For those of you that follow Ian's Pokemon career, or those who haven't heard about this before, here is info about the world tournament which begins tomorrow. This will be streamed. They focus on the master division and kids (juniors/seniors) won't be streamed until the final day with the final top 2. One of the great things about watching stream is the commentators explaining what is happening.

For those not already Ian fans here is a great article about Ian's Pokemon journey from age 5. This year Ian finished ranked 2nd in the US and 7th in the world.
https://clutchpoints.com/5-time-pokemon-tcg-champ-ian...

Pokemon changed our lives. We used it to help him with reading and math. We traveled to tournaments around the country and around the world and explored other places, history and cultures.
Pokemon can be just a fun game with friends, or a local league you attend weekly but it can also be highly competitive if that is the level you want to pursue.

So....
Here is info for TCG (the card game) which is what Ian plays (he is in the masters division) but I will put stream links for the other tournaments in the comments in case your family likes GO, VCD (video game) or Unite.

It's time for WORLDS!
Main website for the whole event : https://worlds.pokemon.com/en-us/

Tomorrow is Day 1 of this year's Pokemon World tournament. 12 years ago it was in Hawaii and Ian won 2nd place as a junior. This year it is in Hawaii again and he has big hopes!

Ian has been there all week, hanging out with friends, doing touristy things, practicing and getting used to the time zone.

My belly just flip flopped with excitement for him!

This year the tournament style is set up differently.
Day 1 you must win 6 out of the 8 rounds to proceed to Day 2.
Ties won't help anyone in any way.

Here is the link to the Day 1 stream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgE9nxOKots

And the link to pairings
https://rk9.gg/pairings/WCS01mIMYt8if4wVuaO0

Pictures of Hawaii 2012.
A few days before the tournament Ian (he was 9 years old) standing in front of the winners banner imagining the possibilities. Then playing in top 2. Then getting 2nd. It was an AMAZING feeling that we will never forget.

Pictures from Nats 2023 just to show Ian now.