brian h

VGC Competitor 🇺🇸 - Louisville ‘26 Top 8 -4x Pokemon Junior WCS Top 8 - 2011 Junior Champion - Current VGC Master

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@YooperNick it’s in the last photo i think the replica still works

[brian h @vgcbrain]

Made top 8 at Louisville! Very proud of my run despite the literacy issues and losing focus in the last round. Incredibly grateful for the support from friends along the way and looking forward to competing for the rest of the season.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@MoxieBoosted imagine not using a full party could never be me

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@Shurit13 @ddee_ssbu One of the matches was streamed on Smogon’s twitch I’m not sure if the VOD is available

[brian h @vgcbrain]

I finished 5th out of 898 in the Smogon online tournament! Faced a tough matchup in top 8 and my opponent played really well. Thankful for all the support especially @ddee_ssbu for building and ev advice. Super proud of the run and looking forward to more Champions next season.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@AudricDavid @HootieVGC @ddee_ssbu our set was wild I was terrified of gambit

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays Yes the over arching issue is that if we want to include everyone we need more total spaces. I thought this was obvious enough that the people making these decisions would have already considered and pitched this idea. Hoping the influx from champs will enable them get more space

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays They could have control over this if they had pre-registration and then made it a true lottery which doesn’t favor internet connection and speed. If the argument is “everyone should have an equal chance” then they could make it a true lottery.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays This is partially true but if your goal is to mitigate favoritism toward those with the means to travel, having a fast internet connection being highly correlated with getting into a tournament does not necessarily achieve this.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays That being said, I am skeptical that asking for more tournaments and expenditures has a chance of success. Unfortunately, a lot of it comes down to what will bring in the most revenue and that does not favor looking out for locals.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays This was always meant to be a partial solution. When I competed in 2010 to 2014 there was a Last Chance Qualifier that enabled locals to have a path to participation. Your points on inequality and a correlation between money and number of chances shouldn’t be discounted.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays Additionally, this does not block new players from participating. It is merely rewarding a chunk of in-region players for supporting the scene via their time and energy.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@TrinathanPlays A lot of this comes down to how you think spots ought to be allocated. If you believe that everyone is as entitled as anyone else to participate in any tournament that is a fair take! My claim is that there should be a skill based path for early registration.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@lorcylovesyou @HootieVGC Very curious what you think of my proposed partial solution to make it slightly less lottery based.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@Leuler__ I had specified that the increase in spots was based on region which would mean that Australia still has 16 spots or 32 spots.

[brian h @vgcbrain]

Regarding the current sign-up process for the VGC International Championships. The goal is to open a CONSTRUCTIVE dialogue.

There are other medium/long term solutions to this issue. The solution outlined below is the most realistic and achievable imho.
https://t.co/jHYHPSdGQe

[brian h @vgcbrain]

I am very interested in hearing from people and what they would do differently and how this process impacts them at a personal level. Feel free to share any (respectful) thoughts, ideas, and opinions below.

[adit 🏳️‍🌈 @wellspringmask]

@NachoVGCs Yoo congrats dude,

It’s also crazy you played @vgcbrain round 2, because people can play both you and him in black and white 2’s world tournament

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@1emmaflora @MrRishiTTV so happy Im friends with the goat

[brian h @vgcbrain]

@wellspringmask you can take a bus it’s a lot cheaper but takes a bit longer