>"Pegasus," aka Matthew Nguyen, 10, generates ripples of fear when he shows up at the weekly Yu-Gi-Oh tournament in West Springfield. Nguyen was the champion the second season the tournament occurred at Collectable Treasures, and he carries a lethal deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
Divya Goel, 10, doesn't know what it is about the guy in the green shirt, "Pegasus," but he didn't want to play him.
"Some guys are better than others," Divya said.
Matthew maintains that reputation around Cardinal Forest Elementary and now monitors the mail at his house, too.
"I get a trophy in the mail," he said.
Sunday afternoons at the Keene Mill Shopping Center is where the Yu-Gi-Oh gamers face off. They gather at the tables out front with card collections they've bought or won at the tournaments. Collectable Treasures is a certified tournament site, registered with the Upper Deck card company, makers of Yu-Gi-Oh. Store owner Lanny Jennings monitors the events, which are now in the third season.
"We're an authorized tournament center by Upper Deck," Jennings said. "We have 48 [players] today."
Wife Shelley Jennings was surprised at how the card craze has grown.
"I never thought it would grow beyond eight to 10 kids," she said.
Collectable Treasures employee Jen Hester runs the game every Sunday, starting about 2 p.m. She collects the $5 entry fee, hands out a pack of cards, and matches the players. After they start, she runs around with the clipboard keeping tabs, which she later posts on a Web site.
"It's really good for the kids. It gets hectic, but it's a lot more fun," she said, than her alternative — working on the cash register inside.
A majority of the gamers are in the 8- to 10-year-old range. Parents bring them in about 1:30 p.m. and sit, watching and waiting. The players pair off, sit across from each other, and lay out their cards similar to a game of Fish. The cards have powers and spells similar to the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy game.
"I'm for it," said Sonia Stevenson, a mother of a gamer. "They have fun. There's definitely a social component that he wouldn't have playing video games. I think he spends all of his allowance on Yu-Gi-Oh cards, but that's all right with me."
Edward Stratton, Zach Reves and Erik Lipscomb made the trek from Alexandria to compete.
"It's a fun, strategic game," Edward said.
Zach compared it with the last "flash in the pan" for card games.
"I don't know what it is about this game, but it's better then Pokemon," he said.
Erik looked at it like a economic status thing. To him, the wealthier players had a bigger card collection, so they won more.
"You feel like accomplished when you beat somebody rich," he said.
Some of the cards do cost more, too, when purchased individually. Austin Backus, 9, got hold of a "Gemini Elf" card just by luck. It was worth $60, he said.
"I got it in a booster pack," he said.
Brad Uhlman, 9, got lucky also, and he danced around one day after opening a pack of cards.
"My best card is 'Blue Eyes.' It's a really strong card," he said.
ON SUNDAY, April 27, Jennings went through the usual routine when starting off the tournament. After going down the roster, with names such as Mr. Moto, Green Siam 49, King Nothing or Snake 24, he rattled off the rules.
"Any of the big kids or the little kids cussing at the tournament, you're gone," he said.
This was just a precaution, though, according to Hester.
"We haven't had it come to that," she said.
"We have some with the parents playing with the kids," Jennings added.
Burke mother Teri Langston was in watching her son Paul, 14. She noticed the addition and subtraction used helps him with math skills.
"He wants to come play every week, but we can't. We used to go to one out by University Mall, this one seems more civilized," she said.
Shelley Jennings did face some adversity surrounding the game.
"I have some people that come in here and think it's evil," she said.
Dungeons and Dragons faced the same scrutiny years ago.
The third series ends around the end of the summer with a winner who can ultimately go on to a state or national competition. The series timeline is determined by Upper Deck.
"Upper Deck picks the date," according to Lanny Jennings.