Dad roots for son, 10, representing Singapore at Pokemon World Championship: 'The best gift I can give'

Just 10 years old, Emilio Cerda is already doing what most Singaporeans can only dream of doing — representing the country on the global stage.

The Singaporean has set his sights on the upcoming 2026 Pokemon World Championships in San Francisco from Aug 28 to 30.

Emilio will be taking part in the trading card game (TCG) competition's junior division, which will see him test his mettle against players under 12 years of age from all over the world. 

"If he goes and he wins, it's fantastic because there's like $2 million (S$2.5 million) in the prize pool, so he'll basically be paying for university with a first place placing," said Emilio's father, Jose Cerda, 40.

Cerda, an American on a spousal visa, is married to a Singaporean who grew up in Hong Kong. 

They also have a daughter, six, who has just started on her Pokemon journey.

"But if he goes and he just has the best time and wins a couple of games — or even if he doesn't — it just ends the weekend with a positive experience," Cerda told AsiaOne on Tuesday (July 28).

"That to me, as far as his Pokemon journey goes, is the best gift I can give my son."

Cerda said for Emilio to qualify he had to participate in local tournaments from September last year till June this year, racking up points based on his top eight results in them.

Emilio is among six other kids in Singapore who qualified, joining hundreds other children worldwide who will participate in the World Championships' junior division.

Talented from young

Getting to this point has not been smooth sailing for Emilio, Cerda said.

Beginning his TCG journey at the age of six, Emilio started out with Magic: The Gathering (MTG), which is what his father played with Dale, a close friend.

Cerda used to play MTG when he was young, but had to drop the hobby as he pursued his career in dance.

When he moved to Singapore, Dale reintroduced him to MTG — the latter's keen eye also picked out Emilio's talent for TCGs.

The boy had a "natural affinity" for not just MTG, but also the Pokemon TCG, and was given a starter deck of Pokemon cards as a gift.

"He very quickly realised that he was way better than any of the adults in the house," Cerda told AsiaOne.

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Tough start

Once they took Emilio out to a card game shop in Singapore to play against others his age, but the then six-year-old was quickly humbled.

"He got completely destroyed," Cerda recalled. "He didn't win a single game, and he was okay with it… we got a good chuckle out of it."

He realised that his son, while talented, needed a proper deck of cards that would be competitive enough to play, so Cerda bought one for under $50.

A month later, Emilio went back to attempt to compete in a tournament with the goal of winning a single match.

If he did, Cerda promised to buy him a booster box of cards, which usually costs around $150.

"And he didn't get a win," Cerda simply said. "He was like, 'It's so hard, they're so good, nobody's giving me a chance.'

"I was like, 'dude, that's life. No one's going to hand it to you, you've got to work for it.'"

Dreaming big

So Emilio practised his deck over the next two months, playing every Sunday for three hours, going home and reading his cards with his father.

On the third month, Emilio went back to the same shop and won his very first match.

Cerda, a professional dancer for over 25 years, said: "We were so excited… we went down to the card shop, bought a booster box and cracked (opened) it there.

"It was like this whole big experience for us because he was like not even seven yet, and he managed to do something that I myself couldn't do.

"He set a goal for himself right then and there that one day he was going to go and compete on the big stage. He wanted to go and win a championship for Singapore."

Emilio, who turns 11 in December, finally achieved his dream in June this year when he was informed of his qualification for the World Championships.

"I'm just going to go and do my best and do whatever I can," he told his father.

He added: "I just really hope that I can make everybody proud of me."

Cerda added: "Representing your country in anything at the championship level is an honour and privilege. And my son has really taken it as such. He's just really proud to be able to go."

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Recognition in Singapore

Emilio, a Primary 5 student, is a prefect with good grades and is also a taekwondo practitioner.

Between balancing his son's grades and allowing him to pursue his dream, Cerda highlighted the lack of recognition for TCG games in Singapore.

He said it's still difficult for people to understand what it means to represent the country in a Pokemon TCG tournament and to get support for it. 

"We just want to create more awareness about the game, [to let others] know that kids are doing this, and that they're trying to bring recognition to Singapore while doing it."

Thankfully, he received support from his local MP Goh Hanyan when he requested help with applying for leave from school for his son.

Sharing his long-term goals for Emilio, Cerda said: "I want him to find a place [of balance in his life] … because honestly, we can't play games all day and expect that the world's going to give us a living.

"I want him to be comfortable, but also never give up his passion."

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