PogChamps

Last updated
PogChamps
PogChamps logo.svg
Game Chess
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. The first four PogChamps tournaments took place over the course of two weeks, while the fifth iteration lasted four weeks. [1] The first and second PogChamps had prize pools of $50,000 each, [2] [3] and later editions had prize pools of $100,000 each. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Tournament history

The first PogChamps tournament was announced in late May 2020 by Chess.com. The games were played in the 10+5 Rapid Time control and all 16 players were streamers on Twitch. [7] Running from June 5–19, the tournament was won by League of Legends streamer Voyboy. [8] Coaching and commentary was provided primarily by Grandmaster (GM) Hikaru Nakamura and Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Alexandra Botez. [9]

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. [10] [3] PogChamps 2's lineup included some players who were not primarily Twitch streamers. [11] This event featured a slightly different format, with two game matches in the group stage. [12] 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. [11] The tournament was ultimately won by World of Warcraft and Hearthstone streamer Hafu (itshafu). [13]

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. [4] The tournament was won by French streamer Sardoche. [14]

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. [15] 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. [5] 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. [16] For the first time, the event featured over-the-board play. Only the finals were over-the-board, which were held as best of four matches in Los Angeles on August 18. Voice actor and streamer CDawgVA won the tournament. [17]

PogChamps 6 was announced on March 20, 2025 during a Chess.com broadcast. [18] The event was played from April 29 to May 2, and was won by English international footballer Eberechi Eze. [19]

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. [20] 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." [21]

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 Anna 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". [22] 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." [23] GM Anish Giri responded tweeting that he is "in a complete agreement [with Magnus Carlsen] for once." [24]

Nepomniachtchi later clarified saying that he is "obviously happy more and more people are getting involved into chess." [25] 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." [26] In the twitter post he also mentioned that he had previously contributed to PogChamps by coaching PogChamps 2 winner itsHafu. [26] 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." [27]

Event results

Overview

#YearChampionScoreRunner-up
12020Voyboy2.0–1.0Hutch
2 itsHafu 2.0–0.0Gripex90
32021Sardoche2.0–1.0 RainnWilson
4Fundy2.0–1.0crokeyz
52023 CDawgVA 3.0–1.0Franks-is-heres
62025 Eberechi Eze 2.0–0.0 Sapnap

PogChamps 1

Group Stage [28] [29]

Group stage play in the inaugural PogChamps was a single game against each opponent.

Group A
Player1234Total
1Voyboy1102
2NateHill0½1
3 fuslie 0½Does not appear1
4erobb221100Does not appear1
Group B
Player1234Total
1Hutch1113
2Yassuo0112
3 moistcr1tikal 00Does not appear11
4 xQcOW 000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1NymN1113
2 forsen 0112
3ItsSlikeR00Does not appear11
4 xChocoBars 000Does not appear0
Group D
Player1234Total
1boxbox1113
2 Papaplatte 0112
3 ludwig 00Does not appear11
4Swiftor000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Voyboy2.0
Yassuo 0.0
Voyboy2.0
boxbox 0.0
boxbox2.0
forsen 1.0
Voyboy2.0
Hutch 1.0
NymN2.0
Papaplatte 0.0
NymN 1.0
Hutch2.0
Hutch2.0
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
ItsSlikeR1.0
Swiftor 0.0
ItsSlikeR 1.0
moistcr1tikal 2.0
moistcr1tikal 2.0
erobb221 0.0

PogChamps 2

Group Stage [30]

Beginning with PogChamps 2, group stage play went to a new format consisting of two-game matches 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
2 forsen 0336
3Cizzorz10Does not appear34
4CallMeCarsonLIVE000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Total
1 itsHafu 3339
2 DavidPakman 0336
3easywithaces00Does not appear33
4 xQcOW 000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1TFBlade0336
2dogdog3126
3TSM_ZexRow02Does not appear35
4 QTCinderella 010Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Total
1WagamamaTV3339
2 Hafthorjulius 0336
3ConnorEatsPants00Does not appear33
4 AustinShow 000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Gripex902.0
DavidPakman 0.0
Gripex902.0
dogdog 1.0
WagamamaTV 1.0
dogdog2.0
Gripex90 0.0
itsHafu 2.0
TFBlade2.0
Hafthorjulius 1.0
TFBlade 0.0
itsHafu 2.0
itsHafu 2.0
forsen 0.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Cizzorz2.5
xQcOW 1.5
Cizzorz2.0
QTCinderella 0.0
ConnorEatsPants 1.0
QTCinderella 2.0
Cizzorz 0.0
easywithaces2.0
TSM_ZexRow2.0
AustinShow 0.0
TSM_ZexRow 0.5
easywithaces1.5
easywithaces2.0
CallMeCarsonLIVE 0.0

