Raw speed and accuracy were Iori Yamaki’s weapons once again to take the West Japan title for the second year in a row! Even Hiroyuki Suzuki’s perfectly choreographed routine was not enough to beat Yamaki’s blazing-fast horizontal-behind-the-back-under-the-wrist madness. No doubt one of the strongest contest routines we’ve seen recently!

In 2A and 3A, Ryo Yamashita and Taiichiro Higashi counted on their larger contest experience to take their respective titles. The first runner-up in each division was close enough in Technical Execution to be a threat, with Sora Tahira even beating Higashi here, but the Technical and Performance evaluations easily guaranteed the title for both Ryo and Taiichiro.

Speaking of experience, 4A was a delight to the audience, with veterans Futoshi Maruyama and Kazuaki Sugimura displaying beautiful precision in their own unique styles, and Futoshi taking the title by a little over three points, the closest gap in the entire contest.

Three relatively new players competed in 5A finals, with Yasuhiro Uchida claiming his first title despite having four points deducted from his score.

Check the results and winner videos below, courtesy of yoyovideoarchive:

1A

1. Iori Yamaki
2. Hiroyuki Suzuki
3. Kazuki Okada
4. Masaki Okita
5. Amane Okubo
6. Kazuya Murata
7. Yuki Shiguematsu

2A

1. Ryo Yamashita
2. Arata Imai
3. Keigo Nakata
4. Reo Takamatsu
5. Yuki Yamaguchi

3A

1. Taiichiro Higashi
2. Sora Tahira
3. Atsushi Kamoshita

4A

1. Futoshi Maruyama
2. Kazuaki Sugimura
3. Yuki Uchida
4. Teppei Hino
5. Ryuzo Baba

5A

1. Yasuhiro Uchida
2. Daisuke Ariyoshi
3. Ryotaro Morimoto