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Published on August 14th, 2014 | by Cybertron

14

Meet Team North America: 2014 World Championships, Masters Edition

This weekend, 20 of the best Pokémon trainers on the continent will represent North America in the Masters Division at the 2014 Pokémon Video Game World Championships. This article will aim to introduce you to each competitor from North America including their previous accomplishments and Worlds qualifications, how they earned their invitation this year, and what they do when they’re not kicking butt in Pokémon. Keep in mind that to qualify this season, competitors either had to finish in the Top 4 at the 2013 Pokémon Video Game World Championships, or gain enough Championship Points (CP) throughout the season and finish in the Top 16 in North America. The season consisted of three blocks of Regionals, two Wi-Fi competitions, and one National tournament. Hopefully you learn more about each competitor as both a person and a player after reading this article! The players will be presented in alphabetical order as follows.

1. Aaron Zheng (Cybertron)
2. Adib Alam (honchkro13)
3. Alex Ogloza (Evan Falco)
4. Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario)
5. Ben Hickey (Darkpenguin67)
6. Collin Heier (TheBattleRoom)
7. DeVon Ingram (dingram)
8. Enosh Shachar (Human)
9. Gavin Michaels (kingofmars)
10. Hayden McTavish (Enigne)
11. Jon Hu (JHufself)
12. Jeudy Azzarelli (Soul Survivor)
13. Logan Castro (Yellowbox)
14. Michael Lanzano (JiveTime)
15. Mike Suleski (OmegaDonut)
16. Omari Travis (BadIntent)
17. Randy Kwa (R Inanimate)
18. Ray Rizzo (Ray)
19. Tiffany Stanley (Shiloh)
20. Toler Webb (Dim)

Aaron Zheng (Cybertron)

Age: 16
Location: Fresh Meadows, New York
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013
Qualified This Year Through: 3rd Place at Worlds 2013 (Masters)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2011 & 2012 US Seniors National Champion, 3rd Place Worlds 2013
Signature Pokémon: Puke Green Scizor, Rotom-W

One of the more notable figures in the Pokémon VGC community, Aaron has played competitively since VGC’s first year in 2008 and has qualified for five World Championships since. He won back to back National Championships as a Senior in 2011 & 2012, and continued to have strong performances after aging up to Masters last season. He placed 3rd at the 2013 World Championships and was the highest ranking American in the Masters Division. Since Aaron automatically qualified for the 2014 World Championships through his strong finish last year, he began to focus more on helping the game grow through his YouTube channel, which has around 15,000 subscribers as of right now. In June, he was also sponsored by the eSports organization CLASH Tournaments and its newly announced professional team. With a subpar season thus far, Aaron is looking for a strong finish at Worlds this upcoming weekend, where he hopes to top cut for the 3rd straight season in a row.

Outside of Pokémon, Aaron resides in New York City and will be a rising senior at the Trinity School. He just completed a two month internship with JP Morgan, where he spent the majority of his summer. He enjoys helping out the community, and will be leading an English tutoring organization for ESL learners/Chinese immigrants this fall in Chinatown. Aaron also enjoys running and partakes in his school’s cross country and track teams. He will be applying to universities this upcoming fall, and where he hopes to pursue business and math. Aaron competes alongside his little brother, Brendan “Babbytron” Zheng, the 2013 Juniors Pokémon Video Game World Champion.

Adib Alam (honchkro13)

Age: 22
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (3rd NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2014 US Nationals Runner-up
Signature Pokémon: Steelix and Gyarados

Adib has been playing Pokémon since the Red/Blue era, though he took a break from the series immediately afterwards. He picked up the series again when Diamond and Pearl came out and never looked back. However, Adib didn’t start playing competitively until the 2012 season. He made top cut for the first time with a Top 16 finish at 2013 US Nationals with his signature Steelix, and then followed it up with a Top 8 finish at the following fall 2013 Ft. Wayne Regionals. While he did make it to the Top 8 at Apex 2014 during the winter regional season, Adib struggled with adapting to VGC 2014 overall and didn’t earn any CP at the winter and spring Regionals. This was largely because he had trouble accepting the fact that Steelix was no longer as viable in 2014 as it was in 2013. He dropped Steelix in time for 2014 US Nationals, where he finished 2nd and earned his (paid) Worlds invite, losing to Alex Ogloza (Evan Falco) in the finals.