PogChamps 3

Group Stage [31]
Group A
Player1234Total
1benjyfishy3339
2Sardoche033 6
3 Neeko 00Does not appear33
4 Myth 000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Total
1 xQcOW 333 9
2 dnegspoker 0336
3 pokimane 00Does not appear33
4 Rubius 000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Total
1 RainnWilson 232 7
2 logic 133 7
3 Tubbo 00Does not appear33
4 MichelleKhare 100Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Total
1 ludwig 2338
2 moistcr1tikal 1337
3 MrBeast6000 00Does not appear33
4 CodeMiko 000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
benjyfishy2.0
dnegspoker 1.0
benjyfishy 0.5
RainnWilson 1.5
RainnWilson 1.5
moistcr1tikal 0.5
RainnWilson 1.0
Sardoche2.0
ludwig 2.0
logic 1.0
ludwig 1.0
Sardoche2.0
xQcOW 0.0
Sardoche2.0
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 [5]
Group A
Player1234Pts
15uppp2338
2 Ludwig 1236
3 MrBeast 01Does not appear34
4jakenbakeLIVE000Does not appear0
Group B
Player1234Pts
1boxbox3339
2 Sapnap 0336
3JustaMinx00Does not appear33
4 harrymackofficial 000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Pts
1Fundy3339
2 QTCinderella 0325
3Tectone00Does not appear33
4 NickEh30 010Does not appear1
Group D
Player1234Pts
1crokeyz3339
2IamCristinini0336
3 Rubius 00Does not appear33
4Punz000Does not appear0
Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
5uppp2.0
Sapnap 0.0
5uppp 0.0
Fundy2.0
IamCristinini 0.0
Fundy2.0
Fundy2.0
crokeyz 1.0
Ludwig 0.5
boxbox1.5
boxbox 1.0
crokeyz2.0
crokeyz2.0
QTCinderella 0.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
harrymackofficial 0.5
MrBeast 1.5
MrBeast 2.0
Tectone 0.0
Punz 0.0*
Tectone2.0*
MrBeast 2.0
Rubius 1.0
jakenbakeLIVE2.0
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 [1]
Group A
Player1234Pts
1 CDawgVA 3238
2Franks-is-heres0325
3 Jarvis 10Does not appear34
4 Sykkuno 010Does not appear1
Group B
Player1234Pts
1 Ghastly 2237
2 Sapnap 1236
3 Wirtual 11Does not appear35
4Daily Dose of Internet000Does not appear0
Group C
Player1234Pts
1 xQc 3339
2 Tyler1 0235
3Squeex01Does not appear34
4 Jinnytty 000Does not appear0
Group D
Player1234Pts
1 I did a thing 1337
2Papaplatte2136
3 QTCinderella 02Does not appear24
4 Fuslie 001Does 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-heres2.0
Franks-is-heres2.0
xQc 0.0
xQc 2.5
Papaplatte 1.5
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Jarvis 0.0
Daily Dose of Internet2.0
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
Squeex2.0
Fuslie 0.0

PogChamps 6

Group Stage [1]
Group A
Player123456Pts
1 Eberechi Eze 2223312
2Sambucha1233312
3Inoxtag1133311
4Mongraal100337
5LydiaViolet000033
6Linzor000000
Group B
Player123456Pts
1 WolfeyVGC 3333*315
2 Stephen Nedoroscik 0333312
3 Sapnap 003227
4Filian000235
5 DrLupo 0*01135
6 Hungrybox 0010011

* DrLupo won the match 2-0, but was disqualified from the tournament for cheating using a chess engine. [32]

Championship bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Eberechi Eze 2.0
Stephen Nedoroscik 2.0 Stephen Nedoroscik 0.0
Inoxtag 1.0 Eberechi Eze2.0
Sapnap 0.0
WolfeyVGC 1.0
Sambucha 0.0 Sapnap2.0
Sapnap 2.0
Consolation bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Mongraal2.0
Hungrybox 1.0 Linzor 0.0
Linzor2.0 Mongraal2.0
LydiaViolet 0.0
Filian 0.0
LydiaViolet1.5 LydiaViolet2.0
Macaiyla* 0.5

* Entered the consolation bracket in place of the disqualified DrLupo.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Schedule". PogChamps. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  2. "Chess.com Launches PogChamps With Top Twitch Streamers". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. 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.
  4. 1 2 "MrBeast, Pokimane, Rainn Wilson Headline PogChamps 3 Presented by Grip6". Chess.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "PogChamps 4: All The Information". Chess.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  6. "PogChamps 5: Where Chess Meets Celebrities". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  7. "Pogchamps: All The Information". Chess.com. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  8. Scimia, Ed (21 June 2020). "Voyboy Wins Pogchamps Chess Championship, Artemiev Leads Chessable Masters". Online Gambling. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  9. "PogChamps | POGchess". www.pogchess.com. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  10. Patterson, Calum (19 August 2020). "How to watch Twitch PogChamps 2 chess tournament ft. xQc, Forsen, more". Dexerto. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Chess.com announces The Next Pogchamps". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  12. "Pogchamps 2: Twitch Chess Tournament Returns with New Players, Improved Format". Online Gambling. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  13. Kane, Jeremy (7 September 2020). "PogChamps Final: Hafu Is Champion". Chess.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. Dave (Dave) (28 February 2021). "Over $150,000 Raised For Charity As Sardoche Wins PogChamps 3". Chess.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  15. "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: PogChamps 4 presented by @coinbase begins August 29th!!!". Twitter. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  16. "Home". PogChamps. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  17. Pinhata, Pedro (2023-08-18). "CDawgVA Delivers Swindle Of The Century To Become The Fifth PogChampion". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  18. "State Of Chess: PogChamps, Chessable Courses, Fair Play Status, Product Updates, & More". Chess.com. March 21, 2025. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  19. Hills, David (3 May 2025). "Eze does it: England footballer wins celebrity chess tournament". The Guardian.
  20. 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.
  21. Llada, David; Löffler, Stefan (13 June 2020). "Is Pogchamps a good way to promote chess?". ChessTech. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
  26. 1 2 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.
  27. "Chess Twitter Is Something Else" on YouTube
  28. "Chess.com on Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  29. "VoyBoy, MoistCr1tikal Win Chess.com PogChamps Finals". chess.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  30. "Pogchamps". Pogchamps. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  31. "PogChamps 3". Pogchamps. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  32. Chalk, Andy (May 1, 2025). "DrLupo admits to cheating in $100,000 online chess tournament, faces brutal backlash from Reddit: 'Dude went from 'what's a horsey?' to 'I can see 15 moves ahead' in 2 minutes'". PC Gamer . Retrieved May 1, 2025.

Further reading