Pokémon champion announces departure from tournaments after continuously being 'groped' by fans
One of the biggest names in the competitive Pokémon scene has revealed he’s stepping back from attending in-person tournaments after claiming he's been groped by fans.
Wolfe Glick, a YouTuber who boasts over two million subscribers, is a huge figure in the Pokémon community, having won the 2016 World Championships and, more recently, the 2025 European Internationals.
But in a recent video, titled 'Moving Forward', the 29-year-old admitted that his future in live competitions is uncertain after repeated uncomfortable encounters with fans.
"So, from September 2024 until August 2025, I attended seven in-person tournaments - at five of those tournaments, I was groped," the Pokémon pro shared.
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"Fans when taking pictures with me put their hands on me sexually and non-consensually during the act of taking photos. I don't like that this is happening, and I also think that it's pretty clear to most people, most reasonable people, that this is not normal behavior - like most people do not grope other people.
"And I don't know why it's happening to me so much in particular, but the fact remains that it is."
While he alleged that he was continuously groped by fans over the course of a year, the content creator explained that his decision stems from multiple factors.
While Glick described these incidents as 'relatively low' on his list of concerns - mainly because they happen 'once or twice at most events' - he said the problem has compounded with other issues, including fans physically grabbing him to get his attention and ongoing neck pain.
"It is entirely possible that I never compete in or attend another world championships again," he told his subscribers.
Things reportedly got so bad at this year’s Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim that Glick felt forced to leave the venue on the final day, choosing instead to watch the finals from his hotel room.
Between the stress, physical discomfort, and repeated invasions of personal space, Glick said tournaments have become 'less and less fun to attend'.
"It's worth noting that even though at a Pokemon tournament, most people see me as a YouTuber or an influencer or whatever you want to call me, I'm there to compete," he explained.
"I'm not there to do fan interaction. I'm not there to, you know, be, 'hey guys, it's me, the YouTuber'. You know? I go to tournaments because I love competing. While I also enjoy meeting fans, it's not my primary reason for being there.
"So when I'm at a tournament, it's been my goal to focus as much as I can on the actual aspect of competing - I'm not saying that I shouldn't have to do any fan interaction, because like obviously I understand that I do have an online presence and I am an influencer, right? Or whatever you want to call what it is that I do. But the balance has been way off."
For now, Glick confirmed he’ll be skipping the next four months of events, including the Toronto Regionals, which he won last year.
His announcement comes shortly after streamer Emiru shared a similar experience, revealing she was assaulted at TwitchCon and has since sworn off attending the convention again.
Joe Yates