Pokémon World Championships Take Over Moscone August 28 to 30, and Badges Are Sold Out

The 2026 Pokémon World Championships run Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30 at the Moscone Center, with the final matches moving to Chase Center on Sunday. Organizers expect more than 50,000 people across the three days, and the street closures around Moscone are already in effect.

Badges Are Sold Out

Entry badges for both the World Championships and PokémonXP, the fan convention running alongside it, are sold out, and there is no entry to Moscone without one. KQED reported on August 20 that the interest lists for badge purchases closed months ago, including the last one, for single-day access.

A badge is tied to the buyer’s name and Pokémon Trainer Central account, and you have to show government-issued ID at Moscone to pick it up. A badge resold by a stranger will not get you in.

How to Follow It Without a Badge

Competitions, panels and award ceremonies stream free at PokemonXP.com.

The night before, the Giants host Pokémon Worlds Night at Oracle Park during their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, August 27, with Pokémon GO activations around the ballpark and a themed drone show afterward. The Pokémon Worlds Night ticket package is sold out, but single-game tickets to the Giants game were still on sale as of August 20, and the Giants say ticket holders can stay for the drone show.

The Championships Themselves

Worlds brings together players who qualified through points earned at local, regional and international tournaments over the year, competing in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO, Pokémon UNITE and the new Pokémon Champions video game. Kids and adults compete in separate age divisions, with the junior division for players 12 and under. This is the second time San Francisco has hosted the event, and the franchise turns 30 this year.

Moscone North, South and West are all in use, according to the Moscone Center’s event listing.

What Is Closed Around Moscone

From SFMTA’s August 20 traffic advisory:

Full closures: Howard Street between 3rd and 4th is closed from 6am Wednesday, August 19 through 6:30pm Tuesday, September 1. Minna Street between 4th Street and 500 feet west of 4th is closed 6am to 9pm daily from Tuesday, August 25 through Sunday, August 30.

Partial closures over the same August 19 to September 1 window: Howard between Hawthorne and 3rd, 3rd between Folsom and Mission, Folsom between 3rd and 4th, and 4th between Howard and Folsom.

Muni: SFMTA says there is no impact on Muni service, with minor delays possible in the event area.

Parking and taxis: The 5th and Mission, Moscone Center and Ellis-O’Farrell garages are open. A taxi zone is set on the east side of 3rd between Howard and Folsom and on the south side of Howard between 4th and 5th.

Getting There

Powell Street and Montgomery Street stations, both served by BART and Muni Metro, are a few blocks from Moscone. For the Sunday finals at Chase Center, Muni runs the 78X Arena Express between the 16th Street Mission BART station and the arena, starting two and a half hours before the event and running until the crowd clears afterward. Parking meters near Chase Center charge a special event rate of $13 an hour for events drawing more than 10,000 people.

Our downtown San Francisco guide covers what is walkable from Yerba Buena Gardens, and the August guide has the rest of the month.

Photo: Guilhem Vellut, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.