Outside of Pokémon, Adib has just started his senior year in mechanical engineering at Purdue University. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, watching anime, playing other video games such as Legend of Zelda, and traveling around the country. He loves battling in style by customizing his Pokémon with fitting nicknames, special Pokeballs and even shininess when needed. His favorite show of all time is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and he has a special love for serpentine Pokémon.

Alex Ogloza (Evan Falco)

Age: 22
Location: Davis, California
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2010
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (1st NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2014 US Masters National Champion
Signature Pokémon: According to him, “Win Button Talonflame”

Fresh off a National Championship victory, Alex Ogloza is one of the most popular faces of American VGC right now. Originally a TCG player, he started playing VGC in 2010. While he intended on playing in the TCG Last Chance Qualifier at Worlds in 2010, he spontaneously entered for the VGC Last Chance Qualifier after Ryan and Alan Schambers gave him a team, and managed to qualify for Worlds. There, he had a strong 4-2 finish, placing 13th off resistance. Since that year, Alex continued to have solid performances and was on track for a Worlds invite last season (16th before US Nationals, top 12 received invites that year) but unfortunately had to skip out on Nationals when he got the opportunity to study abroad in Japan. This season, Alex finished 2nd at Oregon Regionals, top 16 at two other Regionals, and of course, 1st at US Nationals.

Outside of Pokémon, Alex runs his own YouTube channel (which is almost about to hit 20,000 subscribers!) where he makes helpful tutorials and VGC-related content. He just graduated from UC Davis and is currently living just north of San Francisco. He spends most of his times building apps and websites. In addition to his impressive Pokémon accomplishments, Alex has had a black belt since the age of 12 and dragon boated for a year, winning a gold medal in LA against a team from China. He also used to be on a traveling hip-hop dance team and was assistant director of the largest online college news source in the US (Uloop News). In addition, Alex won a round of seed funding from investors for a t-shirt brand he began in college as a sophomore. He’s excited to compete in his second World Championship and return to Worlds after four years.

Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario)

Age: 16
Location: Chardon, Ohio
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (8th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): Top 4 at Florida and Missouri Regionals, 11th at US Nationals 2014
Signature Pokémon: The Kalos Dex

Perhaps the most interesting player of the 2014 season, Ashton Cox is known for his eccentric and unique Pokémon at every tournament. For example, his Nationals team utilized Gigalith, Sawk, Espeon, Heliolisk, Weavile and Charizard-Y, which brought him to an 8-1 finish Day 1 and a 4-2 finish day 2. You may remember his incredible set against Simon Yip in Round 6 of US Nationals, which was featured on stream, where Ashton was able to force a game 3 with his Choice Specs Heliolisk OHKOing Simon’s Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand with Focus Blast. Some other unconventional Pokémon he’s used this year at actual events include but are not limited to Emolga, Diggersby, Clawitzer, and Mega Alakazam. He had a consistent run throughout Regionals, with two top 4 finishes and one top 16 finish. In only his first truly competitive year (and his first year in Masters), Ashton has shown again and again that you don’t need to always use “conventional” Pokémon to do well in VGC. Ashton currently resides in Chardon, Ohio. When he’s not playing Pokémon, he dedicates most of his time to marching band, where he plays percussion. Ashton even made an appearance at the 3DS Smash 4 tournament held at Comic Con a few weeks ago, where he was featured on live stream and made it all the way to the winners finals.

