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Published on October 15th, 2012 | by Evan

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VGC ’13 North American Fall Regionals Results

The 2013 season of the Pokémon Video Game Championship series kicked off this weekend with events in Philadelphia, PA; Ft. Wayne, IN; Houston, TX; San Jose, CA; and Toronto, ON. Pokémon trainers from across North America competed in six to eight rounds of best of one Swiss, followed by the top eight players from each Regional competing in best of three elimination rounds until the first five Regional Champions of the 2013 VGC season were crowned.

The Philadelphia Regional, often considered one of the most competitive Regionals in the circuit, saw Matt Sybeldon (bearsfan092) defeat Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) in the finals of Aaron’s first Masters tournament after a back and forth series that went to three matches. In the Seniors division, the void left by the newly-graduated Masters was quickly filled by current Nugget Bridge Circuit points leader Ben Hickey (Darkpenguin67). Ben proved his NBC record is no fluke after defeating Jeremy Gumbs (Randomtron) in the finals to add the title “Regional Champion” to his impressive and growing collection.

In Ft. Wayne Zach Droegkamp (Zach) followed up his 2012 Regional win in Madison, WI, by conquering the dense Ft. Wayne field, with a convincing win against Stephen Morioka in the Masters division finals and setting the bar for future Midwestern Regionals. Speaking of bar-setting, 2011 Junior World Champion and 2012 Junior Worlds finalist Brian Hough lived up to the high bar set for himself by taking home the title of Champion in this, his inaugural tournament as a Senior.

Down South the hot air of Houston, TX, proved comfortable to the members of Team Magma with Benji Irons (benjitheGREAT) coming out on top over his fellow Magma compatriot Oliver Valenti (Smith) in a tight set of three. The competition in the Seniors division was also hot as lava with Cedric Bernier (Talon) taking the title over 2011 Juniors Worlds runner-up Ian McLaughlin in a fiery series between these two tough challengers.

Pokémon trainers in the Western United States met in San Jose, CA, for fun, sun, and Pokémon. In his first tournament as a Master, 2011 Seniors division World Champion Kamran Jahadi (Kamz) came out swinging, netting a Regionals Championship in addition to his World Championship after defeating Hayden Morrison (hakemo) in the finals. The Seniors division, freed from the shadow of World Champion Kamran, saw Canadian visitor April Hooge (Phenac) take the championship over Tommy Yee (tlyee61) in a close series.

Across the border in Canada, the Toronto, ON, Regional saw an influx of American trainers from the New York area, but Canadian trainer Winston Chan (Chanman) managed to beat back the American invasion like it was 1812 with his victory over Daniel Levinson (dtrain) in another multinational finals. The Canadian line held strong in the Seniors division with Richard Truong (Dittoditto) following up his second place finish at last year’s Canadian National Championship with a Regional Championship on his home turf.

Congratulations to all of the Champions and runners-up! In addition to bragging rights, Champions in the Masters and Seniors division take home a paid trip to Indianapolis, IN, complete with hotel room, to compete in the United States National Video Game Championships, dates to be announced, as well as a first round Bye in the Swiss rounds of Nationals and 120 Championship Points to be used towards an invitation to the 2013 Pokémon World Video Game Championships in Vancouver, BC. Runners-up in the Masters division receive $300 to help pay their way to Indianapolis, 110 Championship points, and a first round Bye in the Swiss Rounds of Nationals, with the 3rd and 4th place finishers in the Masters division receiving 90 Championship points. Seniors division runners-up receive $500 to help pay for them and a guardian to attend Nationals in Indianapolis, as well as a first round Bye in the Swiss rounds of Nationals and 110 Championship points, with 3rd and 4th place finishers also receiving the $500 travel stipend and 90 Championship Points each.

Complete Results

Philadelphia, PA

Masters Top 8

  1. Matt Sybeldon (bearsfan092)
  2. Aaron Zheng (Cybertron)
  3. Enosh Shachar (Human)
  4. Kristian Mosquito (Mosquito)
  5. Patrick D. (Pd0nZ)
  6. Nitesh Manem (nachocheese999)
  7. Christopher Warden
  8. Toler Webb (Dim)

Top 37 after Swiss

Seniors Top 8

  1. Ben Hickey (Darkpenguin67)
  2. Jeremy Gumbs (Randomtron)
  3. Frankie Ni (1AznDomination)
  4. Edward Fan (iss)
  5. Brandon Simms
  6. Priten Patel (LudiImpact)
  7. Jonathan Hiller (MrFox)
  8. Fadi Albadrasaui

Top 15 after Swiss

Ft. Wayne, IN

Masters Top 8

  1. Zach Droegkamp (Zach)
  2. Stephen Morioka
  3. Tyler Hagan (Tyler)
  4. Scott Glaza (Scott)
  5. Maurice Easterly (Maurice Easterly)
  6. Andrew Fent
  7. Sam Haarsma (DrFidget)
  8. Miles Swoger (Gamings)

Top 22 after Swiss

Seniors Top 8

  1. Brian Hough
  2. Darrin Cooper
  3. Grace Arnold

Houston, TX

Masters Top 8

  1. Benji Irons (benjitheGREAT)
  2. Oliver Valenti (Smith)
  3. Danish Ali
  4. Logan Castro (Yellowbox)
  5. Kenan Nerad (Lucien Lachance)
  6. Tiffany Stanley (Shiloh)
  7. Jordan Rethmeier (Cathadora)
  8. Trista Medine (ryuzaki)

Top 30 after Swiss

Seniors Top 8

  1. Cedric Bernier (Talon)
  2. Ian McLaughlin
  3. Wade Stanley
  4. Mark Grubbs
  5. Teddy Heinem
  6. Phillip J.
  7. Max C.
  8. Max A.

San Jose, CA

Masters Top 8

  1. Kamran Jahadi (Kamz)
  2. Hayden Morrison (hakemo)
  3. Alex Dylan Ogloza (Evan Falco)
  4. Duy Ha (Duy)
  5. Alan Schambers (Metabou)
  6. Jeremy Fan (AlphaOmega)
  7. Lane Tower
  8. Alex Stempe (Stempe)

Top 26 after Swiss

Seniors Top 8

  1. April Hooge (Phenac)
  2. Tommy Yee (tlyee61)
  3. Daniel Cardenas (KermitTheFrog14)
  4. Matthew Sao (xblade356)
  5. Josh Fernando
  6. Ian Whiton
  7. Tristan Arellano
  8. Luka Levi

 Top 28 after Swiss

Toronto, ON

Masters Top 8

  1. Winston Chan (Chanman)
  2. Daniel Levinson (dtrain)
  3. Shingo Fukuyado (Uwaki shin)
  4. Simon Yip (TDS)
  5. Hamza Khan (MiniWade)
  6. Eric Stevenson
  7. Grant Clail
  8. Matthew Coyle (EnFuego)

Top 30 after Swiss

Seniors Top 8

  1. Richard Truong (Dittoditto)
  2. Allan Xu (Allan Xu)


About the Author

is the Editor-in-Chief of Nugget Bridge and author of the arts and pop culture blog Preposterous Uncle. From his home in Washington, DC, he ensures that content posted to the site is up to snuff. Evan is known for his strict deadlines and wants you to have your article on his desk by 5.



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