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Here it comes! PogChamps 4 is just around the corner, with the games beginning in only three days. With so many streaming superstars participating, the Botez sisters piloting the action, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in the mix PogChamps 4 is sure to be the biggest and brightest yet!

We here at Chess.com are excited, and we're sure you are too. Here are seven reasons to be even more excited than you already are!

Chess.com is now more than 71 million members strong, nearly double from when we pogged it up for the first time back in June 2020. Every day, tens of thousands of people are registering and millions of games are played. For those of you who are newer to the community: Pog is where it's at! Check out the video below for a small taste of what PogChamps has to offer.

Of course, it's the players who make PogChamps, and by this point perhaps no individual has fulfilled the PogChamps ethos more than Ludwig. He played in PogChamps 1 and 3, commentated on Pog2, and has brought even more people into the chess fold in other events as a two-time victor in Winner Stays and a player in BlockBattles in August.

Sadly for all of us, Pog4 will be Ludwig's last PogChamps. Or at least that's what he tells us!

But that means we should see him pull out all the stops this time around in his last chance to take the title. He's one of the best players in the field, sporting the best blitz rating which will bode well in any tiebreakers, and so his chances are as good as almost anyone's.

This is also the first PogChamps that features both Ludwig and QTCinderella as players.

Ludwig isn't the only big name returning to the Pog scene. Pog3 featured two of the world's biggest content creators, and they're both back: MrBeast on YouTube and Rubius on Twitch. We also have Boxbox back from Pog1, and QTCinderella and ConnorEatsPants from Pog2. Boxbox also toppled Ludwig's chances at joining the Winner Stays Pantheon of retired three-time winners, making the League of Legends turned Variety streamer into one of the Pog4 favorites.

Six PogChamps veterans is the most we've ever had. They know what they're getting into, and that can only bode well for their ability to entertain us again in Pog4.

We have seen four players in action in other Chess.com events, but they'll be making their PogChamps debut. How will they handle by far their biggest chess stage yet?

Sapnap, Fundy, and Punz are all Chess.com vets via their participation in the Minecraft crossover BlockBattles in August 2021. Sapnap won the entire January 2021 BlockChamps tournament as well and is one of the Pog4 favorites.

Fundy has the added experience of playing Winner Stays. Although he lost his match to Ludwig there, he got revenge with a match win in BlockBattles. If there's a round three between them it will no doubt be one of Pog4's headline matches.

And Tectone starred previously in Tournament Arc 2, winning his first match in the Redemption Arc (consolation bracket). How will he build on that experience?

It's always the most intriguing part of any PogChamps: Who will be the next big breakout? Every time, someone shocks the world by getting much better at playing chess, or by being more fun on a chess stream than anyone anticipated. Six players will be making their Chess.com debuts, so there are plenty of candidates.

The #1 Magic: The Gathering streamer, crokeyz, has been spending four hours a day working on his chess and could be a dark horse to win the entire tournament.

Pog3 had Logic, but Pog4 has the improvisational skills of rap freestyler Harry Mack. Who knows what he will bring to the table.

IAmCristinini, Spain's biggest female streamer and television host, and JustaMinx, the Variety streamer extraordinaire, will be stepping onto the Chess.com stage for the first timetheir legions of fans will surely be rooting them on. The field is rounded out by IRL Just Chatting JakenBakeLIVE and Variety streamer 5uppp. There is no shortage of players who can shock and awe us this time around.

For the first time, PogChamps has a charity partner. It's Rise Above the Disorder, whose mission is nothing less than to improve access to and affordability of mental health services. Just like in Pog3, Chess.com will be matching up to $100,000 in community donations, but this time it is all going to a single great cause. Every $30 pays for a week of therapy, and so $200,000 would represent 128years worth of sessions for thousands of people.

Taking the commentary lead this time are the Botez sisters, WFM Alexandra and Andrea. Already a part of previous Pogs as commentators and coaches, now it's time for them to take the reins, and they've already nailed the Chess/Minecraft crossover. The BotezLive superstars are two of the biggest chess celebrities in the world and are sure to leave their mark on this flagship event.

What are you most excited about for PogChamps 4? Let us know in the comments, and tune in on ChessTV starting August 29 for the best PogChamps yet!

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7 Reasons PogChamps 4 Will Be The Best Yet! - Chess.com