Ben Hickey (Darkpenguin67)

Age: 16
Location: Maryland
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2010, 2013
Qualified This Year Through: 2nd Place at Worlds 2013 (Seniors)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2nd Place Worlds 2013
Signature Pokémon: Rhyperior

While Ben’s only 16, he has played VGC since 2009 and this World Championship will be his third one after competing in 2010 and 2013. He is the only player in the world alongside Aaron Zheng to have qualified for Worlds in all three divisions: Juniors, Seniors, and Masters. Ben is most known for his 2nd place finish at Worlds last year in Seniors, but has several other accolades to his name, including a 1st place finish at Philadelphia Regionals in 2013 and multiple top cuts at US Nationals. His first notable accomplishment in Masters was at Utah Spring Regionals this year, where he finished 2nd. When he’s not playing Pokémon, Ben enjoys playing other games such as Kerbal Space Program ad Tagpro. He is also a black belt and participates in track & field (specifically throwing events). Ben is currently a high school student and enjoys studying Ancient Greek.

Collin Heier (TheBattleRoom)

Age: 17
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (13th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 1st Place Madison Regionals 2014
Signature Pokémon: Reuniclus, Mawile

Collin quickly rose to fame in North America this season after dominating the regional circuit. While he began playing VGC in 2011, Collin wasn’t able to find much success until winter of 2014 when he finished 10th at St. Louis Regionals. Determined to do better, he then competed in two Spring Regionals and dominated both of them, finishing 4th at Kansas City and 1st at Madison using a team of Reuniclus/Chandelure/Rotom-W/Hydreigon/Garchomp/Mawile. Collin finished 47th at US Nationals with a 6-3 record, but his consistent play throughout the season awarded him with an invite to his first World Championship.

Outside of Pokémon, Collin attends an all boys private school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He will be going into his senior year this upcoming fall, and is looking forward to applying to colleges following the World Championships. Collin also enjoys playing the saxophone in his free time.

Devon Ingram (dingram)

Age: 16
Location: Georgia
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2013
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (16th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2nd at US Nationals 2013 (Seniors)
Signature Pokémon: Latias, Raikou

Each year, there are a couple of players who age up from the Senior Division to the Masters Division and transition flawlessly. Players such as Sejun Park, Enosh Shachar, Gavin Michaels, Aaron Zheng, Toler Webb, and now DeVon Ingram have all performed well immediately after aging up. DeVon is perhaps the most notable 1st year Master, clinching his first Worlds invite as a Master after a successful run in Seniors, where he won two Regionals, finished 2nd at US Nationals, and just missed top cut at Worlds last year with a 10th place finish. DeVon attributes his success to hard work and dedication – after picking up the game casually 10 years ago, he began to watch YouTube videos during the 4th generation and learned about the decision making skills necessary to be successful. He first started playing VGC in 2011, where he was eliminated in the first round at Atlanta Regionals, but had a breakout year last season and has continued to have success in the Masters division. This season, he finished 2nd at two separate Regionals and had just enough Championship Points for a Worlds invite.

Outside of Pokémon, DeVon enjoys playing chess and Starcraft 2, learning other languages, and programming. He’s also been playing piano for 11 years. He’s currently finishing up Fantasie Improptu by Chopin and is also working on the 3rd movement of Pathétique and the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata, both which are written by Beethoven. When he’s not playing the piano, DeVon attempts to self-teach himself violin. As a rising senior, he is currently mentally preparing himself for college applications to schools such as MIT, Georgia Tech, and CalTech, where he hopes to major in Mathematics and Computer Science with a minor in Physics.

Enosh Shachar (Human)

Age: 18
Location: Tenafly, New Jersey
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2013
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (10th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 3rd Place at Worlds 2011 (Seniors), 2nd Place at Nationals 2013 (Masters), Top 8 at Worlds 2013 (Masters)
Signature Pokémon: Thundurus

One of the most consistent American players in VGC history, Enosh Shachar is always at the top of the tournament rankings. He began playing VGC in 2010, but had his breakout year in Seniors during 2011, where he finished Top 8 at US Nationals and 3rd at Worlds. He barely missed out on a Worlds invite in 2012, losing to eventual two-time National Champion Wolfe Glick in the top 8. In 2013, Enosh improved on his previous Nationals finishes and placed 2nd overall, losing to Gavin Michaels in the finals. At Worlds, he was the only other American alongside Aaron Zheng to top cut, but was eliminated in the first round. Impressively, Enosh was the only player who defeated World Champion Arash Omatti at that tournament in a best of 3. This season, Enosh placed 2nd at Virginia Regionals and top 16 at two other Regionals. Combined with the CP he had earned from finishing in the top 8 of Worlds in 2013, he clinched his Worlds invite before US Nationals. He also finally broke his 1st place curse, winning his first sanctioned Pokémon VGC event at a Premier Challenge early this spring.

