[4][5] Rizzo grew up in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey[6] in the United States, He began playing Pokémon as a child.

In 2010, Rizzo won his first Pokémon World Championship in Hawaii after defeating Japan's Yasuki Tochigi in the Senior Division finals.

[7] He then won the 2011 World Championship[8] in San Diego, California after defeating Matteo Gini in the then-new Masters Division finals.

[2] To commemorate this, the Pokémon Company released a shiny Metagross with the same moves, ability and nature as Rizzo's.

[12] The allegedly hacked Pokémon would have conferred no advantage in the competition, only saving time by avoiding on-cartridge grinding, but would still have been a violation of tournament rules.