Professional Pokémon TCG commentator. Big fan of pro wrestling and video games. In a word: nerd. He/him. TPCi Employee. Tweets independent of employer.
In celebration of getting my second shot, I want to share a new Pokémon TCG cube that I've been working on for a while. I present the ultimate singleton draft experience: CHAOS CUBE
12 years ago we streamed the Top Cut Invitational from Hawaii, the most exciting one we ever held. The streaming technology is a little more advanced these days, but I'm grateful to still be a part of it all. Here's to another unforgettable World Championships!
#PokemonWorlds
Today is the official launch of Pokémon TCG: Celebrations! As someone who's been with the game since Base Set, getting another chance to open a Cleffa or Rocket's Admin. is an incredible feeling. Our team put in a lot of work to make it happen. Hope everyone has fun with the set!
This year marked my 9th time working on the Worlds broadcast, which is exactly as many as I competed in 😵💫
I took more of a sideline reporter role this year, which I'm hoping we can build on for future events.
Thanks to everyone who made Worlds 2024 another fantastic event!
Think of every time you got sick after attending a big event during non-pandemic times. Then consider that we are, in fact, in the middle of a pandemic. The mere thought of being in a crowded room with tons of other people should be unsettling.
Congratulations to
@TordReklev
on winning the Latin America International Championships and completing the cycle! In my mind, winning all 4 ICs in Masters is similar to Jason Klaczynski winning Worlds 3 times: a feat that's never going to be achieved again.
This decade, I battled with depression, failed my Senior year of college, and went through a lot of dark times.
I also met my wife, graduated from college, got my dream job, traveled around the world, and had a lot of good fortune.
A lot can happen in 10 years. Happy New Year!
Won the DP-AR tournament at NAIC with my old faithful, DialgaChomp! It was a blast to play a tournament in such a nostalgic format. Thanks to Nick for organizing the event and providing the incredible trophy! And thanks to my opponents for fun games!
9 years ago I was competing at the Pokémon TCG World Championships in this building, but deep down I was upset that I wasn't commentating instead.
Today it all comes full circle—I'll be joining
@kwisdumb
and
@KSabelhaus
on commentary this weekend! I'm so grateful to be back.
Everyone misses meeting up with their friends and going to do fun things. It sucks. But pretending that nothing is wrong just delays getting back to that reality (and likely puts many people in danger).
Ready for a sneak peek from the upcoming
#PokemonTCG
expansion? 👀
Dive into this week’s episode of Top Deck Academy with
@pooka311
and discover Single Strike and Rapid Strike styles coming to Pokémon TCG: Battle Styles, available 3/19!
👉 Watch now:
Happy rotation day! This might be the biggest shake-up in the Standard format in a long time. Say goodbye to N, Professor Sycamore, Garbotoxin, Float Stone, Max Elixir, Parallel City, Puzzle of Time, Strong Energy: all of XY is gone. It's Sun & Moon's time now!
#PlayPokemon
I remember
@TheJWittz
and I were horrified that this would be the most unexciting match we ever had to cast. It turned out to be the complete opposite. The pure novelty of it made this the most memorable match we've ever covered, and I don't know if we'll ever top it.
“I’ll pass.”
Enrique Avila repeated that phrase to pave his way through 2015 US Nationals, using a deck focused on soaking up damage with the iconic Wailord-EX. His finals match against three-time World Champion Jason Klaczynski became an instant classic.
4 years ago I graduated from college. Since then, I've moved across the country to get a dream job, married the love of my life, and bought a house.
Crazy how quickly things can move. I am incredibly lucky to be where I am. Life is good!
How it started vs. how it's going
Shout out to
@tablemon
for a fantastic casting debut on the official TCG stream! (And great job as always to the rest of the crew!)
It's no secret that
@Pokemon
has been a massive part of my life for the last 20+ years. Thank you to all the people who have helped create wonderful memories over the years. If you have any pictures of you and me together from over the years, please share them!
#PokemonTogether
Ended up in 28th place for the Q3
@LimitlessTCG
Qualifier! This was my first big tournament in about 6 years (and the biggest one I've ever played in!), so I'm pretty happy with the result. Thanks again to Limitless for putting in so much work to make these events happen!
After a major upset at Regionals, Ava continues her journey on the path of the Pokémon Championship Series at International Championships.
