St. Louisan wins third in 2011 World Pokemon Championships
The recent Women's World Cup featured headers into the net and heart-wrenching penalty kicks. For St. Louis-area Pokemon players, the World Championships were more cerebral but equally exciting.
The best Pokemon card and video game players in the world attended the invitation-only event that took place last weekend in San Diego.
Fortunes rose and fell on a combination of 60 cards, referred to as a deck, which is guarded with a secrecy befitting the Coca-Cola formula. With more than 1,500 cards to choose from, creating and playing a winning deck was an art.
Decks include Pokemon, which are evolving creatures that loosely resemble animals, as well as trainer, stadium and energy cards, which allow players to refresh their cards and perform other functions. Each contestant battled to win board supremacy and knock out his opponents' Pokemon.
Alex Krekeler, 10, is an unassuming kid who won third place out of 89 players in the Junior division. After a blazing 4-0 start in Swiss rounds, he lost two games. But he won his final match, which qualified him to play in the top 16. He said his toughest match was in the final eight against Jonas Rasmussen of Germany, who was running a combination of Typhlosion and Reshiram cards.
He was knocked out of the competition by second-place winner Kohei Takenaka from Japan, who Krekeler says got a great start and lucky dice rolls.
In a gutsy move, Krekeler decided to switch decks after U.S. Nationals in July. In the world competition, he ran a deck called Bertolli's Pizza, a mishmash of Zoroark, Donphan and Yanmega cards, because he believed it could counter most of the other decks.
Krekeler has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game for seven years and has three brothers who also play. While they've cracked the top 16 in the World's Championship before, Alex's win is the highest placement so far and a source of pride for the Krekeler family, who own Yeti Gaming in Crestwood. Next year, he hopes to make it to the finals.
Pokemon World Trading Website - News
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was introduced in Japan in 1996 and arrived in North America in 1998. Japan still sets the tone for the game, with many websites tracking the latest cards and rumors out of Japan. The Pokemon season has ended this year,
Excitement filled the air this weekend (August 13-14) at the 2011 Pokémon World Championships in San Diego, CA. More than 400 of the world's best Pokémon Trading Card Game and video game players, representing over 27 countries, participated in two days
While Skylanders consumer marketing company is yet to begin, the game is already generating considerable buzz in both trade and consumer publications. My favorite quote comes from Forbes who said, "It's like these toys are real-world Pokémon.
"That one has a Pokemon cartoon on it," said 11-year-old Daria Rogers of Corona, "I have all the different Pokemon." Daria and her mother, Gina, love to go on field trips with the Youth Science Center. "My favorite is the prosthetics company in Anaheim
Hey, you know Pokemon? Well so do the folks over at Sanrio, as evidenced by the fact that they teamed with Sega in 2008 to create their own adorable, highly collectable creatures: Jewelpet. Originally a line of toys that came with codes that unlocked
PidgiPress » Press release: WORLD'S BEST POKÉMON PLAYERS CROWNED ...
San Diego, California — August 15th, 2011 — The dreams of competitive Pokémon™ Trading Card Game (TCG) and video game players around the world came true for a select few this weekend at the 2011 Pokémon World Championships in San Diego, CA.
Thousands of the world’s top Pokémon Trading Card Game and video game players, family, friends, and fans attended the most anticipated event of The Pokémon Company International’s Play! Pokémon season. The 2011 Pokémon World Championships featured the world’s best Pokémon players competing for the title of World Champion after advancing through nearly a year of regional and national tournaments around the globe.
Once the dust settled after three days of intense Pokémon Trading Card Game and video game battles, six skilled individuals were crowned World Champions, proudly representing their family, supporters, and home countries. The Pokémon Company International announced today its 2011 Pokémon World Champions:
2011 Pokémon TCG Junior Division World Champion, Gustavo Wada from Brazil.
2011 Pokémon Video Game Junior Division World Champion, Brian Hough from the USA.
2011 Pokémon TCG Senior Division World Champion, Christopher Kan from Australia.
2011 Pokémon Video Game Senior Division World Champion, Kamran Jahadi from the USA.
2011 Pokémon TCG Masters Division World Champion, David Cohen from the USA.
2011 Pokémon Video Game Masters Division World Champion, Ray Rizzo from the USA.
More than 400 players from over 27 countries competed in the annual event. Winners of the invite-only tournament received medals, trips, Pokémon merchandise, and collectively more than $100,000 in scholarships. The event showcased the chief qualities of Pokémon Trading Card Game and video game players: skill, strategy, creativity, sportsmanship, and fun.
“The Pokémon World Championships is more than a tournament; it’s a global event for our entire community to compete, have fun, and create lifelong friendships,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Company International. “It’s been an incredible weekend, and we couldn’t be happier to congratulate this year’s World Champions for their dedication, their unbelievable talent, and most importantly, their sportsmanship during the entire Play! Pokémon season.
Pokemon World Trading Website - Bookshelf
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure
The World Is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
The World is Flat, a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
The New York Times columnist offers a concise and compelling history of globalization, discussing a wide range of economic and political topics and issues, from ...Pokémon ultimate handbook
A guide to Pokâemon provides information on the pronunciation, possible moves, type, height, weight, and region of every Pokâemon character.Come into my trading room, a complete guide to trading
Come Into My Trading Room offers: * A complete introduction to trading essentials * An overview of trading psychology, both individual and mass psychology of ...Everyday Walkthroughs Directory
The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com
Explore Pokemon.com for news and information on Pokémon, the Pokédex, Pokémon games, the Trading Card Game, Pokémon movies, and Pokémon TV show.
Pokémon.com
Gotta catch 'em all. Official site from Pokémon U.S.A. features news about events and products including cartoons, games, comics, wallpaper, and cards.
Pokémon World Championships 2010 | Home
The 2010 Pokémon World Championships gathers Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon video game players from around the world for a weekend of fun and intense competition!
Pokémon Trading Figure Game | Pokémon World
The makers of the brilliant Pokémon Trading Card Game created an entirely new, collectable Pokémon game back in 2006, but sadly it didn't last long...
PokezorWorld: Dragonball Z/GT, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh trading ...
Shop PokezorWorld.com for Kids Popular Toys & Collector Dragonball Cards, Pokemon Card Game. Yu-Gi-Oh, DC Marvel VS Cards, Huge Selection of Merchandise, Great ...