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2013 US National YoYo Contest – 3A Analysis

October 9, 2013 By Steve Brown

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 3A Analysis

The 2013 US National YoYo Contest wrapped up this past weekend, and YoYoNews is looking back at each division and bringing you post-contest analysis.

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The 3A division at this years National YoYo Contest had plenty of talent, and many of the competitors seemed to be fairly evenly matched, at least for the day. But with the exception of Alex Hattori, every single player in the field had some kind of mistake in the first 0:30 of their routine and plenty more after. The result of this is that it becomes impossible to build up the kind of tension that we saw in the 1A Division, where nearly every player had a flawless routine. There was tension, but of a different kind…we all expected to give a trophy not to the best player of the day, but just to the one with the least blunders.

Fan favorite Eric Tranton came in off a solid showing at Worlds with one of the best routine ending bangers in the divisions history, but had so many tangles and missed string hits in the first minute of his routine that there was no way he could come back from it. That he still took 4th is a testament to just how good he really is, as well as how much everyone else in the division was missing. Defending champion Patrick Borgerding had some major problems almost immediately into his routine, rendering the first full minute of his routine mostly an exercise in watching a seasoned player try to recover their nerve once they realize they’ve lost the event but still have two minutes to go. The structure of Patrick’s routine is mostly banger-banger-banger, without much in the way of filler and not as many transitions as other players. If you looked away for a moment, it was easy to miss the flubs and look up just in time to catch him doing something amazing. That he stayed in the Top Three is partially a testament to the point value of his audacious tricks, and partially a reminder that the judges often score defending champions more favorably based on expectation.

Elliot Ogawa, former protégé to Patrick Borgerding, scooped up 2nd Place and bested his own mentor in spite of a tangle that resulted in a double restart and ate up a full 0:20 of his routine. That Elliot took 2nd Place with a routine so plagued with errors is indicative of how rough the entire division went…the best players had tons of problems, and the lesser players didn’t have the tricks to muscle through even a weak routine from the top contenders.

Alex Hattori was the shining star of the division though, and while it would be easy and cynical to say he was simply the “best of the worst” on a bad day for the division, the truth is that even if Ogawa, Borgerding, and Tranton were at the top of their game, Alex would have taken them. His routine was not only 95% flawless, but Alex comes from the Hank Freeman school of 3A…mount right in to your tricks, and waste no time getting to the next ones. The result was an entertaining freestyle with strong pacing and a ton of technical difficulty, resulting in a well-deserved win for Alex Hattori.

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 3A Division

1st Place – Alex Hattori

2nd Place – Elliot Ogawa

3rd Place – Patrick Borgerding

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 3A, alex hattori, elliot ogawa, Eric TranTon, featured, Patrick Borgerding, us national yoyo contest

Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 3A Contenders

October 2, 2013 By Steve Brown

Three Minutes From The Cup

The 3A division has come a long way, considering it was born in the Holiday Inn parking lot at the US National YoYo Contest. With each passing year, this style gets faster and smoother, with players going further and further out on a limb to harness the best aspects of 1A play and make them exponentially more incredible by doing them two at a time. Here are our picks for the top contenders the 3A division.

3A Division

Patrick Borgerding – Defending National Champion

Patrick blew minds at Worlds with his crazy horizontal 3A tricks, and a routine packed with an incredible number of bangers. Any dozen of his tricks could have been the grand finale of someone else’s routine, and Patrick just keeps ’em coming. His only weakness are his transitions…his tricks have a lot of set-up and can sometimes be slow to get out of. With so much talent nipping at his heels, Patrick has his work cut out for him, but he’s definitely the leading contender.

Alex Hattori

Alex Hattori is just about due for a break-through. With a solid 4th Place finish at this years World YoYo Contest and plenty of other Top 5 and Top 10 finishes over the past few years, Alex Hattori is ready for his time at the top. His Worlds routine was top notch, and an impressive finish in a field of amazing talent…but it was still a 4th Place finish to Patrick Borgerding’s 2nd Place. Will this be Alex’s year?

Eric Tranton

Eric Tranton stomping out that last amazing stall/regen trick of his routine (seriously, watch the end of his routine before you even finish this sentence) was one of the absolute highlights of the 3A Division at this years World YoYo Contest. Everyone in the room was on their feet, and every single other competitor felt a sink in the pit of their stomach as the saw the bar being raised for routine-ending bangers. If Eric can pull off at Nationals what he did a Worlds but go a little cleaner, he could walk away with his first National title.

Elliot Ogawa

Elliot has a lot of talent, but faltered heavily in his Worlds prelim and didn’t make it through to finals. He’s an up-and-coming talent with a lot of promise, but he’s got a lot of work ahead of him if he’s going to knock off players with smoother, more polished routines. But on any given Saturday, it’s just a matter of who hits it and who doesn’t….and we think that if he goes clean, Elliot could have his shot at the cup.