Watch the latest episode of Path to the Peak now!
📺
Azul starts his turn with basically nothing in play, down 6 to 1 in Prize cards. He ends it with 8 Energy on Magikarp & Wailord-GX, using Towering Splash-GX to win. Welcome to Expanded.
#PlayPokemon
Thanks to everyone for the kind words and for making this weekend in Vancouver special. I had about a dozen people tell me that
@topcutpokemon
was the reason they started playing the game, which is the biggest compliment there is. Can't wait for the next event!
Today marks my 5 year anniversary with TPCi! It feels like I've been here forever, but at the same time, I still feel like the new guy. Either way, I'm still excited to spend my days working on something I'm passionate about.
Thanks to
@ProbablyExoByte
for the celebratory cake!
It's hard to put into words what Pokémon means to me. It's been with me in every stage of my life, to the point where even my everyday job is working with Pokémon. I owe so much to Pokémon. I don't know who or where I'd be without it.
#PokemonDay
This year's
#PokemonWorlds
was truly special. The event extended beyond the tournament hall and into the whole city. People were lining up everywhere to take pictures. Everyone in Yokohama was genuinely excited to celebrate Pokémon. I'm grateful that I got to be a part of it!
I'm honored to be joining the TCG casters once again for Worlds! Technically this marks 20 years since the first TPCi World Championships in 2004, and what better place to host such a milestone event than Japan! Can't wait to see many of you there 🥳
As we wait on closing ceremonies, it was an honor to cast at Worlds again. We had some excellent games, and everyone's kind words were humbling.
Big shout out to
@FrostedCaribou
for being such an amazing teammate for the whole event! We're lucky to have you in the community!
Got 3rd place in an online Base-Neo tournament that Jason Klaczynski organized! The basic idea is to put Brock's Protection onto Brock's Ninetales so it's immune to Super Energy Removal, and then Shapeshift into Steelix with a bunch of Metal Energy. Mewtwo was a counter to Muk.
It's amazing that
@LimitlessTCG
got nearly 1300 people together to play Pokémon TCG. The way today's event unfolded was unfortunate, but managing that many people is a logistical nightmare. Nobody could have prepared for this. All you can do is give them your support.
Hawaii has been home to some historic Worlds TCG matches: Harrison's prized Shaymin, Yuta's Uxie LV.X topdeck, Tom Roos's surprise win... I'll be part of the TCG stream again this year hoping for another legendary moment in Honolulu!
It's officially the month of
#PokemonWorlds
! 🌺
Now introducing your extremely talented cast of commentators who will be guiding us through the BIGGEST weekend of competition for the season.
Who are you most excited to see on the Worlds stage? 👀
First Worlds in 3 years. I've attended this event 15 times, but number 16 is going to be special. I'm honored to be back at the caster desk to celebrate this event with all of you!
Also I'll have my cube with me
We're thrilled to be joined by such a fantastic collection of experts for the 2022 Pokémon World Championships.
These will be your guides as we see the best Trainers from around the globe go head-to-head across five different games!
Here is your
#PokemonWorlds
talent lineup!
I'm as sad as anyone that Worlds is postponed again, but hopefully this is a reality check for some people. I can't even fathom the idea of thousands of people from around the world gathering for an event.
Hopefully we're on the right track by 2022.
Unfortunately I've tested positive for COVID two days in a row, so I'll be sitting this one out. But the wonderful
@tablemon
will be taking my place instead!
Hope everyone has a great time at the event!
Lots of changes coming to the Pokémon TCG:
🚫Can't play a Supporter on the first turn if you go first
💀Fairy type is going away
➖Resistance increasing to -30
🔧Several card errata
And more! Check out the article for full details.
I'm always humbled to see how wide of a reach
@topcutpokemon
had. It's hard to believe that a group of dummies like us made such a lasting impact over a span of just 4 years. Though I'm not as active as I used to be, I truly cherish when people share their stories with me. ❤️
These topics are really wholesome.
@Pooka311
has always been my biggest Pokemon role model and got me banned from YouTube for 2 weeks as a kid because I wouldn't stop watching his videos
Thanks for joining us over in the analyst lounge this weekend in San Diego! It was a little chaotic at times, but hopefully we provided some entertainment. Shout out to the whole TCG crew on the great event!
Just a heads up because I'm starting to see these appear in articles: There won't be any special punctuation or style with Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX. No hyphens, no italics, etc.
