Beyond the Ballpark: CUE Brings Fan Engagement to the Pokémon World Stage

If you know CUE, you probably know us from the ballpark big screen, light shows syncing thousands of phones in an NFL stadium, trivia screens engaging an MLB crowd, or AR Prize Drop dropping prizes over an MLS pitch. That's where we built our name. But last week, CUE's fan engagement platform showed up somewhere a little different.

From June 12-14, the Pokémon Company brought the 2026 North America International Championships to New Orleans. Three days of high-stakes competition across the Pokémon Video Game Championships (VGC), the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE. It was also the first International Championships played with Pokémon Champions, drawing thousands of competitors and spectators from around the world.

CUE partnered with the Pokémon Company to bring our interactive fan engagement tools to the event, with our own Dave Ellsworth on-site running point on activation and hardware throughout the championship. It's the same platform we've used to get a stadium of 40,000 fans moving in sync, just pointed at a different kind of crowd.

Pokémon activated six products on the floor across the three-day event. Among them, Polling drew over 1,000 participants, and hundreds more jumped into PostUp sharing photos and moments throughout the championship. Six products, one event, and a tournament floor full of fans engaging right alongside the matches.

"Working the NAIC was different than what we are used to in a stadium activation. Instead of one team's fans for three hours, you've got thousands of players and spectators moving through a convention center for three straight days. Seeing people participate in Polling or post their photos to PostUp between matches reminded me that great fan engagement isn't sport-specific. It's about giving people a reason to connect with what's happening around them. Pokémon fans turned out to be some of the most enthusiastic, all-in crowds we've worked with." – Dave Ellsworth, CUE Account Manager

It's a small but pointed example of where CUE is headed. We talk a lot about our work in traditional sports because that's where we got our start, but the platform was built for more. Esports and competitive gaming events draw the same thing ballparks do: a packed room of genuinely invested fans, looking for a moment to participate instead of just watch. The NAIC was a proof point that CUE belongs in that room too.  

With the Pokémon World Championships still ahead this year, this is just the start of CUE's presence in the competitive Pokémon scene an a sign of more esports and gaming activations to come.  

Want to learn more about what we can do? Check our products page to see what we have to offer.

‍