Mike Liesik just posted this announcement to the OP forums:
Mike Liesik said:As you may have noticed, TPCi has begun running OP events for the Pokémon video games. Our goal is to develop these events into a strong OP system, with both grassroots support and large, premier tournaments. Management has decided that the Event Marketing team should lead this charge, and has created the Video Game Event Planner position to oversee all aspects of these events, including development of OP, event scheduling, and logistics. I accepted this position a couple of weeks ago, and have been working on transitioning my TCG OP responsibilities to the rest of the team.
I’ve spent the last 5 years working with Dave and Pete to develop the Pokémon Organized Play program into what it is today; one of the greatest OP programs in the TCG industry. During this time, I’ve interacted with a large portion of the community, either online or at events. It has been my great pleasure to work with you all and to see the constant growth of this program.
Responsibility for non-Premier tournaments, Pokémon League, the Professor Program, and any other items that I was working on will be absorbed by Dave, Pete and Brad until such a time as the company fills the position that I’m vacating. Please be patient with the OP team during this transition period, as there’s a lot going on at this time of year for everyone, so priorities may be rearranged to compensate for the loss of staff. I will remain available as a resource for the OP team, should they need me, but my focus will be on the video game program.
It’s entirely possible that video game OP and TCG OP will cross paths frequently, so I’m sure that we’ll have plenty of opportunity to keep in touch. I’m still a TCG player at heart, so I’ll always have a soft spot for the TCG OP program. I will continue to attend large events, such as US Nationals and the World Championships, though my role at these events will be focused on video game OP. I look forward to seeing you all there!
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Michael Liesik
Video Game Event Planner
The Pokemon Company International
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