Manassas teenager achieves top-eight Pokemon ranking

MANASSAS -- Alexander Baxter, a 14-year-old from Manassas, put his Pokemon card-trading skills to the test recently at the Pokemon Trading Card Game National Championship in St. Louis.

Battling in a fierce two-day competition against more than 1,200 of the nation's top players, Baxter crushed the competition and finished the tournament with a top-eight ranking.

With this finish, Baxter has earned an invitation and travel award to compete at the elite TCG World Tournament in San Diego in August.

Pokemon organized play events provide an outlet for young people to succeed in a highly competitive but intellectually challenging environment.

In the national competition, the players were separated into three divisions: Junior Division (born in 1998 or later), Senior Division (born from 1994 to 1997) and Masters Division (born in 1993 or earlier).

The world championships are an invitation-only event, and players must participate in a qualifying tournament or achieve a high premier ranking to receive an invitation.

Baxter had won at the local level, which allowed him to advance to the national event.