FINALLY, Chicago has LEAGUE!!!!

[BANGINBOX]

Hey guys,

I have recently become the General manager of Collect a Card n Comics in Chicago. As many of you know, the previous manager, did not support or grow the game of Pokemon within Chicago.

THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE!!!

I will be hosting the following......

Tuesday night Unlimited leagues
Sunday Noon tournaments (modified)
Sunday 4 pm Leagues (modified)

I will no longer stand to see Pokemon go without notice in Chicago. I have already drummed up a decent amount of support from the local kids. I hope the established community will also help support the game here.

This will put a serious damper on my personal playtime. It seems to be a good trade off though. I get to watch the game grow right before me, while teaching others to have the drive and passion I have for the game. I eagerly await the winds of change.

I will also be working with some established PTO's to learn the tricks of the trade, to establish myself as one of the premier organizers of the game, not just a player.

The store is located at:
6810 W. Archer ave.
Chicago, IL. 60638
773-229-0824



Thanks,
Jimmy

[PokeMontoya]

nice d00d hope your attendance blows off the roof

[TORCHWOOD]

Although I live no-where near Chicago, I wish you the best of luck in this.

[chriscobi634]

Mr. Ballard does it again. I take my hat off for you, my friend. Good luck and hope to see you soon at premier tourney and hopefully stop by one of your Sunday leagues sometime within this season.

[Ardoptres]

Good luck with it. =D

[Lawman]

This is great news Jimmy! Hope things go well. I cannot imagine the type of players that will emerge from Chi-town w/ you as a Mentor.

I will be glad to give you any tips on tourney organization, as well as Vince, Camille and others much closer to your area.

Good Luck!

Keith

[Jason]

Wish you heaps of luck, Jimmy...

From Jason of AU.

[PokeMama]

Jimmy we've got a lot of peeps at our events from your area that will be delighted to hear of some quality events closer to them! I will definatly pass on the info to them and wish you the very best in your new endeavor!! You know you'll have my support with any help you need!

[Dek]

Unlimited, you say?

I may have some friends that may be interested, myself included...

[bullados]

Naice. Been waiting for this for a while. Good luck to you, Jimmy!

[meganium45]

So, even a blind squirrel can become GM of a gaming store?

Just put that big beautiful 1st place in the Worlds Trophy in your window, and people will flock to it.

When people ask, just say, hey, that isn't mine, but here's my second place one!

Just kidding man!

Congrats and as Keith so generously offered for me before, whatever I can do, you know that.

Vince

(Boy, did the jealousy come out in the "joke portion" of the post...dude, when did M45 get so bitter. It's OK, maybe someday Jimmy will actually teach him how to play...although he is hopeless)

[BANGINBOX]

Thanx for the support!!!

We will be holding our first tournament this Sunday. It is going to be a sealed event. The cost is gonna be $25.00. You will be receiving a Secret Wonders Starter deck, and 2 packs of Secret wonders, to build a 60 card deck with.

Registration will be at noon

Any Questions call me at 773-229-0979

Jimmy

[PokeDaddy]

Jimmy -

Congratulations! This is real great news. When it comes to giving back to the community, this fits right at the top of the list.

I wish you all the best. Still trying to figure out how to get to your league from Massachusetts...

Steve

[PokeDaddy]

Over in the Tournament Section, under Pokémon Leagues, you'll find a little surprise there about a league starting up in the Greater Chicago area. This league is being run by GM of the store, Jimmy Ballard.

http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?p=977293#post977293

I can think of a lot of ways that folks are giving and growing the Pokémon Community, this just stands out as awesome.

I know that there are quite a folks who have opposing views of Jimmy, that's OK. I ask you to step back and look at this objectively.

1. Jimmy is a world class Pokémon Organized Play player
2. Jimmy has helped numerous folks, young and old, in becoming better players and advocates of the Game
3. Jimmy is now in a position to influence a wide range of folks in a different way - having a direct impact on how a store, a league, and a player can bring it all together

Kudos to Jimmy and his family.

