A Chapter in Endings and Beginnings

Everything ends. I want to announce one such ending today. In April 2017, I embarked on a journey with my friend Alex Hill over on SixPrizes.com, assuming joint responsibility for day-to-day operations of the site from its owner, Adam Capriola. For a product I’d been involved in since 2014, it was a great moment personally. Last summer, with Alex’s formal departure, that responsibility became sole, and the journey continued.

Today, that journey comes to a close, as my time with the site has come to an end. I’m proud of much of what we accomplished over the time I’ve had the pleasure of being at the site’s helm. We tried some new things that worked really well (shorter articles), and on the whole, I think we did a great job.

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, it’s a tall order to stand out with written content, but our assembled team did so in an effective manner with consistency. There are bumps in any road, but there was no better writing staff throughout the Pokemon TCG sphere. I’m truly grateful for the efforts of the writing team throughout my tenure, and I believe we did some pretty great things.

We had an excellent 2018 Championship Series season, with the site performing at a truly great level throughout that season. Though the circuit itself has entered a rough patch at the present moment, the site continues. I wish the best to whatever happens next over there.

For me? This change will serve as further continuation of what I already knew in terms of my involvement with playing the Pokemon TCG at a “serious” level. I can point to the exact day my desire, passion, or whichever other term you wish, to play the game began its decline. The day I began to seriously question what I wanted to do with regard to my playing future? One I won’t forget easily. The very stomach-dropping moment that drive went on life support? I can’t forget it.

Regardless of some of the difficulties the last few years have presented, it’s impossible to lose sight of the fundamental fact that this game has brought me in contact with more wonderful people from more corners of this planet than many people will conceive of in a lifetime. My best friends in middle and high school years had nothing to do with that school thing, and most of them lived states (or continents) away. I value that unique blessing pretty highly.

Though playing at a Worlds final table isn’t something I have my eye on any longer, I’ve found a new joy in the staffing side of events, and I’m very grateful to everyone that’s welcomed me in that regard this season. Going forward, that’s going to be my primary medium of involvement with the game, and I’m excited about those opportunities. As my community cover of “I used to be good at this” grows dated, it’ll become harder and harder to be involved in discourse in the way I’ve enjoyed over the last few years, but I look forward to continuing involvement in whatever capacity reality dictates.

I could probably write a book in reflection, but I’d lose most of you, so I’ll leave it here. Suffice to say, I don’t think there’s another experience that could’ve afforded me this combination of opportunity and challenge. Thank you to so many that are a part of it.

Everything begins again, too. And that’s always happy.