Enosh, a New Jersey native, just graduated from Tenafly High School and will be attending Carnegie Mellon University this fall. In fact, he’ll be moving into CMU right after the conclusion of Worlds this year. He opted not to attend US Nationals this summer and instead traveled around Europe. He enjoys watching Sherlock, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, House of Cards, and Game of Thrones in his spare time.

Gavin Michaels (kingofmars)

Age: 16
Location: Encino, California
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2012, 2013
Qualified This Year Through: Championship Points (4th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 2013 US Masters National Champion, Top 8 Worlds 2012 (Seniors)
Signature Pokémon: Trick Choice Band Gallade, Landorus-I

While always an elite player, Gavin has truly established himself as one of America’s best Masters in the past two seasons. After an impressive Seniors career, culminating in a Top 8 finish at the 2012 World Championships, Gavin initially struggled in the Masters Division and missed out on top cut at all the three Regionals he attended in 2013. Despite mediocre finish after mediocre finish, Gavin was determined and ended up winning US Nationals in his first year as a Master. He then finished 3-3 at the World Championships after starting off 3-1. This season, Gavin continued to dominate, finishing 2nd at Long Beach Regionals, 4th at Arizona Regionals, and in the top 16 at both Seattle and NorCal Regionals. He continued his top cut streak at US Nationals, advancing to the elimination bracket for the fourth time in a row, but was swiftly eliminated in the first round by Logan Castro. However, Gavin had such a consistent season that he earned both an invite and trip to Worlds. Gavin has the rare quality of not caring very much whether or not his team is known before the event yet still finding success with it, seen by his performances the past two Nationals.

Hayden McTavish (Enigne)

Age: 16
Location: Seattle, Washington
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2013
Qualified This Year Through: 1st Place at Worlds 2013 (Seniors)
Most Notable Accomplishment(s): 2013 Seniors World Champion
Signature Pokémon: Machamp

Hayden rose to fame last season as he won the 2013 World Championships in the Senior Division, qualifying through the Last Chance Qualifier the day before the main event. While he is most known for his incredible feat at the World Championships, Hayden actually started his VGC career back in 2010, where he attended Seattle Regionals as a Junior. His first competitive tournament was Seattle Regionals in 2011, where he finished 2nd in Seniors with the famous Terrakion/Whimsicott combo. In 2012, he finished 2nd at Pleasanton and was two rounds away from a Worlds invite, knocked out of the top 16 at US Nationals. Before his fantastic run at Worlds last year, Hayden managed to win Vancouver Regionals and placed in the top 16 at US Nationals. This was not enough for an invite via Championship Points, but he gave it one final shot at the Last Chance Qualifier, where it clearly paid off. This season is Hayden’s first in the Masters division.

Hayden recently turned 16 and currently resides in Seattle, Washington. As a high school student, his life is focused around school (especially English and science), Pokémon, and music. He enjoys playing the violin/fiddle, though he claims he’s “not sure his skill always matches his enthusiasm for it.” He also plays soccer, but has an aptitude for getting injuries that can make it hard to play. (He severed a tendon this year by knocking over a glass of water). He enjoys making terrible puns (as you may notice from the title of his Worlds 2013 team report), and is quite proud of the fact that his initials spell HAM while his mother’s maiden name is Bacon.

