Young Pokemon competitor Noah Alampay faces huge growth opportunity

SAN FRANCISCO, United States -- Noah Alampay turned heads in his first Pokemon World Championships stint in San Francisco, USA over the weekend. 

After topping the Pokemon video game competition (VGC) Day 1 for the seniors’ division with an undefeated 8-0-0 record in Pokemon Champions, Alampay looked primed to make a deep run in the worlds. 

However, he suffered back-to-back losses in Day 2. Still, she finished within the top cut, and earned a bye in Round 11. 

But the Filipino fell in the quarterfinals against Lucas de Carvalho Barbosa of Brazil to see his campaign end. 

As the dust settled, Alampay finished seventh in the tournament. 

After his campaign, Alampay said he learned a lot of lessons from his first campaign. 

“Feeling ko lang I got a lot of stress. Sometimes, even if you go undefeated in Day 1, it isn't always sunshine and rainbows for Day 2. I knew I was going to be in top cut, but even getting the losses, both losses, in the phase 2 of Swiss, that hurt,” he told Philstar.com. 

“But I think a good thing I do know is that the people that I do play are good, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to fight good people and converse with them. And of course, I'm not also just here for the battles because I get to experience some of the Masters Division players, I get to talk to my fellow Filipinos about their experiences, and we get to share in our losses and our wins,” he added.

“So overall, while I do wish I would've made top 4, which is one of my initial goals, I am also happy with top 8, given that it's my second in-person event. And I hope that I'll be able to have something similar to this coming in the future.”

Alampay ruled the Pokemon Masterball League 2026 in the Philippines to punch his ticket to the Worlds. 

He had an impressive run on the first day as other players and spectators saw him as a genuine threat for the crown. 

He acknowledged that playing online on in-game ladders is very different in competing in tournaments. 

And now he has a taste of international play, he aims to go for more moving forward. 

“I feel like I've grown a lot more, especially in how I develop my critical thinking skills, in how I develop compassion in actually playing and training and taking notes. I've grown a lot since three years of playing,” he said. 

“And I think compared from the Philippines Nationals to here… This one, it was a little rushed, but I would say it was a good call that I still stick to what I found comfortable, what I thought was strong, and that my ideology,” he added. 

“I still think that I have a strong philosophy when it comes to playing, and I believe that's the most important part of my growth, that I stick to what I believe is true.” 

And among the lessons he learned, his biggest takeaway is while everyone is good, everyone is human. 

“So no matter what opponent you may find, you know that they're not the same as every other opponent you fight using the same team, but also that when they're human, they can also make mistakes,” he said. 

Alampay cited an example where he faced an opponent in Day 2 that made a lot of “right reads” against his team. 

And, in the top eight match, he and his opponent committed timely mistakes, although the victory went to Barbosa. 

“I myself made a mistake and also so did my opponent in the end, but in the end favored him. And both of us talked about it and we both acknowledged that there are a lot of mistakes one can make, but also that it's okay to make mistakes and even the best make mistakes.”