The
PokéStats TEU-SHF Invitational takes place this weekend, Sunday, March 28th, 2021, and features our 32 top-ranked players across select online tournaments in the TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF formats. The PokéStats ranking system is designed to ensure that players who consistently perform well rise to the top of the standings, so we feel confident that you will witness a high level of play across this weekend's double-elimination bracket. We took the time to ask each competitor a few questions so you can have some backstories to support this weekend's action and cheer for your favorite players!
Noah Allerton
Ranking points: 37.5 (23rd)
Age: 15
Home: Leeds, UK
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2018 (Lost Thunder)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: The Legend of Zelda franchise
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Qualifying for this Invitational and making Day 2 at the
POG Championships.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Eternatus VMAX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Probably Caleb, Andrew, or Zac.
Daniel Altavilla
Ranking points: 30 (33rd)
Age: 24
Home: Florida, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2004 (Sandstorm)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: League of Legends
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? I had the most success with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX but most fun with Alolan Muk/Lillie's Poké Doll Stall.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I wanna bop Le and Tate.
Angel Aranibar
Ranking points: 65 (5th)
Home: Peru
Thomas Brophy
Ranking points: 104.5 (1st)
Age: 18
Home: New Jersey, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: casually since 2016 (BREAKpoint), competitively since 2017 (Burning Shadows)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: chess
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Centiskorch VMAX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I am both excited and afraid to play against my testing partner, Kash.
Le Bui
Ranking points: 42.5 (T-16th)
Age: 22
Home: Washington, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2018
Favorite non-Pokémon game: bowling
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Blacephalon aka Welder Toolbox
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Gimme Tate Whitesell.
Eddie Bulmer
Ranking points: 31 (31st)
Age: 18
Home: London, Ontario, Canada
Occupation: food service
Playing since: 2017 (Crimson Invasion)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Rivals of Aether
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? three online event wins
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? I earned every single one of my qualification points with Eternatus VMAX, so I would say Eternatus VMAX!
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I can beat anybody here. My concern lies with Lucario & Melmetal-GX and that alone. Give me anything except that and I'm confident.
Ricardo Pereira Celebroni
Ranking points: 32.5 (28th)
Age: 32
Home: São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2014 (Flashfire)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: fighting games like King of Fighters and Street Fighter, and RPG action games in general
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Two International Top 64s and a Regional Top 32.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Lucario & Melmetal-GX was my most played and favorite deck, but I got the best results with Eternatus VMAX, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, and Welder Toolbox.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I'm afraid of quite a few names here, a lot of these players are very good and this format does not tolerate misplays.
Zac Cooper
Ranking points: 33 (27th)
Age: 17
Home: Ohio, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2016
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Legends of Runeterra
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Caleb Rogerson
Gabriel Fernandez
Ranking points: 36 (T-25th)
Team: Team Mew
Age: 11
Playing since: 2018
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Brawl Stars
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Zac Cooper
Vinícius Fernandez
Ranking points: 56.5 (T-8th)
Team: Playground
Age: 13
Home: São Caetano du Sol, Brazil
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2017
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Among Us
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Centiskorch VMAX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? My brother, Gabriel!
Mike Fouchet
Ranking points: 46.5 (12th)
Team: X-Files
Age: 30
Home: New York, USA
Occupation: math teacher
Playing since: 2003
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Hearthstone
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Top 4 at
2008 US Nationals
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Danny
Victor García
Ranking points: 46 (13th)
Age: 27
Home: Villahermosa, Mexico
Occupation: civil engineer
Playing since:
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Vitor Lugon
Andrew Hedrick
Ranking points: 38 (22nd)
Age: 16
Home: Iowa, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2017 (Guardians Rising)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: I don't play too many other games!
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? A Regional Top 8 in Seniors, making Top 16 North America twice in the Players Cup, and Top 8 at a $3000
GGtoor event.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Welder Toolbox (Blacephalon/Cramorant V)
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Caleb Rogerson, Noah Allerton, and Zach Cooper.
Robert Hinds
Ranking points: 42
(18th)
Age: 38
Home: North Carolina, USA
Occupation: software developer
Playing since: 2012 (Boundaries Crossed); took a long hiatus after Plasma Blast and started again in 2020 with Rebel Clash
Favorite non-Pokémon game: There are no other games besides Pokémon. (Joking aside, board games with my family.)
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? There isn't one distinct achievement I can really point to-- it is more the overall feeling of achievement that I am becoming a better player.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I'm excited to play against everyone.
Henrique Jorge
Ranking points: 56.5 (T-8th)
Age: 31
Home: Brazil
Occupation: businessman
Playing since: 2020
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Doom and Gears of War
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Winning a 240-player
Chill TCG tournament, making finals of the first
PokéStats Invitational, qualifying for this Invitational, and getting Top 16 at the COPAG 1000+ player tournament.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Eternatus VMAX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? no one in particular
Brian Kim
Ranking points: 36.5 (24th)
Age: 17
Home: San Jose, California, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2018 (Ultra Prism)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: baseball
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Mad Party
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? no one in particular
Wykeen Kok
Ranking points: 47.5 (11th)
Age: 26
Home: Malaysia
Playing since: 2017 (Burning Shadows)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: none
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Qualifying for this Invitational!
