Meet Team North America: VGC 2017 World Championships

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With the 2017 World Championships coming up very soon, its going to be a very strong event, as in order to qualify, the rigorous amount of CP needed to qualify was steep so it most definitely means that anyone who qualified is a threat. This year, 46 players will represent North America in the biggest event of the season. Let's find out who these 46 players are!



Nick Navarre - 1370 CP

Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 8 Oceanic & North American Internationals, 1st Place at Virginia Regionals, Top 4 at Philiphedia, Dallas, & Collinsville Regionals

Nick is a very talented player for his breakout season. Throughout this season, he has been known for using some very interesting Pokemon and sets, most notably the Scope Lens Kartana in
Collinsville Regionals and Oceanic Internats, and the Chansey at North American Internats. Nick is first in CP and has earned a Day 2 invite so he'll be able to skip playing Friday and moves straight to Saturday.



Ashton Cox - 1289 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 4 at Florida Regionals, Top 16 at Collinsville Regionals, 1st Place at Latin American Internationals, Top 16 at Oceanic Internationals

Known for his creative strategies since 2014, Ashton has kept that up in order to earn him a Day 2 invite. His innovative strategies this season, from Poisonium Z Pheromosa at Latin American Internats to the Xurkitree at Collinsville Regionals and Oceanic Internats, Ashton was able to earn a large amount of CP and being able to skip Friday with his Day 2 invite is going to be a great reward.



Chuppa Cross - 1153 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Day 2 at European and North American Internats, Top 8 Georgia Regionals, 10th at Oceanic Internats

Ever since a successful 2016 season, Chuppa has been on the upswing in terms of his success. Making Day 2 at 3 of the Internats and finishing Top 8 at a Regional and combined with strong local finishes at Premier Challenges and Midseason Showdowns, Chuppa was able to finish 3rd in CP overall in the US and Canada and has earned a Day 2 invite so he'll be able to skip Day 1 and start on Saturday.



Tommy Cooleen - 1144 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 8 at European, Oceanic, and Latin American Internats

Tommy has had a phenomenal run at the International level. By changing up his signature Rain team throughout the 3 events by changing the Pokemon (Tapu Bulu to Buzzwole) and the way he trained his Pokemon, Tommy was able to pilot the team to a Top 8 run and will be start his Worlds run on Saturday.



Paul Chua - 1054 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 4 Ft. Wayne Regionals, 1st Place Georgia Regionals, 2nd Place North American Internationals

Paul is a terror on both online in BattleSpot, frequently making it to the top placing each BattleSpot season, and has accomplished a lot in events, both in the Senior and Masters division. Finishing 2nd at the North American Internationals has qualified Paul for Day 2 and will start on Saturday.




Conan Thompson - 966 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 16 European Internats, Top 16 Collinsville Regionals. 2nd Place Oregon Regionals, Top 4 Seattle Regionals, Day 2 North American Internats

Being able to follow the Japanese scene flawlessly, Conan has been able to improve his teams and his Day 2 Worlds qualification has shown this by allowing Conan to perform well at both Internationals he's attended, and Top Cut 3 Regionals, even finishing close to winning 2 of them.



Gavin Michaels - 962 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,

Qualified This Year Through: 1st at Anaheim and San Jose Regionals, Top 16 Latin American Internationals

Earning his Day 2 invite, Gavin has been able to accomplish this by using his famous hard Trick Room team to win both California Regionals, even going undefeated at the Anaheim Regional. Finishing Top 16 at the Latin American International with a new team showed that Gavin can do well in this format with a faster paced team, which makes him a threat.



Riley Factura - 896 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015, 2016

Qualified This Year Through: 17th at North American Internationals, 1st at Arizona Regionals, Top 8 Anaheim Regionals, Top 8 at Utah Regionals

Riley's season started out with his 3rd Regionals victory and as the season went on, we saw why he has consistently qualified for Worlds the past 3 seasons and his grasp on the format will certainly be a top contender at the event.


(Everyone below at this point will be starting on Friday to play in Day 1)


Andrew Nowak - 895 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: 1st at Dallas and Madison Regionals, Top 4 at Collinsville Regionals

Andrew has been getting consistently better since his first Regionals victory in Collinsville in 2016 and his Top Cut finish at the 2016 World Championships. Winning 2 Regionals and finishing Top 4 at another one this season shows that Andrew has the potential to finish even better than he did at Worlds this time around.




