great run. Thank you all.
See you on Aeos Island.
Matthew Shiflet 