KingCentre
By Yi-An Lu aka Louis Lu
World Championship 11-14
Washington State Convention Centre
Seattle WA
3rd-4th of August, 2002
88 participants
Hi Pojo!
These few months were great for us Pokemon players in the UK, we had FOUR
qualifiers which is a record for us by far. Fortunately me and my brother
both qualified so my mum can finally come to America with us.(she already
missed 2 trips!) With us on the plane were Sami (again), Amy (Again),Yacine(Sami's
Brother, qualified in the grinder), Lewis (he beaten me in the finals of one of
the qualifier, very kool guy), Fiona and Shun(spelling?). The flight was
10 hours long and we annoyed the hell out of some freaky people by playing
Pokemon and sitting on the ¡§DO NOT SIT¡¨ sign :-P. Our hotel room was
very nice and we met tons of kool people on the 3rd floor. On Friday we
accompanied Yacine and Irwin (a friend from my league) to the Grinder and met
Nitish (another friend from my league). Nitish and Yacine both qualified
but Irwin lost due to bad draw and weakness, unlucky Irwin!
In the Comvention Centre we saw the ever familiar giant Pikachu&Pichu and
attempted to trip them up but our evil plan failed miserably as a lady came and
told us off =/ O well, there¡¦s always tomorrow ƒº
Anyway, this year I am playing a very original deck (sarcasm):
KingCentre. Here it is:
KingCentre
// Pokemon (19)
4 Horsea L22
4 Seadra L36
4 Kingdra L49
3 Cleffa
2 Tyrogue
2 Pichu
// Trainer (27)
4 Professor Elm
4 Bill
4 Pokemon Center
4 Focus Band
3 Double Gust
3 Pokemon Trader
2 Gold Berry
2 Energy Stadium
1 Time Capsule
// Energy (14)
8 Water Energy
4 Recycle Energy
2 Full Heal Energy
Everyone knows the strategy of this deck: genetic memory,
genetic memory, genetic memory, Centre, genetic memory, genetic memory etc. A
strong, flexible deck that fits my playing styles quite nicely. Finally, here's
the report:
DAY1:
Round 1 Vs Jonathan Brooks with Espeon/Slowking
Noooooooooo! One of the Brooks brothers in the FIRST round?! I looked across
the room and saw Sami playing Tim Brooks! What have they got against the
English?
Game 1: He had a great start with a few early Espeons and 2 Slowkings while my
hand was only mediocre. The 2 Slowkings were really slowing me down but I
did manage to get a few Kingdras out. We traded attacks and pokemons but
I am still struggling to stop the Espeons. After I finally KOed an Espeon
he broke out Lilly Pad Mew and it really screwed my Kingdras.
Unsurprisingly I lost the game and time was running out so we quickly shuffled
and moved on to game 2
Game 2: As expected time was called during the game and it was a draw.
I lost 1-0
0 Point
This is an alright first round for us Britons, everybody else either IDed or
won.
Round 2 vs Willem Coenen with KingCentre
Willem is a very kool guy from Holland, I think he qualified in Amsterdam or
something
Game 1: This is an enjoyable game full of surprises. I went 1st and with
a baby and a Horsea, attached a Energy to Horsea, Elmed and said go. He also
had a Horsea and a baby and he Double Gusted my Horsea out. Then he
elmed, I can see he¡¦s looking for something. I saw his face lighten up
as he slap down a card onto his bench. A Neo 1 Pikachu!! He
attached an energy to Pikachu and quick attacked my Horsea. HEADS!! He
knocked out my Horsea on the first turn :-( Unfortunately for him, I topdecked
a Tyrogue and KOed Pikachu with Smash Punch. From then on, Focus Bands
were the key and since I was quite lucky on the day, I emerged victorious
Game 2: This game was similar to the fist one apart from me having a much better
start, getting 3 Kingras out quickly and taking early prizes. He did come
back with a Kindra of his own but the my early advantage proved fatal for
Willem.
I won 2-0
3 Points
I think everyone else in the UK team won their matches apart from one or two
unlucky ones. So far, I think we are doing OK.
Round 3 vs Seena Ghaziaskar with Donphan/Slowking
Seena told me he was a formal STS champion and he surely plays like one!
Game 1: I was totally 0wned in this game with a very poor start. Donphan
is truly amazing.
Game 2: This was a closer game with me having a good start and he failing his
vital eeeeeeeks. However, once he succeeded in eeeeeeeking his Donphan
and Slowking dominated the game.
The only chance I got to attack the Donphan is when he missed a baby
flip. I sent out a fully Powered Kindra and attacked with Twister.
Two Tails. I thought that was the end of mebut no. I got a Pichu out and
started Zapping the 3 Slowkings on his bench, I had 3 prizes left and this
might win the game for me. Just when he had 60 damage on all 3 Slowkings
he Pokemon Centered. Now THAT was the end.
I Lost 2-0
3 Points
This is a very bad round for the English, I think everyone lost their match
apart from Sami :-(
Round 4 vs. Nick Way-Too-Long-A-Surname with Espeon/Slowking/Umbreon
Game 1: He started with a Holo Celebi (!?) and a Slowpoke. I got Kingdras
up and running pretty fast and got a few early prizes. The he go out 2/3
Espeons and 1 Umbreon and finally KOed me active Kindra. The good news is
I have 2 fully powered Kindras on the bench and I twistered all the way to the
end.
Game 2: I 0wned him big time. I got 3 Kindras out like 4th turn and all
he had was slowpokes, eevees, babies etc.
