Pokémon TCG World Champion (15+) 2006:
Jason Klaczynski
| The 4000 miles between Jason Klaczynski's hometown of Orlando Park, Illinois, and
Kona, Hawaii, is nothing compared to the seven years he spent striving to become one of the world's
best
Pokémon Trading Card Game players. But in 2006, Jason did just that - he became
the World Champion for the Masters Division, earning himself an invite to Hawaii this year to
defend his title.
"I haven't played as much this year as I'd have liked to,' he concedes, noting that he has an advantage over many other players hoping to achieve glory in Kona because he isn’t "scrambling for ratings points; I've had the luxury of already being able to attend." |
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Some of Jason's challengers this year might breathe a sigh of relief that he seems so laid back about the competition, but one look at his deck from last year might give them pause. His "Mewtrick" deck - combining Manectric ex and Mew ex for maximum control and flexibility - was so powerful that it was published as one of four World Championships Decks, a rare honor for any player. ("I always smile when I see it at the store with my friends," Jason says.) And Jason will play at Worlds this year with the same approach he took last year - calm, cool, and collected.
"A lot of times, good players overthink themselves," he suggests. "They will change their decklists, or even scrap their entire deck for a new one, just to try to get a last-minute edge at the tournament. But if you look at the Worlds winners for the last three years, you'll notice players who went into the tournament without a doubt as to what deck they were using - players who didn’t get psyched out or tricked."
He has certain expectations of the competition as well. "The Holon Engine - Holon's Castform and Holon Transceiver - should definitely appear in a lot of decks," he predicts. He also notes that though the rules changes from Diamond & Pearl and a few of that set's cards might have impact on which decks will and won't work, he's much more focused on who he might end up playing.
"I hope my closest friends are rooting against me," he says, "because that means they qualified for the tournament, and I'll get to play them!"