An unusual incident occurred at the regional Pokémon championship in Baltimore, which once again raised the issue of personal hygiene at large offline tournaments.
VGC player from Texas and regional champion Donghun Yum said that during the Baltimore Regional Championships 2026, a nearby participant emitted such a strong stench that he literally vomited. According to Yum, due to the stench, he and his friends could not concentrate properly on their matches, after which they reported the problem to the judge. The player who was complained about was not publicly named, and there is no information about what measures the judge took.
Please practice good hygiene. I had a terrible incident at the Baltimore Regional tournament: I threw up because of the terrible smell coming from the player next to me. My friends and I couldn't concentrate on the game in that round because of the stench and even complained to the judge. Seriously, dude...
The requirement to observe basic hygiene is not an unwritten community rule. The official Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook explicitly states that all event attendees must maintain “a socially acceptable level of personal hygiene”. If compliance with this requirement is in question, the organizer decides whether the participant can remain at the event. An attendee who violates the relevant rules may be removed from the tournament premises, and the incident must be reported to Pokémon Organized Play.