Carson Confer - 747 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015, 2016

Qualified This Year Through: 2016 Seniors World Champion, Top 16 Collinsville Regionals, Top 16 Latin America Internationals

As the 2016 Seniors World Champion, Carson earned a Day 1 invite so he technically did not need to compete this season. Deciding to pursue a Day 2 invite, his Top 16 finish at the Collinsville Regional and Top 16 at the Latin America International, along with a myriad of smaller finishes allowed him to finish 11th overall in CP, but will have to play Day 1 sadly.



Stephen Mea - 719 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Year Through: 1st Place Origins, Special Event Top 32 North American Internationals

Despite not Top Cutting a single Regional this season, Stephen proves that a solid finish at an International plus a very strong finish at the local level in Premier Challenges and Midseason Showdowns can get you to the World Championships.




Zheyuan Huang - 689 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Year Through: 1st at Philadelphia Regionals, Top 8 Ft. Wayne Regionals, 2nd Place Madison Regionals

In his breakout season, Zheyuan has established himself as a threat. Top Cutting 3 Regionals and winning Philadelphia shows that he has the potential to do very well, further proven by this tweet which shows that he can call himself the creator of FAKE PG and the new-CHALK, 2 very strong and popular teams.



Giovanni Costa - 668 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 8 Anaheim and Florida Regionals, Top 16 Dallas Regionals

Coming off of his Top 16 finish at his first World Championships qualification, Giovanni ran off of this success by finding success with his trusted partner Eevee to both qualify for the World Championships and successfully Top Cut 2 Regionals using it. Throughout the season, Giovanni has been a crowd favorite using Eevee and its partners to do some truly amazing things and will certainly be someone to watch for.



Patrick Smith - 651 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 4 Arizona and Utah Regionals, Top 16 Dallas Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals

After a successful breakout 2016 season, winning a Regional and making Top Cut at the World Championships, Patrick was able to Top Cut 3 Regionals, even making Top 4 at 2 of them and making Day 2 at the North American Internationals, Patrick will be once again starting on Day 1 and will be making the run to hopefully surpass his 17th place finish from last time.



Gary Qian - 650 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 8 San Jose Regionals, Top 16 Anaheim Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals

After making Day 2 at the World Championships last year due to his auto-invite from a successful 2016 season, Gary will have to fight to make it there once again. Gary is known for finding successful ways of using obscure Pokemon, most notably his Flygon and Murkrow at both Anaheim Regionals and the North American International. Time will tell if his innovative strategies will propel Gary to a strong Worlds run.



Alvin Hidayat - 642 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 4 Athens Regionals, Top 16 North American Internationals

At the World Championships, Alvin went 4-3 and was one win away from making the Top Cut. At the North American Internationals, Alvin went 10-4 and was one win away from making Top Cut. These 2 instances have shown that when Alvin only needs to focus on his record, he's able to perform well and this time around, if he plays well, Alvin will be able to finally make Top Cut and be a threat to take the title.


Justin Carris - 636 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 16 Philadelphia Regionals, Top 8 Madison Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals, 1st Place May International Challenge

Fresh off of his impressive Top 8 finish at the 2016 World Championships, Justin was one win away from making Top 4 and auto-qualifying for Worlds this year. This season, Justin was able to show that his run at Worlds was just the beginning, as making Top Cut at 2 Regionals and Day 2 at the North American Internationals shows that this time around, Justin is gonna be a much bigger threat.



Joshua Lorcy - 635 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: Top 4 Philadelphia Regionals, 2nd Place Toronto Regionals

Despite not being able to attend the North American Internationals, had he had gone, Joshua would have been a top contender. Despite this, Joshua has had an impressive season, doing very well at 2 Regionals and going into Worlds, Joshua has the potential to go very far.



Dane Zieman - 626 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Year Through: 1st Place Ft. Wayne Regionals, Top 16 Collinsville Regionals

Dane is known in the community for his entraining personality, but his Pokemon skills are top notch as well. Making Top Cut at the World Championships last season, Dane has improved upon that by winning his first Regional and constantly staying near the top of the Championship Point standings. As a somewhat unknown player in the sense that he isn't as well known as other, the surprise factor is what will help Dane, along with his battle skills to potentially improve on his finish from last time.



Wolfe Glick - 625 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: 2016 Masters World Champion, Top 4 Florida Regionals Top 16 European Internationals, Top 8 Georgia Regionals, Top 16 Oceanic Internationals

Like Carson, winning Worlds meant Wolfe could technically sit take a break this season and pick up competition at the 2017 World Championships. Deciding not to do this, Wolfe finished Top 16 at both the European and Oceanic Internationals, missing Top Cut due to his resistance not being the strongest. No matter what event he attends, being able to put his best foot forward is going to make Wolfe a threat to possibly defend his title and win Worlds again.



