"An estimated 13,000 Pokémon fans descended on London's ExCeL centre last weekend (Feb 13-15), travelling from all over the UK and the world, to attend the ninth annual Pokémon Europe International Championships (PEUIC). All united by their love for the Japanese game, the event saw 7,000 competitors take part in heated battles in the Trading Card Game (TCG), the Video Games Championships (VGC) and Pokémon GO. Competing is serious stuff, with winners taking home cash from a total prize pool of $500,000 (£369,170)."
"Collectors and fans came to meet other Poké-heads and cop as much Poké-merch as they could carry, from cards, to clothing and plush toys, with queues going around the venue and highly-coveted tickets required to enter the enormous Pokémon Centre. Time Out went down to meet some of the attendees and capture the action. Kay, Newark and Renza, Lincoln 'We drove two and a half hours to get here, we're here for the whole weekend.'"
"Hannah, 23 and Kieran, 23, North London 'We are really into TCG. I used to dabble in Pokémon but since I came to the Championships last year it has become an obsession. It's really difficult to get your hands on cards these days. Opening packs is like an addiction, it's an adrenaline rush to see what you've got.' - Hannah 'The grips of the addiction are kicking in, TCG is pulling us in more and more every year. I played as a kid but never played the card game. Watching the TCG players, we don't always know what's happening. We're both frantically on our phones Googling it and explaining it to each"
An estimated 13,000 Pokémon fans attended the ninth Pokémon Europe International Championships at London's ExCeL over Feb 13-15. The event featured 7,000 competitors contesting the Trading Card Game, Video Game Championships and Pokémon GO, with a combined prize pool of $500,000. Collectors and fans shopped extensively at the Pokémon Centre, queuing for coveted merchandise and tickets. Attendees travelled long distances, embraced cosplay and shared intense enthusiasm for card collecting and gameplay. Many described trading card play as addictive, with opening packs delivering an adrenaline rush and increasing engagement year on year.
Read at Time Out London
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