- Who Steve Aoki is when he's not on stage
- Live #1 — Sunday evening: rips before the stage
- Live #2 — Monday morning: coffee and rips
- The hunt: 4 signed cards hidden around Cluj
- What this means for the Cluj scene
- What's next
- FAQ
Sunday night, at 2 AM, Steve Aoki was lighting up the main stage at Untold Festival. Just a few hours earlier, that same Steve Aoki was sitting at a table with us, opening Pokémon packs like a kid on Christmas morning.
Yes, it really happened. Here's the full story.
Who Steve Aoki is when he's not on stage
For those who only know him from festivals, Steve is a world-renowned DJ and producer, a two-time Grammy nominee, one of the most energetic performers on the planet. For us collectors, he's something else: one of the best ambassadors TCGs and collectibles have ever had.
Through his dedicated account, @aokiscardhouse, Steve rips packs, collects at a serious level and puts our hobby in front of millions of people who might never have given it a chance. When an artist of that caliber tells the world it's OK — cool, even — to be a kidult, the whole community wins.
Live #1 — Sunday evening: rips before the stage
Sunday evening, between 9:30 and 11 PM, we met up with Steve for the first live opening — just hours before he took the main stage. On the table: Pokémon, One Piece and a few surprises from our stock. Sasha joined us too, and turned out to have a golden touch — the hits started showing up from the very first packs and never stopped.
The energy was exactly what you'd expect from Steve: total, contagious, from the first minute to the last pack.
Live #2 — Monday morning: coffee and rips
You'd think a main-stage set that ends near sunrise would be followed by a day of sleep. Not Steve. Monday at 11 AM, we met again for round two: morning coffee and TCG rips — and the hits kept coming.
As he put it himself: "It's so good we have to do it again!"
The hunt: 4 signed cards hidden around Cluj
Because this experience wasn't meant to stay ours alone, Steve signed 4 cards — and we hid them in public spots around Cluj. The rule is simple: finders keepers.
All the clues drop on the HIROQUEST Discord and on @gamerz.center.
What this means for the Cluj scene
An artist of Steve Aoki's caliber choosing to spend his festival weekend opening packs with a local collector community — that says something about how far the TCG and collectibles scene here has come. And it's exactly why Gamerz Center exists: to be the absolute geek-out place for kidults, where these passions are taken seriously.
Cluj-Napoca is on Europe's TCG map. And we're just warming up.
What's next
- The full video recap is coming soon on YouTube — complete versions of both lives, plus a best-moments edit. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the link the moment it drops.
- The hunt continues until all 4 cards are found.
- And... is there more coming? Maybe. 👀 Stay tuned.
Follow us: @gamerz.center · @pokemania.ro · @aokiscardhouse
Thank you, Steve, Sasha and the whole team — for the energy, the generosity, and for treating our community like your own. See you at the next rip.
FAQ
Where can I watch the full lives?
The reels are on Instagram (links above), and the complete versions are coming soon to our YouTube channel.
How do I join the hunt?
Join the HIROQUEST Discord, follow the clues and start searching. The cards are hidden in public spots around Cluj. Finders keepers.
Can I buy the products opened in the lives?
Yes — Pokémon, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Star Wars, Riftbound and much more are in stock at thepokemania.com and tcgmania.co. [internal category links at publish time]
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