PogChamps

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PogChamps is a series of online amateur chess tournaments run by Chess.com on Twitch. The players are internet personalities, mostly Twitch streamers, who compete in fast chess for fun and prizes.

PogChamps 1 (June 2020)
- Format: 10+5 rapid; 16 Twitch streamers.
- Winner: Voyboy.
- Coaches/commentary: Hikaru Nakamura and Alexandra Botez.
- Note: The event helped show how chess could be popular online.

PogChamps 2 (Aug–Sept 2020)
- Format: Group stage with two-game matches.
- Prize: $100,000.
- Notable players: Some returnees from PogChamps 1 plus new faces.
- Winner: Hafu.
- Coaches/commentary: Nakamura, Botez, Naroditsky, Qiyu Zhou, Anna Rudolf, Levy Rozman.

PogChamps 3 (Feb 2021)
- Notable participants: xQc, Ludwig, MoistCr1tikal, Myth, Pokimane, Neekolul, MrBeast, Michelle Khare, Logic, Rainn Wilson, Daniel Negreanu, and more.
- Prize: $100,000 (thanks to sponsorships).
- Winner: Sardoche.
- Context: The series grew in popularity and sponsorships.

PogChamps 4 (Aug 2021)
- Sponsor: Coinbase.
- Prize: $100,000 plus Chess.com matching up to $100,000 for charity.
- Notable returnees: MrBeast, Ludwig, Rubius.
- Winner: Fundy.

PogChamps 5 (July 2023)
- First with some over-the-board play; only the finals were in person (Los Angeles, Aug 18).
- Final format: Best of four matches.
- Winner: CDawgVA.

PogChamps 6 (Apr–May 2025)
- Winner: Eberechi Eze (English footballer).

Impact and reception
- Viewership generally exceeded expectations and helped grow interest in chess online.
- Reactions were mixed: many top players supported the idea and praised its reach, while a few critics questioned its focus on entertainment over traditional competition.
- Notable moments included high-profile coaching and commentary from top players, contributing to the show’s appeal.

Format notes
- Early PogChamps had single-game group stages; since PogChamps 2 the format used two-game matches in the group stage.
- Scoring (used from PogChamps 2 onward): 3 points for a match win, 2 points for a match win via tiebreak, 1 point for a loss in the tiebreak.
- Notable incidents: DrLupo was disqualified for cheating with a chess engine; Punz forfeited a match and was moved to the consolation bracket.