Justin Crubaugh - 622 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: 2nd Place Ft. Wayne Regionals

Despite not having the strongest finishes at the Regionals level, Justin has done consistently well at events on the local level and after finishing 9th overall in terms of Championship Points last seasons, its easy to see why he has earned his way back to the World Championships




Tyler Miller - 595 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Season Through: Top 4 Madison Regionals, 10th Place North American Internationals

Despite being a newer player to the scene, Tyler has been able to earn a large amount of CP later in the season and earning a CP in the Ohio area, which has been known for being a place to earn a large amount of CP.  Not knowing to much about Tyler, how he does will be a surprise and if he has a deep run, it'll most definitely be a surprise.



Ethan Simpson - 587 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Ft. Wayne Regionals, Top 16 Collinsville Regionals

Ethan started off the season by making Top Cut at 2 Regionals. He was able to continue this with strong finishes at the local level and that has earned him an invite. Like Tyler, Ethan's unknown factor means he'll be a threat going into the World Championships




Rajan Bal - 586 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Athens and Virginia Regionals, 1st Place February International Challenge

Coming off an impressive late-2016 season finishing 12th at US Nationals and 25th at Worlds, Rajan has consistently shown this season that he is a major threat and since he shown last year that he was one game away from making Top Cut, his increase in skill shows that Rajan has the potential to finally make Top Cut.



Aaron Zheng - 583 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 San Jose Regionals, Top 16 Anaheim Regionals, 1st Place Oregon Regionals, Top 64 at European, Oceanic, and North American Internationals

Aaron has been historically a consistent player and this season is no different. Finishing Top 64 at every International he's attended, winning a Regional, and making Top Cut at 2 more Regionals shows that Aaron has a grasp on this format and is a favorite to finally win his first World Championships.



Justin Burns - 578 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 Dallas and Collinsville Regionals, 2nd Place Collinsville Regionals, 1st Place Seattle Regionals

Justin has started out as a semi-unknown player but has gradually became much more well known, finally winning a Regional and finishing Top Cut at 2 more. Justin is going to be a threat as he has shown he's capable of doing well at large events, as shown by making Day 2 at the World Championships last year.



James Baek - 567 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Philadelphia Regionals

James is another player that despite not having the strongest runs at Regionals, has done exceptionally well at the local level in Midseason Showdowns and Premier Challenges to qualify for Worlds. After being 1 game away from making Top Cut at the World Championships last time, James will be looking to final Top Cut the World Championships.




Louis Milch - 555 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Athens Regionals

Louis is known for his memes and informative videos on YouTube critiquing the current events in VGC. In his games, Louis was able to make Top 8 at a Regional and to try for 1 big push to qualify for Worlds and earned over 250 CP in 1 weekend to get his invite. Expect Louis' interesting ideas in the style of Tentacruel if you see or play him.




Alex Underhill - 552 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: 1st at Collinsville Regionals

Alex has been on the rise since his breakout Top 8 run at 2015 US Nationals.   His Regionals win this season at the Collinsville Regionals after finishing Top 8 at the same event last season showed that Alex knows what's doing and by qualifying this season with his trusty Togedemaru, there's a chance Alex may use try to go far at the World Championships with the Pokemon.



Demitrios Kaguras - 540 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Seattle Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals

Demitrios has done a great job of showing the way he can innovate a Pokemon. His physical Gastrodon that used Waterfall and Earthquake made sure that opponent has to play differently against it. Only time will tell whether he can find a different way to use other Pokemon to have a strong World Championships run.



Danny Hemchand - 534 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015

Qualified This Through: Top 32 North American Internationals

Danny is another player that despite not having a strong performance at the Regionals level and higher, can qualify for the World Championships by doing well at the local level. Danny has shown that at the local level, he can have a strong performance and will certainly be a threat at the World Championships.





Collin Heier - 533 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2014, 2015, 2016

Qualified This Through: 2nd Place Dallas Regionals, Top 8 Seattle Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals

Collin has already gotten close to the title of World Champion by his 3rd place finish in 2014, losing to eventual champion SeJun Park. Since then, Collin has been proving he's a strong contender and with his strong grasp on this format and proven strength in both limited and expanded formats, this could finally be Collin's year.



Kamran Jahadi - 533 CP 
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016

Qualified This Through: Top 16 Dallas Regionals, Top 4 Anaheim Regionals, Top 8 Utah Regionals

Kamran has what it takes to become a World Champion, due to Kamran becoming the 2011 Senior World Champion. His accomplishments this season has shown that Kamran understands how to play the format and he can very well return to the throne as a 2x World Champion.