I won 2-0
6 Points
Basically I HAVE to win the next match to stand a chance of getting into the
top 32, the rest of the UK team were also in a similar situation but my brother
is already guaranteed a top 24 at this point.
Round 5 vs Laetita Delhausse with KingCentre
OMG I don¡¦t believe it. This girl lost to me in one of the qualifier but
she went on to win that tournament. Although she qualified in England, I
think she is from Belgium and not part of the UK team. (lol)
Game 1: This is a very close game since our starts were nearly identical
with Cleffa and Horsea. It was the clash of the Kindras and we were both
failing Focus Band flips. It was down to about 1 prize each and I won by
Zapping a Elekid which already had 10 damage from a Mud Splash.
Game 2: This time I had the worst of starts with a lone Horsea and no drawing
power or Seadras. She had an Elekid and a Horsea, it looked bad... I
survived by using two Centres and I finally knocked out Elekid with 2 Fin
Slaps. Then my Seadra finally came though things still looked grim
because she had 2 Kingdras of her own. I survived a Focus Band(luckily)
and finally got an Elm. More Kingdras came and her game went downhill
from that point.
I won 2-0
9 Points
I squeezed in the Top 32 in 30th place but unfortunately no one else from the
UK team except for my brother(10th) qualified. What a shame. Afterwards we went
to Gameworks next door and it was tons of fun chucking basketballs over the
machines :-P
DAY 2:
A judge told me I have to win all 4 matches to get into the top 8. I know
this will be very hard to achieve so I felt kind of nervous coming into day 2.
Round 6 vs Joey Fulford with Dark Feraligatr/Slowking
This kid turns out to be pretty kool and I think he played the same sort of
deck as the eventual winner of Worlds
Game 1: I had a poor start once again while he had a brilliant one, he got a
Dark Gatr 3rd turn and another on turn 5. His Slowkings didn't give me
much of a chance for recovery.
Game 2: I had a much better start this time and Knocked Out his 1st Dark Gatr.
From then on he only have 3 helpless Slowkings waiting to be slaughtered.
Game 3: He came out fast and strong with Dark Gatr. It shut down my babies and
I had no chance to get back into the game before those Slowkings popped up on
the Bench
I lost 2-1
9 Points
Most of the UK team were playing team modified where Sami&Amy were doing
very well. Unluckily my brother Hank lost his match but he can still make
top 8. I know that's impossible for me now but I still want to play and have
fun
Round 7 vs Drew Holton with Dark Blastoise/Slowking
Another Slowking deck??? I hate Slowkings =/
Game 1: One of the most ridiculous but funny games I've ever played. He
had a slowpoke, I had a Horsea and we both have nothing good in our
hands. The game finished while most of the competitors were still
shuffling as Slowpoke waterguned for the win (lol)
Game 2: I had another very bad start while his one is much better. It
wasn't really a fair match when one player have one lone Horsea against an army
of Dark Blastoises :-P
I lost 2-0
9 Points
Amy&Sami still doing well, everyone else were having lots of fun and my
brother won his match.
Round 8 vs Alex Schanz with Steelix/Gyrados
Game 1: A long, tough game but ever so slightly boring. His Steelix
caused massive problems to my Kingdras but double gusting+killing Magicarps are
so much fun. It was down to 1 prize each and he double gusted for the
win.
Game 2: A very similar game to the first one but this time I got my Kingdras up
and running faster and was ahead on prizes. At the end, Mud Splash's
bench damage won me the game
Game 3: Time ran out and we drew
We drew 1-1
10 Points
Hank lost his last match and he didn¡¦t make Top 8 but he did get a respectable
15th place.
Round 9 vs Zer-Ken Yap with Dark Blastoise
This is it, the last match of the tourney!
Game 1: This is a long and fun game and both of us had a good start. It
was a fierce and evenly matched battle between Kingdra and Dark Blastoise which
resulted in many tense focus band flips. He didn¡¦t get a hideout all
game and it made his Dark Blastoises much easier to kill. In the end, my
Kingdras outnumbered him and I won the game.
Game 2: THE most HILARIOUS game in my entire life. I had an army of
babies, one Horsea and no drawing power. Somehow I 'rogued 2-3 babies in
a row and was well ahead on prizes, then the Dark Blastoise came and he slapped
down a Hideout. I had no choice but to smash punch him. I did 60
damage to him before he finally KOed the Tyrogue. Then I sent out a....Horsea!
I slapped down an Energy Stadium and FIN SLAPPED(rofllmao) a Dark Blastoise to
the discard pile! To add insult to injury, I did the EXACT same thing to
the next Dark Blastoise and man I was laughing (he wasn't though). After
that, Seadras and Kingdras came flooding into my hand and I annihilated him.
I won 2-0
13 Points (What is with me and the number 13?? I came 13th in San Diego, my old
door number is 13 and now this?)
After two days of intense Pokemon I came 27th which I am very proud of because
I was playing against the very best! I can't wait till Worlds 2003 (I hope
I will qualify :-P)
Props+Slops
Props to Dad for taking me here
Props to all the UK team for doing so well
Props Wizards+DCI for holding this incredible tourney
Props to Hank for coming 15th
Props to Joe Spanier for making top 8
Props to everyone who played in Worlds
Props to YOU for reading this!
Slops to Slowking for being the most annoying thing on Earth
And finally Slops to coin flips for making my life a misery
Hope you enjoyed reading my killer deck report!
Yi-An Lu aka Louis Lu
ucbtjfl@hotmail.com