Oklahoma State student takes on the world at Pokemon video game championships
John Michael Freeman
John Michael Freeman of Stillwater will represent Oklahoma in the World Championships of the Pokemon video game.
“Me and my friends have played the Pokemon games forever,” Freeman, 21, said. “We finally decided we weren’t ever going to get over it, so we decided to try out a competitive tournament.”
The Pokemon national championships in St. Louis
After playing a regional tournament in Dallas and getting “destroyed,” Freeman wasn’t sure if he wanted to play at another tournament. But when the national championships were announced in St. Louis, Freeman decided to try again. But the Lawton Eisenhower graduate would need some luck – he’d have to win a lottery to even enter the tournament. Since his rankings at regionals didn’t immediately qualify him, it came down to the luck of the draw.
“You could walk in and play in Nationals, if you were lucky to get drawn,” Freeman, an Oklahoma State student, said. Freeman went with three friends, two of which, along with Freeman, were drawn into the tournament.
The St. Louis tournament was a Swiss format tournament for the first day, in which Freeman posted a 4-1 record.
His record on the first day of Nationals got him through to the second day, which a single-elimination bracket, with best-of-three determining who would advance. That second day, Freeman won his bracket, which gained him a seat at the world championships in California.
Freeman said unlike “Halo,” the requirements of “Pokemon” are more mental preparation than muscle memory.
“Pokemon is a strategy game, and like any other strategy game, a lot of it’s thought,” Freeman said. “The upfront side of it is all kinds of planning and critical thinking.”
The World Championships begin today at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego. The winner will receive a trip for four to Tokyo, New York or Oahu, Hawaii. The winner also receives an invitation to defend his or her title at the 2010 World Championships, in addition to other prizes.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
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W8, can you use hacked tms at these events? just not directly from your game