A competitive Pokémon player has urged tournament opponents to improve their personal hygiene after claiming a strong smell at a recent event made him vomit and disrupted an entire match.
Hygiene complaint follows Baltimore Pokémon Regionals
The 2027 Baltimore Pokémon Regional Championships took place earlier this month, bringing together competitors from both the Pokémon video game and trading card game circuits. The event marked the return of competitive play after the 2026 World Championships in August.
Donghun Youm said the Baltimore Convention Center contained an unpleasant distraction during one of his matches. In a post on X dated September 27, he asked fellow competitors to take personal hygiene seriously.
Youm said a nearby player’s odour was so unpleasant that he and his friends struggled to concentrate, and that he eventually vomited. He added that they reported the issue to a judge during the round.
His comments quickly attracted attention, partly because poor hygiene is a recurring stereotype around competitive gaming and trading card communities. Tournament halls, conventions and other shared gaming spaces can make strong smells particularly difficult to escape.
Players debate an enduring tournament problem
Responses covered the wider trading card game scene, with one commenter suggesting that a five-minute shower and a small amount of deodorant should be simple pre-event preparation. Another joked that Youm had been forced to fight two battles at once.
A separate response took a more embarrassing angle, with one player claiming that drinking a Red Bull during an early round had left them gassy for several later matches. They wondered whether it had affected anyone else’s games.
Competitive gaming has faced similar complaints before. Super Smash Bros. players have been criticised over tournament odours, a Yu-Gi-Oh event was reportedly paused because of unpleasant smells, and an anime voice actor previously asked concert attendees to bathe before arriving.
The discussion has also spilled into the broader arcade and gaming news conversation, where shared spaces depend on players being considerate of everyone nearby. Good etiquette matters just as much at a local arcade as it does at a major regional competition.
Youm finishes 60th at the event
Despite the distraction, Youm finished 60th at the Baltimore Regionals with a 9–4 record. He said it was not his best performance, but felt he had done reasonably well after finalising his team at 4am the night before.
For competitors preparing for long events, practical planning covers more than deck lists and team selection. Comfortable clothing, water, deodorant and basic consideration for neighbouring players can help make crowded gaming sessions more enjoyable. The same attention to preparation is useful when setting up a home arcade, whether you are comparing options in an arcade machine buying guide or maintaining controls with suitable arcade parts.
The incident also prompted a reaction from fighting-game competitor Punk, who described the reported smell as extreme. His response was shared in the discussion and linked to a post dated September 28, 2026.
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