Ian Robb, a top Pokémon TCG player and competitor at this weekend’s World Masters Championship, has been dramatically handed a match loss during the quarterfinal resulting in him missing out on a finals appearance.
The incident follows Robb making a crude hand gesture in his quarterfinal game while facing Fernando Cifuentes earlier today. The decision means Cifuentes progressed ahead of Robb to the semifinal match against Jesse Parker, which Cifuentes ultimately won, booking a ticket to tomorrow’s grand final.
Dot Esports reached out to The Pokémon Company International who said in a statement that “Ian Ross was issued a match loss for unsportsmanlike conduct before the match was concluded.” The loss means that the last North American Masters player and the last Regidrago player have exited in Worlds, leaving us with decks no one saw coming.
Players have been voicing their opinions online following the incident, with some feeling the hand gesture was a dumb choice to make to end your Worlds hopes, while others feel Robb was robbed for something taken out of context. “Ian Robb is an intelligent individual that should know what that hand gesture looks like regardless of what his intentions were,” one said, while others disagreed, believing the punishment issued by judges was way too harsh.
Regardless of the reasoning, Robb was found to have broken the rules according to TPCI which has led to his immediate removal from the tournament. It remains to be seen if he will face any other punishment for future events as TPCI has not announced anything for the time being. Robb, in the meantime, has yet to make a statement on the matter.
Cifuentes, despite the drama, held the nerve to beat their semifinal opponent Parker, booking a surprise meeting against Japan’s Seinosuke Shiokawa in tomorrow’s final which kicks off at around 12pm CT.