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? No one in particular!
Kashvinder Singh Mann
Ranking points: 95 (2nd)
Age: 31
Home: Singapore
Occupation: currently unemployed (recently graduated + military)
Playing since: 1999, but took a long hiatus and really started competitive play in 2016 (BREAKthrough)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: any F1 racing game on PlayStation
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Centiskorch VMAX. It's a good deck.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Nobody. I need to beat them all.
Vitor Lugon Cacciari Martinelli
Ranking points: 60.5 (7th)
Age: 20
Home: Brazil
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2016
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Teamfight Tactics
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I'm most excited to play against Mike Fouchet.
Juan Andree Mejia
Ranking points: 61.5 (6th)
Age: 17
Home: Chile
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2018
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Call of Duty
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? a Special Event Top 4
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Welder Toolbox (Blacephalon/Cramorant V)
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? no one in particular
Marco Cifuentes Meta
Ranking points: 43.5 (T-14th)
Team: Team Iquique
Age: 20
Home: Iquique, Chile
Occupation: student (engineering)
Playing since: 2008 (Great Encounters)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: FIFA or Final Fantasy VII
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? back-to-back Top 4s at Regionals in Chile
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder was my favorite to play, but Centiskorch VMAX gave me the most success.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I would love to play against anyone except Jonathan or Juan since we are teammates.
Justin N.
Ranking points: 38.5 (21st)
Team: Team Mew
Age: 12
Home: Maryland, USA
Playing since: 2017 (Burning Shadows)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Among Us
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Qualifying for the
2019 World Championships and winning three online events.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I'm excited to play against Kash Mann because we always have great games!
Lucas Oldale
Ranking points: 42.5
(T-16th)
Age: 11
Home: British Columbia, Canada
Occupation: student, streamer, tournament organizer
Playing since: 2015
Favorite non-Pokémon game: NBA 2K21 and basketball
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Eternatus VMAX and Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I am both most excited and most afraid to play against Vini Fernandez.
Jonathan Patricio
Ranking points:
Home: Chile
Playing since: 2012 (Dark Explorers)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Grand Theft Auto
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Top 16, Chile Nationals
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Marco Cifuentes
Caleb Rogerson
Ranking points: 71 (4th)
Age: 14
Home: North Carolina, USA
Playing since: 2018 (Celestial Storm)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Legends of Runeterra
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? 2020 Dallas Regionals champion (Senior Division)
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Centiskorch VMAX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Zac and Andrew
Yusuke Saeki
Ranking points: 30.5 (32nd)
Home: Japan
Ryota Saito
Ranking points: 40.5 (19th)
Age: 20
Home: Japan
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2020
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Among Us
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Top 4 in a
GGtoor Cup
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Everyone!
Gabe Shumway
Ranking points: 31.5 (T-29th)
Age: 16
Home: Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2012
Favorite non-Pokémon game: GeoGuessr
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? I played a bit of everything, but my most success was with Eternatus VMAX.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? I'm excited to play against Gabe Smart so we can finally answer the age-old question: Who is the better Gabe S.?
Gabriel Smart
Ranking points: 43.5 (T-14th)
Age: 18
Occupation: high school student
Playing since: 2017-18 season
Favorite non-Pokémon game:
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? two World Championship invites, 22nd at
2020 Collinsville Regionals, Top 64 at the World Championships (Senior Division), $1000+ won from online tournaments
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Mike Fouchet. He and I have had some incredible games in high-stakes events and I have a ton of respect for him.
Jonathan Smiley
Ranking points: 31.5 (T-29th)
Age: 17
Home: California, USA
Occupation: student
Playing since: 2014 (XY)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: NBA 2K
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? Winning a
Hegster tournament
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Rowlet & Alolan Exeggutor-GX/Rillaboom
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? Kash
Joshua Sutherland
Ranking points: 52.5 (10th)
Team: Team Infinite Gaming
Age: 22
Playing since: 2013
Favorite non-Pokémon game: none
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? two World Championship invites
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? no one
Tate Whitesell
Ranking points: 36 (T-25th)
Age: 21
Home: Maine, USA / college in Tennessee, USA
Occupation: student (ecology)
Playing since: 2016 (Fates Collide)
Favorite non-Pokémon game: Overwatch
What do you consider your biggest achievement in the game? My performance this past format was probably my most consistent since I've started playing: two finals, four Top 4s, and three Top 8s at sizable online events, and obviously finishing in the Top 32 in global Standard points rankings to qualify for this Invitational. I was also happy with my Players Cups II and III qualifications.
What deck did you have the most fun or success with in TEU-VIV and TEU-SHF? I really enjoyed Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder at the start of the format. Later on I played a lot of Kash and Brophy's Centiskorch VMAX list and got a lot of my Top Cuts with it; I really liked the outplay potential it had relative to something like ADPZ or Eternatus VMAX.
Who in this Invitational are you most excited or afraid to play against? In addition to my teammate Le, a lot of my friends and most recent testing partners (Danny, Kash, Thomas, and Mike) are also playing, so it'd be fun to play against them but I'd hate for one of us to knock the other out! I also have a ton of respect for a lot of the younger players here such as Vini, Caleb, and Lucas, and it's always a good challenge to play against them.
