By Ashley McCuen

Special to the Reporter

The Kirkland Teen Union Building was the site of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) City Championship this past Saturday where 67 participants of all ages came to compete.

The teen center was abuzz, as players aged eight up to their late 50s checked in, shuffled their Pokémon card decks and sat across from their opponent at three long rows of plastic tables.

Jim and Susan Lambkee, of Kent, arrived at the youth center at 9:30 a.m. to set up for a day of tournaments. Throughout the year, they organize several Pokémon TCG Tournaments.

This tournament was comprised of three levels of players – 13 juniors (ages 11 and under), 13 seniors (ages 12-15), and 41 masters (ages 16 and over). During the first round, the computer matched the players by age level. From there on out, opponents were matched according to wins and losses.

After a busy hour of registering, it was around 11:15 a.m. when Lambkee announced that round one could begin. With that, the players went into quiet concentration, while parents and judges hovered above.

Throughout the games the players worked to earn Championship Points with the goal of increasing their chances to be invited to the World Championships later this year in San Francisco.

After six rounds for masters and five rounds for juniors and seniors, the playoff rounds took place. Victors emerged as they won the best two-out-of-three in match play. After nearly nine hours, the last group finished at about 8:30 p.m.

As it was the last weekend of City Championships, this tournament had a great turn-out, with participants traveling from all over Washington State, several from Canada and one family from California.

The card game, which came to North America in 1999, has become more than a simple fad as many first thought it to be.

“It starts out as a family thing,” said Jim Lambkee, speaking of his daughter who first got him into the game.

His daughter, Mindy Lambkee, first started playing the game 17 years ago. She went on to play for eight years and even won the junior division of the Pokémon World Championship in 2002 at age 10.

Now his daughter has moved on, yet Lambkee still finds himself enjoying the hobby and community he found in the game.

After Saturday’s tournament, many of the participants and families will move on to pursue the Pokémon State and Regional Championships.

Miranda Wisniach of Bellevue has been taking her two sons, ages 8 and 10, to Pokémon city tournaments every weekend for the past two months. Continuing on to other championships and eventually the World Championship is the boys’ goal.

“It’s definitely our favorite activity,” the boys explain. Wisniach and her husband even join in the game. “It’s something they can do together,” Wisniach adds with a smile.

More information on upcoming tournaments can be found at www.pokemon.com.