When it comes to famous Pokemon players in the professional scene, you don’t get much more famous than Wolfe Glicke. Over the years, Glicke has managed to garner millions of subscribers on YouTube thanks to his efforts at Pokemon tournaments, becoming the first ever player to have won a Regional, National, International and World Championship, and recently becoming the first player to win 10 Regional Championships. He’s a serial winner in the competitive Pokemon scene.
However, Glicke seems to be taking a step back from the spotlight. In his most recent video on his YouTube channel titled ‘Moving Forward’, Glicke has announced that he’s taking a temporary break from attending in-person Pokemon tournaments, which will last around four months.
Pokemon Champion Wolfe Glick Is Stepping Away From In-Person Tournaments
In his video, Glicke stresses that there are many reasons as to why he’s stepping away for now, and that his decision hasn’t been made due to a single factor. He then goes into some of these reasons, revealing that he has been sexually assaulted at multiple tournaments by fans, as Glicke claims that he has been groped on numerous occasions while posing for photos.
In addition to this, Glicke explains that he’s also being grabbed by fans in a non-sexual manner without his consent, violating his own personal space, and aggravating a neck injury that he’s been dealing with for a while. Glicke goes on to say that stress and anxiety are two key reasons as to why he’s halting his in-person appearances now, explaining that due to how large Pokemon tournaments have grown over the years, he’s unable to find suitable places to unwind and destress during the events.
This stress then follows Glicke back home. He explains that he usually requires a week or so to be able to leave the house and feel normal again, and that he will not be doing his usual Pokemon Worlds video as he doesn’t want to relive the stressful experiences he’s had to endure.
Finally, Glicke explains that he’s scaling back his online presence quite a bit, getting off social media and reducing the amount of time he’s been livestreaming. This is mainly down to what Glicke views as parasocial relationships between himself and fans, as he reveals he’s often tagged in sexual and inappropriate comments which make him feel uncomfortable, on top of the general stress of being active on social media.
Glicke doesn’t speak about his in-person attendance with much certainty, as it seems to be a case of him wanting to take a break rather than fully retiring, but he does mention that he probably won’t be able to qualify for the next Pokemon World Championships due to the break he’s taking. If Glicke gets the rest he needs and things change for the better, he many start attending tournaments again, but right now, don’t expect to see many tournament appearances or videos from him for a while.
