A Pokemon Worlds competitor is disqualified immediately after winning the quarter finals, due to a rude gesture

The Pokemon World Championships, or Worlds, kicked off last week in Hawaii, and we've since seen the best TCG competitors in the world compete for the top spot. The competition's results have already been announced but I think that we've found a prize for the most controversial choice.

In the quarter-finals of the masters, Ian Robb sat opposite Fernando Cifuentes. After a tough battle, Robb won and it appeared that he would advance to the next round of the tournament. When the next match began, the fans were confused when they saw Cifuentes in the challenger seat, and not Robb.

Chris Brown, The Pokemon Company's global esports director and international director of events, had to intervene between matches to give Robb a penalty. Brown told IGN in a subsequent interview that the penalty was for unsporting behavior. "We applied it to a match that just happened and the standard punishment for that is a match loss."

Brown's poor conduct seems to be a rude gesture made by Robb just after he won against Cifuentes. You'll probably miss it if you blink, but it appears that Robb made a lewd hand gesture to the crowd or someone in it after his win against Cifuentes.

On Twitter, a fan described the moment: "I thought Ian Robb acted uncouthly but it turns out it was just a sexy masturbation he made after the quarter-finals."

The disqualification caused quite a stir as fans seemed to be divided on whether or not the gesture deserved disqualification. "Are they dumb? One fan said on Twitter that this is not a lewd act. While this gesture is not shocking, the Pokemon Company must be strict when it comes down to enforcing proper behaviour.

Nearly half of all players at Worlds are in the junior bracket (ages 12 and younger) or the senior bracket (ages 13-15), and a large portion of the audience is children. Pokemon TCG is a popular game with a young audience. It makes sense, then, that The Pokemon Company would police things differently than other esports events. This isn't Tekken, I mean, really, come on.

The Pokemon Company is not only strict when it comes to conduct, but also very rigid about what constitutes match behavior. Brown says that "generally, the match does not end until you have signed your match slip... So this is a crucial moment." Robb was disqualified because his actions technically still violated match conduct rules. It wasn't yet over, even though Robb won the round. It's annoying and finicky, but those are the rules.

The Play! Pokemon Standards of conduct also make The Pokemon Company's views on conduct very clear: "Players should behave with empathy and grace, and remember to treat others as they would like to be treated." This sentiment is repeated in the entire document.

Robb, to be fair, has handled the ruling with grace. Robb says, "I'm rooting for [Cifuentes]" today. "After meeting him, I could see how much it meant to him and his father to make the cut at Worlds. He is a worthy champion." The tournament is over, so there's nothing else to do. Cifuentes won the Masters bracket after beating Seinosuke Schiokawa.