A boy from Melksham has become one of the top 15 Pokémon players in the UK after he competed in the exclusive Pokémon World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ten-year-old Tommy Davis, who attends Aloeric Primary School, travelled to Hawaii with his mum Holly last month to take part in the competition alongside 400 other children from across the world.
Explaining how the competition works, Tommy’s dad, James, said, “Everybody builds a deck with cards that you buy from the shop, you can design your own deck and include any card you like, there is a list of legal and non-legal cards. You play against your opponent and by knocking their Pokémon out with yours, you then take prizes.”
In the championship, Holly said day one consisted of eight rounds, of which the competitors needed 18 points to secure a place in day two. “Tommy reached round five of eight but was knocked out of the running by a strong competitor from Japan and Tommy had the added complication of playing against Japanese-written cards too.”
Only 18 British children attended the World Championships this year. “Despite being unable to gain the number of required points, Tommy continued to finish all eight rounds and has come away in the top 15 Pokémon players in the UK and in the top 300 in the world,” says Holly.
“We hope that Tommy’s journey will continue next year and end with another world championship in Anaheim, California, in August.”
