Neurodivergent, Gamer, TCG Player.
Data Engineer.
Hip hop lover, tattoo collector.
Respect people's right to be who they are.
All opinion's are mine.
He/him
I don’t think the majority of the TCG community as a whole understands how difficult it is to make their games respective World Championship.
In Pokemon, we have a top 135 system. There are SO many great, experienced, and hardworking players.
To take one of those 135 spots away from these players is extremely difficult if you aren’t willing to match their preparation, desire and willing spend some money.
So while money can be a factor for some competitors that cannot attend as many events as the next person, at the end of the day skill is the number one factor that decides wether or not you can represent North America at the World Championship.
In the 2025 season, I attended about 10 majors and half of those were paid for by a sponsor. I still failed to get into Worlds.
Money wasn’t a factor and I worked hard to prepare myself each event I attended. It would be incredibly difficult for me to justify my skill level not being the issue when clearly it is.
It’s also hard to justify that there are these amazing top level players scattered across the world that can’t travel to events due to financial restraints that would just stomp the competition if given the chance. Is there a few out there? Sure, but there is just no metric for that. But we can say we have hard evidence that there are competitor’s who are consistently in the Worlds race because they can travel to events AND have a high skill level.
Tbh it’s really disrespectful to the players who finished in the top 135 to say they got there because they could afford it and not because they worked their ass off.
They got there because they showed up and performed exceptionally well at the events they attended no matter how many they went to because they are highly skilled.
@Neo7hinker@Nico_TCG I mean, I classified for Worlds this year, maxed out locals, had so-so results in Premier Events, and I don't coach because I feel I have a lot to learn, I don't particularly think I'm good, and people that I play know that, and you still charge more than actual top players. Wow.
There is also something else they play a part in whether somebody will even try to get to Worlds and that's the Visa's requirement. I know a few people that qualified but don't have a Visa and some that didn't even try even though they are better at the game than me.
saw a blue checkmarked white boy tweet that money doesnt play a role in qualifying for worlds.
we all know amazing players thatll never qualify bc they cant afford to travel. its why i hate the new invite system. its important to recognize the privilege we have just to compete.
@RanoLoL I like playing mid season events and locals, also you can always test with some buddies and snacks and drinks and prepare yourself for the next season
Like I've said multiple times, Dragapult is the current gatekeeper, without it many weird decks would be viable and the meta would just be random as heck
Now that I think about it, the format would probably we worse if Dragapult didn't exist.
Imagining Slop, Crustle and Alakazam being the top 3 decks to beat doesn't sound so great.
Won at locals, tbh have been forgeting to upload my wins here and on Instagram. Playing a new 60, trying to find what I'll take to Worlds, the meta shift with Pitch Black looks interesting to say the least.
Let's do this again: Selling one of my spectator passes for Worlds 2026, the other my friend kept it, that grants access to both the Pokémon XP and the Arena. I could sell it for 350. DMs open!
@TheBlackxRanger@ThraeTFT Scalpers? Lol, I classified for Worlds, after a long and hard year, and got two spectator passes that we all competitors get. Sit down Karen.