2024: Nothing.

 Yeah 2024, what can I say about it...

We went from an awesome 2023, to this. Maybe it's just me but 2024 was just that, nothing. I might as well have skipped the whole year. Too much disappointments, be it the real life or in the game of Pokemon TCG, which is where you lot probably know me from. So I'll talk more about that.

Here is the cold heart truth. I felt like I played the best I ever had in 2024, even better than 2023 where I won a major event, top cut a nationals went to my first Worlds and missed Day 2 but just one win. But the results? 

Yup nothing. I don't have a top 32 at any of the major events to show for my efforts, I missed cut twice because I had horrible resistance meaning I never really stood a chance. A third I did have a chance but I lost that match to one of my worst misplays yet when I was being too safe trying to stop a TM Devo play that was never happening.

I'd like to think my recent run of results at the Great Ball league shows the improvements I made but at the end of the day, they're just League Challenges, it doesn't really show much. I need to do that at an Ultra Ball League, which is a League Cup essentially. 

The problem is, as of writing, I've been declined for all 3 and didn't get to walk in the first one and the next two are smaller events so my hopes aren't very high of making it in. The new changes made to this season, we all thought it was to give us more chances to play. It's sadly gone the other way where we've had less chances to play. Sure technically there are more events for us to apply for, but it's always up to the dreaded lottery system. It needs to be fixed.

Here's just a short recap of all the points paying events I played in 2024.

Feb 3 - SG Regional League Vol.2 

• 4/3/0
• 54th/308
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 100 CSP

Mar 23 - Town League (Agora Hobby)

• 4/3/0
• 33rd/90
• Deck: Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Points Scored: 0 CSP

Mar 24 - Town League (Rowell Pte Ltd)

• 4/3/0
• 20th/73
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 75 CSP

Apr 13 - SG Regional League Vol.3

• 6/2/0
• 35th/242
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 100 CSP

May 1 - Town League (Agora Hobby)

• 4/3/0
• 26th/105
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 75 CSP

May 18 - Singapore Championships 2023/24

• 5/3/0
• 49th/342
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 200 CSP

Nov 2 - Singapore Premier Ball League 2024/25

• 5/2/0
• 70th/409
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 5 LP

Nov 24 - Great Ball League (Brick's Play)

• 4/1/0
• 3rd/32
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 12 LP

Nov 28 - Great Ball League (Card Collectibles)

• 5/1/0
• 2nd/44
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 15 LP

Nov 30 - Great Ball League (Agora Hobby)

• 5/1/0
• 7th/64
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Points Scored: 10 LP

Dec 1 - Great Ball League (Happyland Collectibles)

• 4/1/0
• 4th/32
• Deck: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• 12 LP

Anything just underlined is a points paying local event, bold and underlined would be major events. Nothing for cup styled events, because I didn't play in one.

So I got to play in 4 "major" events and 7 "challenge" events. I had a combined score of 20/10 for major events, and 30/13 for the challenge events. Total would be 50/23, which would make it a 68% win rate, which is easily my highest so far for any year. 

And out of the 11 points paying events I played in the year 2024, I score points in 10 of them! The only one I didn't score points, just so happened to also be the only event I didn't play Charizard ex in 2024, that would be Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone). And I bubbled out of points at 33rd! Stupid deck ruined what could have been a 100% record for scoring points this season, but 91% is still alright. Too bad the points don't actually matter much for the smaller events.

So I'm consistent at scoring points but I didn't finish high up in the points. In fact, I didn't even finish in the top 30 of points despite being in the top 30 for most of the season. My bad run at the Championships, losing the win and in, also ended up hurting my entire season. Like sure, if we're not finishing in the top 4, everything else doesn't really matter but I can't help myself but feel disappointed that I didn't even break into the top 30 at the very least. I should be doing better than this.

