MARIETTA, Ohio (WTAP) – On Sunday, August 30, A boy from West Virginia competed in San Francisco California to become the very best that no one ever was.
Luke Giffen began collecting cards four years ago and started playing the Trading Card game a year after that. He had a dream of becoming a world champion. He got that chance last weekend at the Pokémon Worlds Championship held at Chase Bank Stadium in San Francisco, California.
Over a period of several days, Luke played in 14 matches, going up against some of the top players in the junior category, which is those under 12 years old.
During the entire tournament, Luke says he felt both excited and focused.
I was feeling excited because this was my last tournament in Juniors, and I also felt like I had to lock in because I needed to prove myself in my last tournament
Along with him in California were his parents, the owner of 740 Hobby Cody Gutberlet and Cody’s manager Ben. He says they were a great support system while he was competing.
It was really nice because whenever I lost or whenever I had a hard game, I could just go to them for comfort.
Luke frequents 740 Hobby in Marietta, Ohio. Owned by Cody Gutberlet, this is where he has been training when not at different tournaments around the United States.
Cody’s favorite card, which he does not have but wants to get in the future is. His favorite Pokémon of all time is Croagunk, which was released in the games Pokémon Diamond/Pearl, which was released worldwide in 2007.
We will have more with Luke, his dad Chad Giffen, and Cody Gutberlet on Friday for this week’s This Is Home feature.
You can read previous coverage we’ve had of Luke here.
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