Pokémon V
Pokémon VMAX
That's it.
Another year, another NAIC full of great moments and memories. Thanks to everyone for the cubes, retro format games, and laughs.
And huge congratulations to
@CyrusDavisTCG
on winning NAIC! I'm so glad I was there to witness the culmination of her phenomenal, historic run.
The TCG Players Cup had a lot of flaws, and it's not close to being the same as a full-blown World Championships. No question.
But making it to the Finals is still a big achievement for the 16 qualifiers, and we'll remember the winner. This is a stepping stone for future events.
If for some reason you've ever wanted to work with me, now's your chance! We have an opening for a Game Designer on our team at TPCi. You'll be working on TCG expansions (not designing cards, but doing other stuff).
In a 2018 Standard format tournament with 1500+ players (a world where Buzzwole, Beast Ring, and Zoroark-GX are legal), Volcanion and Yveltal BREAK advanced to Day 2.
#PlayPokemon
For 16 straight years, US Nationals/NAIC and Worlds have been cornerstone events in my life. They provide a chance to see friends, meet new people, and celebrate Pokémon on a huge scale. It's sad that they're canceled for 2020, but it's the right decision. Here's to next year!
In a lot of ways, it's very cool to see Zoroark-GX get a proper sendoff in the final event of this Standard format. It has dominated, constantly evolving and adapting with each new expansion and metagame for nearly 2 years. One of the Top 5 strongest cards ever.
#PlayPokemon
I'll be back at the commentary desk for the Pokémon Players Cup 25th Anniversary Invitational! Happy to be sharing the screen with all these wonderful people. Should be a fun event, so don't miss it! (Streaming days are August 13th-15th)
Really sad to hear the news about
@AngelJMiranda
. I didn't know Angel too well, but from my few interactions, he seemed like a wonderful person who loved Pokémon. I was really rooting for him to get his invite for both TCG and VG this season. My condolences to his loved ones. ❤️
Got to the airport a minute after boarding time, so I couldn't check my bag. They had to rebook my flight.
During the rebooking process, I get an alert that my flight is delayed. I show it to the person helping me, and they sigh and push me through. 😎
@ToineLay
The "before your attack" reminder text on Abilities was removed from English cards starting with Sword & Shield, precisely for situations like this.
Happy to announce that I'll be heading back to Australia to commentate the 2019 Oceania International Championships! Can't wait to cast alongside
@BicycEllis
,
@Songbird_HS
, and
@OmniPoke
! Schedule can be found here:
One of the special moments for me this weekend was being able to present
@MichaelPramawat
with his 7th Regional trophy. It's been incredible to watch him evolve over the last 10+ years. I don't think there's any doubt that he's one of the best of all time!
The way it went down was not ideal, but make no mistake about it: Henry earned this victory. Congratulations to the man who keeps making history for Australia, the new Pokémon TCG Masters Division World Champion,
@BenryBrand
!
#PokemonWorlds
This is really sad to see. The Pokémon TCG community owes a lot to Adam and the entire
@SixPrizes
crew. 6P will always be a major part of the game's history, and it's a big reason why the competitive community grew as much as it did. Thank you for over a decade of great content!
—Yeah, I Scoop—
SixPrizes Goes on Pause; 2020; the State of the Game, the Community, and Content Creation; Thanks; and Where to Find Me
by Adam Capriola
🆓
#news
#opinion
#PlayPokemon
Can't wait to be back at the caster desk this weekend! Looking forward to talking about some fun games. And maybe a caster showdown? 👀
And to the surprise of no one, I will be trying to cube as often as possible
I don't think I'll have the willpower to wake up in time for the
@LimitlessTCG
event this weekend, so here's the deck I was going to use. Haven't had much time to refine the list, but I liked the concept. Got the inspiration from
@ColinMollPx
's Stonjourner VMAX deck!
This is our cat, Kerwin. Today is his 4th birthday. He likes to cuddle, play, and purr loudly. His favorite snack is tape, which he always regrets eating (but not enough to stop eating it).
Snapped this picture of
@omni_joe
in his element as we were playing out the grand finals of the double Chaos Cube. We had both won our pods 4-0 heading into the ultimate showdown.
Joe absolutely blasted me this game, but Hisuian Sneasler carried me to the crown 👑