Benjamin Hwang is spending his summer a little differently from most rising fourth-graders as he trains for the Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championship.
This will be the second World Championship the nine-year-old has qualified for. This summer, Benny will jet off to San Francisco for the championship, which will be held Aug. 28 to 30. He has been to about 16 tournaments since he began competing in 2024.
“Benny [has] been all over the world. We’ve been to England, Puerto Rico, [and] on the West Coast,” said his dad, William Hwang.
William began playing the trading card game after
William began playing the trading card game after traveling with Benny to his tournaments. After a few top finishes, he ended up qualifying for the World Championship as well, he said. He will compete in the Masters division and Benny in the Juniors division in August.
The two are fairly new to Belmont, having moved from Somerville about a year ago. This fall, Benny will begin fourth grade at Chenery Upper Elementary School. When he isn’t honing his card-gaming craft, he enjoys playing soccer, volleyball, violin and chess. His favorite subject is math, he said.
Benny’s foray into Pokémon began in kindergarten. His friends started to give him what he called “common cards,” or cards that are easier to find. He showed the cards to his dad, and they bought Battle Academy, a game set that teaches the nuances of the game.
Benny began competing at the League level, where
Benny began competing at the League level, where game stores host friendly tournaments. He eventually moved up to League Challenge, where players are awarded championship points based on their placements.
He now has 1260 Championship Points and is ranked 24 of more than 2,000 players registered in the United States and 63 of 5,200 worldwide for Junior Trading Card Game players, according to the Pokémon Championship website.
“My biggest strength [is probably] seeing the plays, seeing what to do next,” said Benny.
The skill to envision his next moves
The skill to envision his next moves in his head is a combination of training and natural ability, his dad said. “For his age especially, [Benny] is really good at recognizing what his opponents’ options are,” said William.
The pair will head to San Francisco a few days ahead of the tournament so Benny can attend a boot camp run by top players–but the preparation does not stop there. To stay ahead of the curve, William has built spreadsheets and statistical models to practice.
“We predict what percentage of players are gonna play Deck 1, Deck 2, these different archetypes, we call them,” William said. “Based on that, we try to design Benny’s deck of 60 to kind of have options.”
One of Benny’s tournament goals includes making top
One of Benny’s tournament goals includes making “top cut,” or top eight in his division. Players that finish in the top cut usually receive a special letterman’s jacket and personalized gold card, William said.
Benny’s ultimate goal?
“To win a world championship,” he said. No one has ever done it at his age, but he has been training hard, finding time in between camp and other summer activities.
Though he has experienced World Championship excitement before, there are new things to look forward to as San Francisco nears.
“[Benny] is excited because I get to compete with him this year,” William said. “So, it’s kind of a shared journey.”
Source: belmontvoice.org