Jon Hu (JHufself)

Age: 18
Location: Fishers, Indiana
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (9th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 4th Place US Nationals 2014
Signature Pokémon: Lapras, Sableye

Jon has been playing Pokémon since 2001, starting with his favorite installment to date (Pokémon Crystal). His first VGC event was 2010’s US Nationals LCQ, where he did not make it into the main competition. He remarks that his earlier years in VGC were “still mostly playing for the experience rather than the winning.” It wasn’t until this season that he was motivated to perform well at tournaments, quietly sneaking into the top 16 at Madison Regionals. Jon then rose to prominence with an outstanding 4th place finish at US Nationals, earning him his first Worlds invite. He attributes his success mostly to two overlooked Pokémon (and two of his personal favorites) in Sableye and Lapras. Jon’s favorite Pokémon type is Ice, and his favorite move is Freeze-Dry

Outside of Pokémon, Jon enjoys watching anime and playing other Nintendo franchises and JRPGs. He is a big fan of Fire Emblem and is currently on his 3rd Lunatic+ Classic playthrough on Awakening. His favorite school subjects are math and music theory, and he will be attending IU Bloomington to major in secondary math education and to hopefully become proficient in both Chinese and Japanese. Jon dreams he will be able to teach math alongside English overseas, while still remaining involved in the competitive Pokémon scene.

Jeudy Azzarelli (SoulSurvivor)

Age: 18
Location: Staten Island, New York
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (15th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: Top 8 US Nationals 2014
Signature Pokémon: Bulky Talonflame

A first time Worlds qualifier, Jeudy has been playing Pokémon since he was four years old, starting with Pokémon Blue. His first competitive VGC event was at Newark Regionals in 2010, where he lost to Aaron Zheng in the top 32. He played since then, always performing well but bubbling out of the top cut multiple times. This season, Jeudy had average finishes at three separate Regionals, placing in the top 64 (33rd), top 32 (17th), and top 16 (13th). He finally had his breakout performance at US Nationals, where he was able to finish in the top 8 with a unique rain team featuring bulky Talonflame to earn his first Worlds invite. Jeudy also performed exceptionally well in grassroots events this year, winning a local New York tournament (NYCE4) and finishing 2nd at APEX 2014.

Jeudy currently resides in Staten Island, New York. He is getting ready for his first year of college at Alfred State this upcoming fall, where he plans on double majoring in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Jeudy also enjoys watching anime, collecting figmas, running, and playing RPGs.

Logan Castro (Yellowbox)

Age: 18
Location: Pasadena, Texas
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (9th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: Top 4 US Nationals 2014
Signature Pokémon: Choice Scarf Gyarados

Logan instantly rose to fame after an incredible top 4 place finish at US Nationals this year, where he upset defending National Champion Gavin Michaels in an intense top 8 match. He also had a 4th place finish at Houston Regionals and a 3rd place finish in the Spring Wi-Fi International Challenge last year, but had no notable accomplishments in the 2014 season. Surprisingly, Logan built his team for Nationals (Kangaskhan/Zapdos/Gyarados/Chandelure/Bisharp/Garchomp) just two days before the competition with Ben Irons. His team, while standard on the outside, featured tons of cool tricks and moves such as Substitute Garchomp, Light Screen Zapdos, Safeguard Chandelure, and Choice Scarf Gyarados — which propelled him to a 3rd place finish and his first Worlds invite.

Logan enjoys singing, playing Halo 4, and “keeping it real with the kids” when he’s not playing Pokémon. He also works as a DJ at a skating rink and “it is common knowledge in his town that he is in fact Spiderman.” He is currently enrolled in the Art Institute of Houston.

Michael Lanzano (JiveTime)

Age: 21
Location: New Jersey
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (6th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: Philadelphia Regional Champion 2012, 2014, Georgia Regional Champion 2014
Signature Pokémon: Metagross

Michael established himself as one of the North East’s best players after winning the Philadelphia Regional Championship in 2012, defeating esteemed players Enosh Shachar and Wolfe Glick along the way. Since then, he has become one of the country’s top players, shown through his Regional performances this year. He was able to win Philadelphia Regionals a second time in three years, then won Georgia Regionals in the winter. While he was notably weaker at Nationals the past two years, Michael finally broke out of the curse and advanced to day 2, where he finished with a 4-2 record and missed out on the top 8 off resistance.

