KINGSTON, LUCERNE CO. — From August 16 to 18, the world’s best Pokémon players will compete against each other in Hawaii at the Pokémon World Championships.
The franchise is a worldwide sensation and every year its best players come together to compete in a tournament and fight to become the very best like no one has ever been before.
“Pokémon Worlds is where the absolute best players in the world come together and battle in the TCG VGC and Pokémon Go,” said Rich Cornwell, Pokémon community leader at Dragon Knight Games.
TCG stands for Trading Card Game, where players assemble Pokémon card decks and compete against each other. Pokémon fans also collect cards, especially those that celebrate events like the World Championship.
“The Pokémon promo card given out for the World Championships will allow everyone else in the community to take part in the events in Hawaii.”
In Hawaii is Alex Hamilton of Clark Summit, one of the top 150 Pokémon Trading Card Game players in the United States and Canada, and he will be competing in his third World Championship with a Gardevoir EX deck.
“I was really nervous at my first World Championships because they are the culmination of everything you have worked for. But now I am more relaxed. I am focused,” said Hamilton.
At home, his local card shop is cheering him on with its own tournament.
“We are so happy for him. We are going to have a big tournament/party here to watch the World Championship and cheer him on. We hope he makes it to the top eight and makes a name for himself in our area,” said Chase Santayana, a frequent Pokémon TCG player at Dragon Knight Games.
The Kingston Card Shop hosts trophies, tournaments, and casual card game nights for TCG players of all skill levels.
“These international, regional and worldwide tournaments are great, but at these tournaments you see people representing their local game store, their state, their group, but really it’s those local game stores that keep the community going.”
Click here to view the Pokémon World Championship standings.
Click here to find local Pokémon tournaments near you.