Matthew Greaves - 527 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015

Qualified This Through: Top 8 Utah Regionals

While not being the most notable player of the field that will be attending the World Championships or even an active player on social media, Matthew has proven that despite this, he has the skills to qualify for the World Championships and if you find yourself paired against him, its best not to underestimate him or it might get ugly.



Tyler Bennett - 525 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016 Qualified This Through: Top 8 Anaheim Regionals, Top 16 Seattle Regionals

The same that can be said for Matthew, can be say for Tyler. His unknown factor can potential lead to Tyler having a strong run at the World Championships and if he starts going, he can stay under the radar all the way to the top.






Robbie Moore - 524 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Season Through: 2nd Place Virginia Regionals, Top 32 North American Internationals

Robbie has had a very long late-season, almost winning a Regional and making Day 2 at the North American Internationals, which shows that when it was time to buckle down and push for his Worlds invite, Robbie was able to make earn the Championship Points he needed to qualify.




Trista Medine - 520 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2013, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 European Internationals, Top 8 Toronto Regionals

Despite not being able to qualify for the World Championships consistently every year, Trista has proven that she's a very talented player and her playing this season, almost making Top Cut at the European Internationals and making Top Cut at a Regional.



Aaron Traylor - 515 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2011, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 8 Virginia Regionals

Despite not the strongest run at the Regional level and higher, but a strong local run, Aaron has proven time and time again in the past that he's a strong player. His Top 8 run at the World Championships last year proves that Aaron is a very strong player and if your matched up with him, it won't be an easy game to take.



Chris Danzo - 513 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 Georgia and Philadelphia Regionals

His past success from the 2016 season has shown that Chris is a force to be reckoned with and he has been getting better throughout this season and as many other players have said who have known Chris, he has the skills to have a deep run at the World Championships.




Alberto Lara - 512 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2015, 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 4 Seattle Regionals, Top 8 Arizona, Collinsville, and Oregon Regionals, Top 16 San Jose and Dallas Regionals

Thanks to being able to travel for cheap, Alberto was able to travel to multiple Regionals and was able to do well at multiple Regionals and did well at most of them using different teams, which shows that Alberto understands the format and expect him to have a grasp on it at the World Championships.



Andy Himes - 512 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 Philadelphia Regionals

Andy is known for having insane runs in Swiss, going 9-0 in Day 1 of the US National Championships both in 2014 and 2016, which shows that he knows how to perform well in Swiss. This can help him out as you can expect him to bring his all at Worlds.




Nathan Wright - 510 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 Philadelphia & Toronto Regionals

Nathan is the only Canadian to qualify for the World Championships this season in the Masters division. While he's not the most well known player in the pool of qualified players, him qualifying means he's certainly no slouch when it comes to playing, so expect him to do put up a fight.



Terry Hong - 507 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Season Through: Top 4 Madison Regionals

For his first season, Terry has proven in his local area that he's a strong player and will be a threat, as stated by others who have known Terry throughout the season. His Top 4 run at the Madison Regionals shows that Terry is a strong player and throughout Worlds, it'll be a surprise on how he'll play.





Jeremy Gross - 505 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: Top 16 Collinsville Regionals, Top 8 Philadelphia Regionals

Jeremy was able to slowly get his Worlds invite by doing well at events, including finishing Top 16 at a Regional and Top 8 at another. Combine this with strong local finishes and qualifying for Worlds was something Jeremy was able to accomplish this.



James Court - 500 CP
Previous Worlds Qualifications: None

Qualified This Season Through: Top 32 at Collinsville, Georgia, Ft. Wayne, and Philadelphia Regionals, Top 16 Florida Regionals

Throughout the season, James was sadly dealt a bad hand with his resistance at Regionals. Even through this, strong local finishes allowed him to qualify and here's to hoping that at the World Championships, James' bad luck with resistance will wear out and he'll get the big break he's looking for.




Jonathan Evans
Previous Worlds Qualifications: 2016

Qualified This Season Through: 2nd at 2016 World Championships, Day 2 European Internationals

Through finishing runner-up at the 2016 World Championships, Jonathan was able to auto-qualify for the World Championships this year. Through doing this, Jonathan was more lax about earn CP this season, but finishing Day 2 at the European Internationals shows Jonathan still knows how to play in this format.




So that's all 46 players who will represent North America at the 2017 World Championships. There's a great mixture of both newer players and experienced players so it'll be interesting to see which of them will prevail and potentially take the title. Good luck to all of them and if you wanna root for any of them, make sure to root for them.

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