Steve

[dogma]

That is absolutely awesome! GO JIMMY! (More unlimited = :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:)

I might not always agree with his views, but I really wish he has great success with his store. Given he's doing all this means that those who disagreed with him have little to disagree with now...

[Benlugia]

jimmy, you are exactly what the game needs more of: world class players giving back. it is great to see one of the greatest players helping create potentially great players, while still maintaining the fun and spirit of the game. good luck jimmy. i hope and expect this to be a great sucess.

[Prof Clay]

Sorry I cant make it this weekend Jimmy :cool:

I am sure the day would be more than worth it...but 8 hours is a bit much.

Congrats on the new league and job. I have a feeling scary numbers will start appearing in Chicago very soon.

See you soon,

Clay

[bullados]

Just let Camille get one of the bigger events (States/Regs) when the time comes.

Is this gonna be every week? I'm gonna be back over Thanksgiving weekend, and I've been ITCHING for some good games for a LONG time now! Oh, and Limited-SOMETHING for that weekend would be VERY nice. I <3 Limited in pretty much all forms, more than Modified or Unlimited. Sunday = Pokeymanz Day in Chicago!!!

[Dek]

I got one other person interested in Unlimited Tuesday nights...

Just let me know when the times are for Tuesdays nights. I'll definitely try to make it after I'm done with the semester (more specifically, after Christmas and maybe on Tuesday nights during the next semester)

[BANGINBOX]

I got one other person interested in Unlimited Tuesday nights...

Just let me know when the times are for Tuesdays nights. I'll definitely try to make it after I'm done with the semester (more specifically, after Christmas and maybe on Tuesday nights during the next semester)


We will be there from 4pm till 8pm....

More information can be found HERE!! (http://www.op.pokemon-tcg.com/league/details/?id=2480)

Jimmy

[BANGINBOX]

Well we had our first events this past weekend.....

Here are the results....

We had a sealed event, 1 starter deck and 2 packs then the built there decks. 12 people played in that.

We had a constructed tourney that 4 people joined. (james won) lol

We also Drafted 3 packs. 8 players joined. (james won) lol

Of the people listed above, NONE of them played in many years. Except James. There were ZERO experienced players there to support the game. That was a little disappointing, but I know they will come around.

I gave away my krickitune deck as the prize for the sealed event, as well as some more product. People we genuinely excited. What a great feeling.

Looking forward to the growth of MY game in this store. I will keep all of you in the loop.

Jimmy

[Skarmbliss]

Hope this all works out and i cant wait to use my unlimited deck! Its sounds like the tournament is for free but with no prizes right?

[BANGINBOX]

Hope this all works out and i cant wait to use my unlimited deck! Its sounds like the tournament is for free but with no prizes right?


I will generall charge 5 dollars for an entry fee. Then I kick in 1 pack per entrant and a rare card for the winner. The goal is to get more cards into new players hands so the game will grow.

So far so good,

Jimmy

[BANGINBOX]

FYI......

We will be holding weekly drafts for Secret Wonders....

Events will take place on Sundays at 1pm.
Cost... $15.00
Each player will get 3 packs to draft with. Energy will be provided to all players. I will also kick in 1 pack per entrant for prize support.

I do expect there to be at least 16 people this week, as it is the hottest game in the store right now.

Jimmy

[bullados]

I'm gonna be there next Sunday (after Thanksgiving). Drafts and Limited galore!!!

[Clueless in Seattle]

[QUOTE=BANGINBOX;981123]We also Drafted 3 packs./QUOTE]

I'm new to Pokemon, and have never played a trading card game before.

So I'd be grateful to anyone who could explain to me what it means to draft 3 packs.

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

[bullados]

Pass draft, 3 packs.

Take a group of people, seat them around a table (normally as close to 8 per table as you can get). Each player opens a pack, takes one card and passes the rest right. Continue taking one card and passing right until pack is exhausted. Repeat for second pack, passing left. Repeat for third pack, passing right.