My Pokémon Story

Hey, I’m Ciaran! I am based out of Toronto, Canada and have been playing the Pokémon TCG since 2011 and do it as my full time job currently!

My Pokémon journey started when I was gifted a copy of Pokémon Ruby at 7 years old. I, like many other kids my age loved everything Pokémon, but had no idea how to play the actual card game. When I was 12 I opened a pack of cards with an advertisement for The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. I learned how to play the game online and watched a video of the 2011 Pokémon World Championships Finals. I asked my mom to take me to my local Pokémon League and I was instantly hooked.

A couple of years later I won the 2013 Canadian National Championships, and earned my first of 8 Pokémon World Championship invitations. From there I continued to improve my skills, consistently placing at tournaments and even finishing as the #1 ranked player in North America during the 2016 season.

I started to play the game less when I went to university and took a break during Covid before coming back for the 2022 season. I re-established myself as one of the games best with a Top 8 finish at the Latin America International Championships piloting Lugia VSTAR, a deck that I would later become synonymous with. From there my love for Pokémon and competing was reignited, and I began to travel the world to compete. To date, I’ve played tournaments on 5 of the 7 continents!

Around this time I began coaching other players on how they could improve their skills. I learned that not only do I love playing Pokémon, but I also enjoy teaching others and getting to help them reach their goals as players. I’ve coached 100s of players, ranging from 7 year old Junior division players to Pokémoms and Pokédads! Numerous students have qualified for The Pokémon World Championships, but I also find just as much joy in helping someone win their weekly local tournament or get strong enough to play with their kid!

As I was travelling the world and building my coaching business I still had a job as an Analytics Engineer at a Toronto tech company. Luckily my job was remote so I could pursue it alongside my Pokémon endeavors, but it was very hard balancing Pokémon, my job, and having a personal life. After 2 years of trying to do both I finally felt ready to take the leap and make Pokémon my full time job. It was scary leaving a stable job to essentially make a game my career, but I had the full support of my family and friends which helped a lot. Making the leap was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I am so grateful that I get to wake up every day and incorporate Pokémon into my work!

Pokémon has meant a lot to me. Not only is it now my job, but it has also helped me develop and grow as a person. It’s helped me improve my self confidence, learn how to be a graceful loser, how to be humble in victory, given me the chance to travel the world, and meet so many incredible people, including my best friend!

Pokémon has given so much to me so I make it my goal to help foster the love of Pokémon in my students and be a positive figure in the community! I hope to be playing this game for years to come, and look forward to all my future adventures :)