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POKÉMON CROWNS WORLDWIDE
VIDEO GAME AND TRADING CARD
GAME CHAMPIONS
Players Representing Over 25
Countries Across Six
Continents
Compete in the 2009 Pokémon
World Championships
San Diego, CA -
August 17, 2009 - Traveling
from over 25 countries and
six continents, more than
1,125 players ages 6 to 55
competed for the chance to
be crowned the best Pokémon
TM players in the world this
weekend in downtown San
Diego, CA. Hosted by The
Pokémon Company
International, the worldwide
leader in video games and
trading card games, the
Pokémon World Championships
gave the highest-skilled
players from around the
world a chance to compete
for the prestigious title of
World Champion, as well as
travel packages, custom
Nintendo game systems,
trophies, and more than
$100,000 in scholarships.
The two-day championship
event emphasized the skill,
strategy, creativity and fun
involved in playing the
Pokémon Trading Card and
video games.
The top 60 video game
players from the United
States, Japan and Europe
earned an invitation to
participate in the Pokémon
Video Game World
Championships by defeating
hundreds of challengers in
qualifying tournaments held
across the globe. The top
finishers in each age
division (Junior and Senior)
each received a grand prize
that includes a custom
Nintendo DSTM game system,
automatic entry in and
travel to the 2010 Pokémon
Video Game World
Championships for a chance
to defend the title, and a
six-day vacation package for
four to Tokyo, New York
City, or Oahu. The winners
include:
2009 Pokémon Video Game
World Champions- Junior
Division (born in 1997 or
later)
First Place: Jeremy Fan (Age
11) from Sante Fe,
California USA
Second Place: Santa Ito (Age
9) from Japan
2009 Pokémon Video Game
World Champions- Senior
Division (born in 1996 or
earlier)
First Place: Kazuyuki Tsuji
(Age 25) from Japan
Second Place: Tasuku Mano
(Age 15) from Japan
The top 350 TCG players from
more than 25 countries
qualified for the
invite-only Pokémon Trading
Card World Championships by
spending countless hours
preparing and battling
though a season of city,
state, regional and national
tournaments. Each of the
three first place TCG
finishers received a grand
prize that includes a paid
trip and invitation to
defend their title at the
2010 TCG World
Championships, as well as a
scholarship worth $7,500. In
total, the value of the
scholarships divided amongst
the TCG participants from
1st through 16th place in
all age divisions totaled
more than $100,000. After
two full days and over
twelve hours of fierce
one-on-one TCG battles,
three winners were crowned
in each age group,
including:
2009 Pokémon Trading Card
Game World Champions -
Junior Division (born in
1998 or later)
First Place: Tsubasa
Nakamura, (Age 9) from Japan
Second Place: Jason
Martinez, (Age 11) from
Glendale, California USA
Third Place: William Shand,
(Age 11) from Colorado
Springs, CO
2009 Pokémon Trading Card
Game World Champions -
Senior Division (born in
1994-1997)
First Place: Takuto Itagaki,
(Age 12) from Japan
Second Place: David Cohen,
(Age 14) from Kent,
Washington USA
Third Place: Nicolas
Fotheringham, (Age 15) from
United Kingdom
2009 Pokémon Trading Card
Game World Champions -
Masters Division (born in
1993 or earlier)
First Place: Stephen
Silvestro, (Age 20) from
Citrus Springs, Florida USA
Second Place: Sammi Sekkoum,
(Age 20) from United Kingdom
Third Place: Jay Hernung,
(Age 20) from Madrid, Iowa
USA
Over the past 13 years,
Pokémon has established its
prominence as one of the top
children's franchises in
history. In 2009, the
Pokémon animated series will
be broadcast in as many as
153 countries in more than
25 languages. The Pokémon
video game series has sold
more than 191 million games
worldwide and The Pokémon
Trading Card Game is the No.
1 collectible trading card
game of all-time having more
than 46,000 active members
worldwide.
For more information, please
visit:
http://www.go-pokemon.com/worlds |
