*Image credited to Calico’s Concept

Hi!

My name is Paul, originally from Reading, Berkshire but moved to just outside of Bath, Somerset in August 2023.

I have always been a fan of the Pokémon franchise from the original UK release of Pokémon Red & Blue and the original trading cards in 1999. I played the games until the release of Ruby & Sapphire in 2002 before moving on to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG that same year.

I played Yu-Gi-Oh! consistently from 2002 to 2009 where I finally stopped playing after the European Championships in 2010. During my time playing Yu-Gi-Oh! I won many regional championship level events in the UK as well as finishing top 4 in both the Pharoah Tour in 2006 and UK Nationals in 2010. In January 2008 I became the first UK player to make day 2 of a Shonen Jump Championship (SJC now known as YCS) where I finished in top 16 of SJC Orlando playing Gadgets.

I started playing the Pokémon TCG in September 2023 after moving to the Bath area and wanting to start a new hobby as a way of meeting new people in the area. From the minute I walked into the Bath TCG store I knew right away how welcoming the community would be. From my first interactions with Ben asking about products to build my first deck with to going to my first league night a few weeks later.

I played my first Pokémon TCG event in October 2023 and was instantly hooked on the game and the community of people. I decided that I would play in the Regional Championships in Gdansk, Poland in November as I thought it would be a good way to learn the game better as well as visit somewhere I had never been before. I think it is safe to say that I enjoyed my time during the event and made some really good friends as I then continued to attend regionals throughout the season, making lots of new friends along the way.

The highlights of my first 10 months playing the Pokémon TCG would be my first League Challenge win in December, my 73rd place finish at the Orlando Regional Championships but most importantly all of the friends I have made within the community and the fun times we have had at those events.

Outside of Pokémon I work as an Internal Recruiter for a financial services company. I am into sports especially football where I am an Arsenal FC fan. I also enjoying watching NFL and Formula 1. I also enjoy playing video games to wind down after a long day at work.

I am looking forward to my first full season playing the Pokémon TCG and meeting more new people throughout the course of the season, so if you see me please do say “hi”.