Ian Smith

With a 5th Place finish at the Bay Area Classic (one of the toughest contests in the country) and a 3rd Place finish at California States, Ian Smith is starting to make a name for himself in the 3A Division. His play isn’t as polished as some of the rest of the competitors, but he’s got the skills to make Top 5 on a good day.

Ryan Lai

Ryan Lai is a legend in the 3A player community, and one of the earliest competitive 3A players. His play is polished and smooth, but not on the cutting edge of difficulty. But never underestimate the power of someone who can hit everything they go for, and with his stage experience Ryan isn’t going to be as spooked on stage as younger players may be. With smooth style and high skill, Ryan is definitely a contender for the cup.

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 3A, alex hattori, elliot ogawa, Eric TranTon, featured, ian smith, national yoyo contest, Patrick Borgerding, ryan lai, three minutes from the cup, us national yoyo contest

The BAC Experience (NSFW)

June 5, 2013 By Gabriel Lozano

This video is recommended for audiences 18 years and older.

Youtube version here.

Because it is my regional contest, The Bay Area Classic is dear to my heart. Currently held in San Francisco, CA, the BAC always manages to bring together many of the world’s greatest players.

Since I personally never compete, I am always a spectator on the sidelines. I don’t mind this. In fact, I embrace it. Very rarely do you see me without my trusty camera. Since 1998, I have shot video at pretty much every yoyo event I’ve gone to. Some people have said that my work has documented the growth and change of yoyoing over the past 15 years. While I don’t feel I’m worthy of such high praise, I do feel that my videos have made a large impact in the yoyo community. That is why when the BAC committee asked me if I was willing to help shoot freestyles for the event, I gladly accepted. This acceptance, however, came with a downside.

This year, BAC ran freestyles throughout the day (as opposed to the end of the day). While this made everything run much smoother, it meant that I was unable to film tricks for a clip video since I would be busy with freestyles all day. I was pretty bummed, as I really enjoy making clip videos. So, to get my “documenting fix” in, I decided to shoot photographs and maybe hope that I could grab some good video footage at the Official BAC BBQ on Sunday.

My initial video plan was to make a video that showed people hanging out at the BAC BBQ. I wanted to make a sequel to last year’s BAC video, but this time focus on the players themselves, instead of their tricks. I wanted to show all of us hanging out, laughing, having a good time, making up and sharing tricks, and relaxing after a tough competition. This was the plan until I got home and realized that the photos I had taken all weekend showed a much more interesting story.

Over the course of the weekend, I shot approximately 2000 photos using a combination of my iPhone, Lumix LX7, and Sony NEX-5N using (primarily) a 8mm fisheye. If you were in my vicinity at any point this weekend, odds are I took your picture.

Inspired by Kohta’s EYYC 2012 video, this BAC 2013 video shows a different side of the contest filled with friends, family, spirits, camaraderie, yoyoing, and kendama.

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: 2013, Alex Kato, Alex Smith, Andrew Daugherty, Ann Connolly, Anthony Rojas, bac, bay area classic, Ben McPhee, Boxthor, Boyd Seth, bryan figueroa, Caribou Chris, daniel dietz, Elliot Jackson, elliot ogawa, eric koloski, eric tran-ton, Erik Thatcher, featured, Francis, Gabriel Lozano, Gary Longoria, gentry stein, Graeme Steller, guy wright, Harold Owens, Harrison Lee, ibrahim rahman, Isaac Sams, jacob jensen, jake wiens, JD, Jeff Longoria, joseph harris, Josh Yee, JT Nickel, kendama, kieran cooper, kiya babzani, Kristi Lozano, luis enrique, Markmont., michael nakamura, Nathan Crissey, Nickie Cardano, nsfw, palli gudmundson, patrick mitchell, paul dang, paul escolar, paul han, paul kerbel, paul yath, rocky mountain, Sam Lopez, seth peterson, Stu Branoff, Trevor Moreno, tyler severance, Yoshi Mikamoto, Zach Gormley

2013 Bay Area Classic Results – TIE FOR FIRST PLACE!!! (Video)

May 25, 2013 By Steve Brown

2013 Bay Area Classic 1A Results

1A Freestyle

1st  – TIE!! – Gentry Stein & Luis Enrique

3rd – Paul Kerbel

2A Freestyle

1st – Joseph Harris

2nd – Patrick Mitchell

3rd – Yoshi Mikamoto

3A Freestyle

1st – Eric Tran-ton

2nd – Elliot Ogawa

3rd – Patrick Borgerding

4A Freestyle

1st – Michael Nakamura

2nd – Bryan Figueroa

3rd – Zac Rubino

5A Freestyle

1st – Tyler Severance

2nd – Josh Yee

3rd – Elliot Jackson

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 2013 bay area classic, bac, bryan figueroa, Elliot Jackson, elliot ogawa, eric tran-ton, featured, gentry stein, joseph harris, Josh Yee, luis enrique, michael nakamura, Patrick Borgerding, patrick mitchell, results, tyler severance, video, winners, Yoshi Mikamoto, zac rubino

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