Raymond Rizzo is a three-time ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' Video Game World Champion (''2010, 2011, 2012''). He is regarded as one of the best players of competitive Pokémon of all time. His success can be partly attributed to his team building skills - one example of this is his use of a defensive, support-oriented Thundurus at a time when most players used Thundurus offensively, and this innovation subsequently dominated the Pokémon competitive scene for years after its first appearance at the 2011 World Championships.

Personal life

Rizzo grew up in the Marlton section of

Evesham Township, New Jersey Evesham Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 46,826, an increase of 1,288 from the 2010 census count of 45,538, ...

in the United States, He began playing ''Pokémon'' as a child. He attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, studying actuarial science. He passed three actuarial exams while at Drake. He resides in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

''Pokémon'' career

In 2010, Rizzo won his first Pokémon World Championship in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

after defeating

's Yasuki Tochigi in the Senior Division finals. He then won the 2011 World Championship in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

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after defeating Matteo Gini in the then-new Masters Division finals. He next won the 2012 World Championship in

, defeating

Wolfe Glick Wolfe Glick (born December 6, 1995), also known as Wolfey or WolfeyVGC, is an American competitive ''Pokémon'' player, streamer and YouTuber. He is the 2016 World Champion of the official ''Pokémon'' Video Game Championships (VGC) format, ...

(who Rizzo regards highly) in the Masters Division finals, making Rizzo the first three-time Pokémon Video Game World Champion. To commemorate this, the Pokémon Company released a shiny Metagross with the same moves, ability and nature as Rizzo's. Rizzo was defeated in the first round of elimination at the 2013 Pokémon World Championships. In 2014, Rizzo was alleged to have cheated by using a hacked Aegislash at the 2014 US Pokémon National Championships. He denied the accusations, but said that he would not be using the Pokémon in the future. The allegedly hacked Pokémon would have conferred no advantage in the competition, only saving time by avoiding on-cartridge

grinding Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...

, but would still have been a violation of tournament rules. In 2015, Rizzo was inducted into the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for his achievements. However, he did not qualify for the

2015 Pokémon World Championships Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album) ...

. Rizzo also has a YouTube channel where he discusses competitive Pokémon. As of May 2023, he has 24K subscribers and over three million channel views.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzo, Raymond 1990s births Living people Pokémon video game players American esports players Cherokee High School (New Jersey) alumni Drake University alumni People from Evesham Township, New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)