Your favourite gaming and pop culture characters will return to PAX Aus 2024 in the Australian leg of the Cosplay Central Crown Championships live on stage.

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of PAX Aus, this competition will crown a winner to represent Australia at the Cosplay Central Crown Championship Final held in Chicago at C2E2, April 11-13th, 2025. Aside from bragging rights and cosplaying glory, return flights to Chicago, accommodation, two x badges for C2E2, two x 3-day badges for PAX Aus 2025, and a shiney trophy will be awarded to the Champion.

The judging panel understands all too well the impact and opportunities that are presented when winning a major cosplay competition, with each of them being cosplay competition champions themselves. Featuring @kirileecosplay, last year’s Crown Championship winner, who took out the crown with her Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender cosplay (designed by @_sunsetdragon), Cosplay World Champion 2016, @mrsmajorsam and the current Cosplay Champion of India, @sameertikkamasala, this talented bunch of judges have decades of cosplay experience between them and will be analysing every single detail and stitch from this year’s entries.

Kirilee Cosplay has been cosplaying for nearly a decade and, in that time, has travelled the world taking part in cosplay competitions and representing Australia. In addition to her win last year at the Crown Championships, she represented Australia at the World Cosplay Summit in Japan following her win at the Madman National Cosplay Championships, represented Australia again in Nantes, France in the Art to Play Before Christmas Cosplay Championship, where she placed third and won ‘Best in Show’ at Anime Los Angeles. Kirilee is a real cosplay community leader, sharing tutorials and patterns through her website https://www.kirileecosplay.com/ and her social channels.

Sameer Tikka Masala, is a cosplay pioneer. He has been cosplaying for over 13 years and has won numerous awards (over 40) nationally and internationally and is the current Cosplay

Champion of India (an honour he’s had 4 times). Thanks to his extensive experience, he’s also been given the honour of judging many cosplay competitions including this year’s Crown Championships Final at C2E2. He has also given a TED talk on the subject.

Major Sam has also been cosplaying for well over a decade, with countless costuming awards from both Australian and international conventions and events. After being crowned Cosplay World Champion at C2E2 in 2016, Major Sam has worked tirelessly with industry professionals across stage and screen. This includes tailoring, millinery, corsetry and even stitching aliens together.

The 2023 Cosplay Crown Championships set the bar at a very high standard, with the judging panel debating intensely to decide on the winner (@kirileecosplay) and runner-up, Rowenberry Cosplay as Star Guardian Kai’sa from League of Legends.

The Cosplay Central Crown Championship finals will take place on the PAX Aus Main Stage on the afternoon of Sunday, October 13th. Applications are now open to eligible entrants and will close at 11.59 pm AEDT, September 1st, 2024.

And there is more for PAX Aus cosplay fans! Cosplayers can expect three-days of curated panels in the Cosplay Theatre highlighting all things cosplay, the return of the Cosplay Lounge, host to cosplay meetups and a repair station, complete with change rooms, makeup stations and cosplay photographers.

PAX Aus takes place on October 11-13th at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

For more information, updates and to purchase badges, please visit the official website