Woodbridge Man is Pokémon Champion

By STEPHANIE TIPPLE

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Chris Murray, ofWoodbridge, placed fourth in the country at the 2012 U.S. National Pokémon TGC Championship inIndianapolis. 

The 23-year-old, a recent University of Virginia grad, said the craze of Pokémon trading cards has been around most of his life. Instead of putting them in a box in the attic, he’s become a national champion in a card collector’s contest. But these Pokémon cards weren’t always such a large part of his life.

“I collected them when I was a little kid, but I didn’t play them,” Murray said, stating that he was a casual collector growing up.

It wasn’t until high school that he began dueling and using the cards in actual games.

“I met some other friends who also collected them and we went back and reread the rules and then started to play,” said Murray.

From there, his journey to the championships began, as his interest continued to grow in his college years at UVA.

“When I started in college, I met a friend and we went to a few competitions. Even when you don’t really intend to play competitively, when you’re with friends, you end up doing it,” said Murray.

He began to regularly attend tournaments, learning the ins and outs of the strategy of the game. While those who aren’t into the game may think that simply buying expensive and powerful cards will ensure victory, Murray insists that isn’t the case. The construction of his deck (or hand of playing cards in a duel) and strategy play a far bigger role.

“When it comes to it, being a deck builder takes time. It’s good old practice makes perfect: it truly takes skill,” he said.

After playing in several tournaments, Murray made it to the 2012 National Pokémon TGC Championships in Indianapolis, where he was one of less than 200 in his age group. During the tournament, he used is his what he terms, “unconventional strategy” to advance in the tournament, despite the fact that many people scoffed at his unusual deck.

“The way I constructed my deck was very strange. I didn’t feel very confident going in to my tournament to be honest,” he said.

But after two days of solid dueling, Murray moved up the ranks, getting into the bracketed set of final duels, where he lost in a match in the final round of 16 players.

Ultimately he won fourth place, and that means he’ll attend the World championships in Hawaii representing the U.S.

Because he was one of the top players, he will be attending this invitation only elite tournament – all expenses paid, and he’s ecstatic about it. He’s also appreciative of all the support that he has gotten from others along the way. “A lot of people, especially my supervisors, are very proud of me.”

For those looking to break into Pokémon trading cards and tournaments, Murray recommends reaching out to David Tuskey, the premier local organizer for the Virginia Pokémon group. This group organizes prerelease tournaments and gatherings where fellow Pokémon players can connect and hone their skills for tournaments, just like Murray.