Karys on the Brink of Pokemon Worlds

Team Norse Thunder's Karys Belfield is on the brink of qualifying for the 2020 Pokemon World Championships after a brilliant weekend of competition. 

Preparations for the game's biggest stage had been stepped up, and Karys faced two days on the road in a bid to earn much-needed qualifying points. 

Saturday saw Karys competing at a League Challenge at Rule Zero in London, and a 4am alarm call for an early morning train gave her plenty of time to put her deck through some last-minute testing. 

Battling hard against a local field of players, Karys narrowly lost her opening match of the day but went on to top the Senior Divison, win the event, and take away an invaluable 15 World Championship qualifying points. 

The following day saw Karys heading up north to take part in a League Cup at Patriot Games in Sheffield. 

With a now settled decklist and riding high on the confidence of the day before, she went unbeaten during her three rounds to finish 4th and put another 32 qualifying points on the board. 

Results from tournaments across the continent this weekend have left Karys ranked in 120th in Europe and needing just 43 more qualifying points to earn a World Championship invite. 

Speaking about Karys' weekend, Team Norse Thunder's owner, Dave Scotford said: "We had targeted top-eight finishes at both events for Karys but she went above and beyond that. 

"Watching her play, it's really clear that she's becoming a very good player - changing how she's playing in certain matchups is a tough skill, but she's showing she can. 

"This weekend was a brilliant one, and we're buzzing for her. Worlds are within touching distance now and it's fully, fully deserved."