Michael Suleski (OmegaDonut)

Age: 27
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2009, 2011
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (16th NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 2009 US National Champion
Signature Pokémon: Chandelure

One of the most knowledgable players about the game, Mike is known for creating the “Instacheck Hotspot” that came out when Pokémon XY was first released. Beyond that, he’s a seasoned VGC veteran — out of all the players who have qualified for Worlds this year, Mike was the only one to have competed in the 2009 World Championships after winning US Nationals that year. He finished 14th with a 3-2 record at Worlds. He then managed to grind in through the Last Chance Qualifier at Worlds in 2011, where he finished 10th with a 4-2 record and just missed out on advancing on to the top cut. After two subpar seasons, Mike returned this year with multiple fantastic finishes, finishing in the Top 4 at two separate Regionals (California and Florida). He tied with DeVon Ingram for 16th place on Championship Points and had exactly enough to get an invite to Worlds.

Omari Travis (BadIntent)

Age: 24
Location: California
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2010
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (5th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: Texas & California 2014 Regional Champion
Signature Pokémon: Blissey

Omari had the most impressive Regionals run in VGC history this season, winning two and finishing 2nd at a third. With such strong performances, he qualified for Worlds before US Nationals. Still determined, Omari swept through the competition day 1 at Nationals, finishing with an 8-1 record and advanced to day 2, where he finished at 3-3. This World Championship will be his second one, as he qualified in 2010 as well. At the 2010 National Championships, Omari finished day 1 with a perfect 7-0 record. In the top cut, he won his first match, thus winning a free invite/trip to 2010 Worlds, but was eliminated in the quarter finals. He played sporadically between 2010 and 2014, but kicked his training into high gear this season and the results have clearly shown.

Randy Kwa (R Inanimate)

Age: 24
Location: Richmond, BC
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2013
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (12th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: Top 4 US Nationals 2013
Signature Pokémon: Zoroark, Togekiss, Smeargle, Blastoise

For the second straight season in a row, Randy will be the sole representative of Canada in the Masters Division for the Pokémon Video Game World Championships. Randy is perhaps most known for sticking with a team throughout an entire season, making minor adjustments from tournament to tournament. Last year, he piloted a team around Togekiss/Excadrill to the top 4 at the US National Championships and an 18th place finish at Worlds. Randy was one win away from advancing to top cut at Worlds last year after starting off 3-0, and he’ll be back for another shot this weekend. This year, he is most known for building teams around his core of Smeargle and Mega Blastoise. Although he only attended two Regionals this year, placing 21st and and 2nd, his 16th place finish at US Nationals gave him enough Championship Points for another invite. Randy has been one of North America’s most consistent players, top cutting Nationals from 2011 to 2013 and advancing to day 2 at Nationals this year.

Randy currently lives in Richmond, BC, and often expresses his hobbies a decent amount when talking online and through nicknaming his Pokémon. He enjoys watching Anime, has an interest in Touhou, and enjoys playing strategy RPGs (particularly the Fire Emblem and Super Robot Wars series). Pokémon has been part of his life since 1996, when he first heard about it in a Nintendo Power issue. He has played the game since 1999, and his first competition was in 2005. He “couldn’t be happier at just how much the official competitive Pokémon scene has grown since then.” Outside of Pokémon and his hobbies, he currently works part time helping his parents’ accounting business.

Ray Rizzo (Ray)

Age: 21
Location: New Jersey
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (2nd in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 3-time World Champion (2010, 2011, 2012)
Signature Pokémon: Gothitelle, bulky Thundurus, Torkal, Wigglytuff

The greatest Pokémon player of all time, Ray Rizzo is a stranger to nobody in the competitive Pokémon scene. After dominating from 2010 to 2012 and winning three straight World Championships, Ray has continued to crush his competition this season, finishing 2nd overall in Championship Points. He won both Virginia and Massachusetts Regionals, heavily influencing the metagame with Pokémon such as bulky Mawile. He then topped it off with a top 8 finish at US Nationals, losing in a close game 3 against eventual National Champion Alex Ogloza. Unsurprisingly, Ray has qualified for the most World Championships out of anyone in VGC history, only missing out on a qualification in 2009 because he was not selected to play via the random lottery. Ray also isn’t afraid to use fun and crazy teams at events, having used Pokémon such as Numel, Jynx, and Torkal in past tournaments. His accomplishments speak for himself, and he furthers his legacy each season with each impressive finish.

Ray recently graduated from Drake University, where he majored in Actuarial Science. He currently resides in his home state of New Jersey and is currently applying for an entry level actuarial job. He enjoys playing Mario Kart 8 and recently picked up League of Legends.

Tiffany Stanley (shiloh)

Age: 21
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Previous Worlds Qualifications: N/A
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (11th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 3rd at Houston Regionals 2014, 15th at US Nationals 2014
Signature Pokémon: Mesprit

Tiffany began playing Pokémon casually after she picked up Ruby in 2005 and began playing competitively the year after. In 2006, she attended a Journey Across America Regional, where she placed in the top 8. She was denied a chance to play through the random lotto in 2009, and was knocked out of a Regional, Nationals LCQ, and Worlds LCQ in the 1st round in 2010. Since then, Tiffany has quietly built up an impressive list of accolades, starting with her Top 8 finish at Virginia Regionals. She has since placed in the top 16 of at least one Regional every year, finishing 2nd at Houston in 2012 and 3rd at Houston this season. In addition to her impressive Regional placements, Tiffany also top cut Nationals in 2012 and 2013, and advanced to day 2 this year, making her one of the most consistent Americans at the national level. She barely missed out on a Worlds invite last year, finishing 15th overall in the country (just 3 spots shy from an invite). She qualified for Worlds this year through a 3rd place finish at Houston Regionals, a 16th place finish at St. Louis Regionals, and a 15th place finish at US Nationals.

Tiffany currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas. She enjoys making stained glass in her free time as she finds it a very soothing activity. She is currently going into her junior year of college, where she hopes to achieve her degree in Nursing. She loves helping people and finds the medical field fascinating.

Toler Webb (Dim)

Age: 16
Location: North Carolina
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2012, 2013
Qualified this Year Through: Championship Points (13th in NA)
Most Notable Accomplishment: 2012 Seniors World Champion
Signature Pokémon: Ludicolo

Toler began playing Pokémon casually at just age four (his family jokes that he learned to read from it, which he states is “partially true”), picking up the game competitively when he was 11. He dominated the 2012 season, with a top 4 finish at both Regionals and Nationals before ultimately finishing his season with a World Championship. Last year, his first season in the Masters Division, Toler top cut two separate regionals and barely missed out on the Worlds top cut, finishing with a 4-2 record. He started off this season well with a 2nd place finish at Philadelphia Regionals, followed by a 4th place finish at Virginia Regionals. After two sub-par Regional finishes in the spring season, he kicked his practice into high gear for Nationals in hopes of securing another invite to Worlds, which he ultimately was able to do after making it to day 2 at Nationals and finishing 17th overall. Toler believes that he is often underrated as a competitor, which was what pushed him to become a successful competitor in 2012.

Toler is currently a high school student living in North Carolina. He has recently taken up running partially as a hobby, and partially because he feels that exercising will help him grow as a person. He has been a singer for two and a half years, and often regularly acts in school musicals. He enjoys gaming outside of Pokémon as well, and works with Sam Haarsma (DrFidget) on the Lava Pool podcast to give back to the community. Toler desires to help Pokémon grow and become more inclusive for everyone, so more people can experience what it’s like to separate oneself from the real world for a bit and compete with others. In general, he likes to challenge himself to see what he is capable of, whether in Pokémon, school, or other areas.

About the Author

Cybertron is a five time Worlds qualifier ('08, '11, '12, '13, '14), a three-time Regional Champion, and a two-time National Champion. Aaron also placed 3rd at the 2013 Pokemon World Championships. He is sponsored by CLASH Tournaments and aims to promote competitive VGC through his YouTube channel, CybertronProductions. Aaron is currently a senior at Trinity School NYC.

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