• The 2002 Pokémon World Championships took place in Seattle, Washington. This was the first, and only, Worlds hosted by Wizards of the Coast. This event, in a sense, replaced WOTC's annual Tropical Mega Battles that took place from 1999 to 2001. While this event wasn't officially hosted by Pokémon, this was in fact the first ever Pokémon TCG "World Championship" to take place with nearly 300 players competing.

• With only two age groups at the time, the younger of the two age divisions played 5 Rounds on Saturday with the Top 24 players moving on to a new set of 3 Rounds on Sunday, followed by a Top Cut of 8. Same with the older division, but with 32 players moving on to Sunday plus 4 additional Rounds before their Top Cut of 8.

• The reason for the lack of a World Championship event not taking place in 2003 the following year, was due to the transfer of the licensing of the TCG from WOTC to Nintendo.

• During the WOTC era, major events were catered towards kids only, meaning that no one over the age of 14 was able to compete at this World Championship. However, there was a Professor Championship that took place in the event hall, allowing players of the age of 15 and over to play. (Alex Brosseau won with Metal Chansey)

The Grinder (LCQ):

• There was a Last Chance Qualifier on Friday, offically dubbed "The Grinder". More than 100 players competed in the two division's LCQs combined, each playing through a hectic single-elimination tournament. Below are those that made it through the Grinder, getting to compete in Worlds: