The new Pokémon animated series is set to launch in the UK on the BBC in December.
24.10.2023 - 17:05 / stuff.co.nz
All it took was the bang of a hammer – and Tord Reklev is £70,000 (NZ$147,000) richer. Not a bad profit for selling a single Pokémon card.
The 28-year-old, from Trondheim, Norway, is the world’s number one-ranked player of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) and earns enough money from sponsorships, tournament winnings and online coaching sessions to describe himself as a full-time player.
At an auction house in central London, Reklev is cashing in his spoils from the latest tournament – a trading card given out as a prize for his second-place victory at this year’s World Championship event. He says he will stash the money in a savings account.
“Investing takes a lot of time and effort if you want your money to propagate,” he says. “I am just very busy with the card game. I am not dreaming of a luxurious villa or mansion. Just to have enough money to do what you want is the dream.”
Rekev has been a Pokémon fan since the age of six when his mother first bought him a booster pack. “She actually taught me how to play the game,” Rekev recalls. “She said it seemed like a waste just to collect the cards rather than play with them, so my mum taught herself then she taught me.”
At the time, Pokémania was in full swing, and Rekev soon found himself succeeding in local tournaments. In the years since, Pokémon has taken Rekev to competitions all over the world.
Speaking to The Telegraph from the Stanley Gibbons Stamp Emporium on the Strand in London, UK, he says he has visited eight different countries in the last two months playing the card game.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he says. “I don’t think I could have found a career path that has made me as happy as this.”
Granted, Rekev is one of the few players able to turn his former hobby into a profession. “Pokémon is very much a luxury hobby,” he explains. “The cost of buying cards is negligible to the travel and accommodation expenses needed to compete.”
The Pokémon Company International (TPCI) covers some of the expenses for high-ranking players – gifting “Championship Points” to successful enthusiasts which can be redeemed for travel costs.
Every year, the TPCI hosts tournaments at a regional, national and international level. Competitions are held both for the TGC and the latest video game release, in this case, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, for the Nintendo Switch.
Players of all ages compete in three divisions in both competitions: the Junior division for those aged 12 and under, the Senior division (for ages 13-15), and the Masters division, for those aged 16 and over.
Regional competitions are currently underway in Lille – and next year’s World Championships will be held in Hawaii.
Reklev placed second in the Masters division for the TCG at the August World
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