And in this 2024/25 season so far, things didn't start of well. Didn't make top 32 cut at the Premier Ball League, heck I didn't even make top 64 when most 5-2s did make top 64, and a few of them did make top 32 cut. I'd like to think I did better than I hoped in my 4 Great Ball League so far, all of them with me getting and x-1 score, and all top 8 finishes too, so at least my hard work is starting to pay off a little bit.

But that's the thing that's troubling me this year. As I mentioned earlier, I felt I was playing better than I have previously, still not as well as I'd like to be but I'm still working on it. Baby steps right? I just have to keep trying to find a way. But the fact that I don't have much to show for it other than 4 straight top 8 runs at GBL events is quite disappointing in my view. 

Even though I may be playing better, I'm still not where I want to be. Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh on myself but I feel I have to be, I don't have anyone to tell me what I'm doing right or wrong like most others around me.

The one good thing about 2024 is that now my brother is finally playing Pokémon TCG again with me so now I've got someone at home to talk about the game and test with!

My hopes for 2025 is very simple. Do better.

I'm hopeful. 2025 will be better, I can feel it. Oasis is back so finally music is saved. WWE is now on Netflix, so that's cool. I'll be heading over to the US again to be there for the big day for someone very near and dear to me. And in March, I will don the green army uniform for the last time. It's almost over. 

Maybe it's also time I give up on the whole idea of playing Charizard ex from start to finish. So many of the guys have done well with it, and sure I've played it for a long time, but I still have nothing to show for my efforts, other than the Pidgeot ex promo from the GBL but does that really count? (I say that but I did just make $97 playing Zard the other day). Also, I seem to be able to help others with their Zard decks and help them figure things out with the deck, but yet I can't help myself to do the same.

Maybe I'm just not destined to do well it after all. I was hoping I can capture the magic of Centiskorch VMAX again (another Fire energy-acceleration deck), or go on a mighty run like I did with ReshiZard GX (yet another Fire energy-acceleration deck), but maybe I was just being too hopeful and too much of a dreamer and I should be more realistic and start to see, hey you're not doing much with this, try something else. Which is sad because as most of you may know, Charmander is my favourite Pokemon so any excuse to play a deck with Charmander in it, I will try to find a way to make it work.

I'm sure my friends will say "well you should play your comfort deck or the deck you know best", and that is Charizard ex, but if I'm not doing as well as I should with it, maybe the player is at fault. But I've also kinda locked myself into this, I don't have a lot of stuff for the other decks.

The other hope for 2025. Play.

That's really it. This new system still sucks. I don't get to choose when I get to play in official events, the lottery system chooses that for me. I was so psyched when I heard UBL had top cuts, something I've always enjoyed playing for. And there's a good chance I won't get to experience it until the last part of the season since I've been declined for the next two and I might have lesser chances of playing the next ones with my current plan.

This whole new system was supposed to give us more chances to play. I mean we've got more events to apply for but it seems like it's done the opposite, a lot of us aren't playing as much as we'd like to. In fact I know a few of my friends still have not played either a GBL or a UBL.

And with that in mind, I think I've waited too long. Maybe it's time I get back and try my luck at playing a TPCi event once again. First of all, at least I know I can play in that event, no need to worry about the lottery nonsense. Secondly, it's bo3. I don't care what the others have to say, as someone who's played in circuits featuring both bo1 and bo3, I'll take bo3 any day of the week.

And I'd like to think I can follow the footsteps of my friends Jeremy, Bjorn and the rest of them that have been doing well anytime they flew over to Australia to play in their regionals. I did get to play at a Win-A-Box event over at TableTop Village in Seattle in June, and I did get top 8 out of almost 30 players, and I've always heard the players in Seattle are a strong bunch so maybe I can hang with the TPCi folks? 

Only one way to find out I suppose. I just hope I have a chance to play in one of their events and if I do, I hope I can show I can compete at a higher level. I just need to do better. Thanks for reading, and I hope your 2025 goes the way you want it to.