Couldn’t make it out to the 2016 Bill Liebowitz Classic this year? That’s ok, Rowland Balcom has us covered with this video from the contest. It’s a great look at sweet tricks from some of the top players at the event, all of them with their heads chopped off.
BLC 2016
Much love to Jose Pineda for this front-line view of the 2016 Bill Liebowitz Classic! This year contest organizer Mark McBride went with a new judging format, where audience members basically throw Monopoly money at the players as they are performing, and whoever has the most fake money at the end of the contest wins ACTUAL money.
So basically, it was strip club judging. Leave it to Mark McBride, right? We would list the results but let’s be real here: when the goal is to hang out, have a good time, and throw fake dollar bills at yoyo players, we all win.
2013 Bill Lebowitz Classic (Southwest Regional) Results
The final regional competition of the 2013 United States National Yo-Yo Contest qualification process finished up on Saturday and we have the full results. The contest was a great success with an improvement in the judging and an increased attendance from the previous year. We will update the 2013 Semi-Finals for the National Contest, check here.
On to the results,
5A
In 5A, National Champion Tyler Severance took the seed and looks to defend his title in the next three weeks. Paolo Bueno, 1A juggernaut, who is heavily influenced by Tyler in 5A, took second and closed the gap from the last contests he has competed against Tyler. Finally, Shannon Jackson of Arizona, loved by many and a consistent name in 5A, qualified for Nationals and took the third place honors.
- Tyler Severance
- Paolo Bueno
- Shannon Jackson
- Michael Nakamura
- Dylan Benharris
- Ryan Gee
- Ryan Ayes
- Newman Becker
Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:
4A
4A saw World Champion Michael Nakamura easily take top the spot despite a few (wind-aided) errors. Up and coming youngest Julian Grunauer took home second place with an extremely clean first half of his routine; with more and more experience, look for Julian to finish stronger with a clean second half in contests in the future. Finally, Stephanie Haight took home the third spot home and bolsters YoYoJams 4A roster and more young talent.
- Michael Nakamura
- Julian Grunauer
- Stephanie Haight
- Ty Goldman
- Yusuke Moriki
- Ryan Ayers
- Newman Becker
Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:
3A
3A pitted #2 and #4 from last month’s 2013 World YoYo Contest against each other and Alex Hattori won this time around with a great routine. Continuing his trend of ultra clean routines, Alex has put together 5 minutes of near flawless yo-yoing and has had a strong 2013 after a rough 2012. Look for Alex to be a huge contender going into the 2013 US National YoYo Contest. Patrick Borgerding had a relatively clean routine sans an extremely long switch out after an ugly knot. Yoshi Mikamoto edged out Newman Becker for third place. Newman has been steadily improving his 3A and looks stronger and stronger each year.
- Alex Hattori
- Patrick Borgerding
- Yoshi Mikamoto
- Newman Becker
Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:
2A
National Champion Patrick Mitchell won despite an exploded yo-yo and a restart–testimony to his skill and he looks poised to defend his title this year. 2A veteran Yoshi Mikamoto took second honors and nearly edged out the National Champion. Finally, Yususke Moriki took home third place–everyone’s favorite jokester and always entertaining 2A player.
- Patrick Mitchell
- Yoshi Mikamoto
- Yusuke Moriki
- John Huber
- Path Yath
Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National YoYo Contest. Full results:
1A Rookie
This year saw the addition of the rookie 1A division, a trend that many contests are now adopting, which was a good opportunity for the next generation to get on center stage. It is always awesome to see how fast everyone is improving and growing!
- Ryan Lagrou
- Lucas Madison
- James Martin
- McCando Kao
- Jose Pineda
- Spencer Rawnsley
- Daniel Walling
- Elijah Ortencio
1A
Anthony Rojas. Look out. He is a clean three minutes from being the US representative at the 2014 World YoYo Contest in Prague next year. A beautiful display of control and innovation with a hint of artistry and even a bit of swagger (brush your shoulder…). Anthony is a definitely the biggest crowd favorite in the US–last year at the National Contest when Anthony switched out there was an audible sigh of sadness from the crowd. In second, 4A Champion Michael Nakamura proved he should be considered a threat on all fronts. He has improved drastically even since Worlds and will make a run at qualifying again for the finals after his finaling at Worlds. Finally, Paolo Bueno took home third with yet another extremely innovative routine with his (becoming) trademark 3D tricks. He continues to improve and will certainly be a threat for the 2014 World title after a very strong year this year.
- Anthony Rojas
- Michael Nakamura
- Paolo Bueno
- Paul Dang
- Wilson Van Gundy
- Eric Koloski
- Ty Goldman
- Keiran Cooper
- David Ung
- Clint Armstrong
- Yusuke Moriki
- Dylan Benharris
- Tyler Goldenberg
- John Huber
- Ryan Gee
- Matt Leoun
- Paul Yath
Bold indicates seeded to semi-finals at the 2013 National Yo-Yo Contest. Full results:
Anthony Rojas
Michael Nakamura
Paolo Bueno
Thank you for a great event and see you next year!