Pokémon World Championships, Italian Luca Ceribelli wins

Italy shines again in the world of Pokémon with a historic result ai 2024 FIBA WC just concluded a Honolulu. Eleven years after the last Italian victory, Luca Ceribelli, a young physics student from Bergamo, He graduated world champion di Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, bringing our country back to the top step of the podium.

Only 21 years old, Ceribelli has made his way among the best players in the world, demonstrating that Italian talent is still a force to be reckoned with in the international competitive landscape.

Luca's road to the final

Luca Ceribelli did not have an easy path to the final of the 2024 FIBA WC. In the early days of the competition, she faced intense challenges to qualify for the second day. With six wins and two defeats in the opening rounds, he managed to secure his place among the best, demonstrating remarkable resilience and preparation right from the start. On the second day, Ceribelli began his ascent winning the last three matches of the Swiss format, confirming his presence in the preliminaries with an impeccable performance.

• Grant Wilson: defeated in the round of 16.
• Ruben Gianzini: overcome in an all-Italian derby in the quarter-finals.
• Chenyue Zeng: beaten in the semi-finals.
• Seon Jae Jeong: defeated in the semi-final, before the eagerly awaited final.

The final against Yuta Ishigaki

Having reached the world final, Luca Ceribelli faced the Japanese Yuta Ishigaki. Despite the pressure of the event and the importance of the challenge, Ceribelli kept his nerve, also helped by the experience and advice of Arash Ommati, the last Italian to win a Pokémon World Cup in 2013. Before the decisive match, Ceribelli spoke about the importance of calm and preparation, underlining how a day's break between the semi-finals and the final gave him a competitive advantage to test and perfect his strategy against the opposing team.

The Ceribelli team, meticulously balanced, was built to face any type of challenge, with a mix of defense and offense capable of adapting to various situations. The choice of Pokémon proved to be crucial, avoiding blindly following the arches of the tournament and instead focusing on defensive synergies, an aspect that allowed Ceribelli to maintain control of the match even in the most critical moments.