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2013 US National YoYo Contest – 1A Analysis

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2013 US National YoYo Contest

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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Where the other divisions may have been thin or disappointing, 1A proved once again that it’s the single most competitive division in the United States. From the very first contestant on stage, it was clear that this was THE division to watch and easily had the highest level of play not just of the contest, but of the entire US contest series for 2013. Some players lost out to their nerves, but everyone who was on stage was a contender and should be damn proud of playing at that level.

It’s hard to put too much commentary to this division…it really was an “any given day” scenario. Looking at the scores gives you an idea just how tight the field was this year. Less than a point between 1st and 2nd, less than a point between 2nd and 3rd; 4th and 5th place were out in the wilderness there with a noticeable point drop, but then the rest of the field was neck-in-neck with an incredibly tight point grouping from 6th to 11th place. It’s not surprising that, upon walking away from the judges table and fielding the usual barrage of “Who won?” questions from people, the judges had nothing but shrugs.

Duncan Toys filmed the event and did a pretty good job in spite of  problems with overheating cameras. But thanks to them, we have stellar footage of the Top Three, along with alternate angles and a great slo-mo edit shot with a GoPro Black.

It was a hell of a year for 1A…instead of listening to us pick it apart, watch these routines and start learning these tricks. Time to start practicing for 2014.

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 1A Division

1st Place – Gentry Stein (YoYoFactory)

Gentry Stein – GoPro Alternate Angle


Gentry Stein – Slow Mo Edit

 

2nd Place – Anthony Rojas (RecRev)


Anthony Rojas – GoPro Alternate Angle

Anthony Rojas – Slow Mo Edit

 

3rd Place – Zach Gormley (CLYW)

Zach Gormley – GoPro Alternate Angle

Zach Gormley – Slow Mo Edit

 

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 2A Analysis

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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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What in the late 90s – early 2000s was the most fiercely competitive division has now become a thin field for American players. The players at the top are WAY at the top, and the newcomers have a long way to go. The amount of time that it takes to learn 2A tricks versus every other style is remarkably off-putting to new players. While every other style of play requires you to learn a trick and then learn to hit it clean, 2A requires you to learn how to repeat tricks at high speed…the repetition is what weeds people out of this style quickly.

This year’s biggest upset was the last minute decision by defending champion Patrick Mitchell not to attend the event. What started as a showdown between National Champions Patrick Mitchell and Joseph Harris quickly turned in to a free-for-all. The point drop-off from 1st Place to 2nd Place was 21.2 points, and that should give you an idea of the level of competition this year.

Joseph Harris is a solid National Champion, two-times over, and there wasn’t anyone last Saturday who was playing at that level. Yoshi Mikamoto is a solid State/Regional player, but he’s not up to the level yet of being able to take on Joseph or Patrick Mitchell. Up-and-comer Ian Lawson showed a lot of promise and definitely earned his 3rd Place finish, and I think it’s safe to say we can expect some great things from him in the future.

Hawaiian players Ryan Lai and Alexander Kido are both great players but Ryan’s experience and old school style are no match for the new level of 2A, and Alexander still has a way to go before he can match Joseph or Patrick’s level of comfort on stage. Bringing up the bottom of the field we have John Huber who is a performer and demonstrator, not a competitor, and Josh Yee who enters as many divisions as he can without being truly competitive in any of them.

2A just didn’t deliver this year, which is a shame considering how great this style of play looks when done well. But we see some real promise in Ian Lawson and Alexander Kido, and hopefully this is the beginning of great things for both of them.

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 2A Division

1st Place – Joseph Harris

2nd Place – Yoshi Mikamoto

3rd Place – Ian Lawson

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 4A Analysis

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 ian

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 4A division at the US National Yo-Yo Competition saw a complete turn around from the World competition; routine after routine left you thinking, ‘hmm… that could take the cup’, which is just what the division needed. The youngsters like Alex Lee, Julian Guaurner and Stephanie Haight had some trouble on stage losing quite a few yo-yos but each still showed lots of promise and they gained much needed experience on the center stage. The present top players in this division are strong and the future looks bright.

Flawless. That is what it took to win the 2013 National Yo-Yo Contest in offstring. There is a winner every year but there aren’t flawless routines every year. Ian Johnson entered the history books on Saturday with a routine that had zero minor deductions and zero major deductions–three minutes of flawless yoyoing in front of a huge crowd in Chico on the United States’ biggest stage. His routine had technically difficult tricks, flashy bangers and perfectly timed music cues. Ian’s routine was constructed so well and really speaks to his experience on the big stage. After Ian’s first two minutes looked dead locked with Bryan and Zac, his final minute continued to rise when Zac and Bryan’s final minutes had some difficulties albeit extremely, emphasis on extremely, minor ones but that was all it took to lose pace with the eventual champion. Ian was smiling and it was obvious from the crowd he was having fun on stage while hitting a routine he won’t ever forget–something that, at it’s core, is what the sport of yo-yo is all about–having fun.

Zac Rubino had the best routine of his life and showed everyone what he is capable of; he proved he is world class, right there with Ian, Bryan and Michael. Add in Ben Conde and the United States has a scary top 5 when on their game. Zac came out hot hitting banger after banger, technical combo after technical combo and looked like he was going to take the title home for Chico and he finished very strong. His routine was topped only by a flawless routine which speaks to the quality of his. Additionally, Zac has worked quite a bit on his choreography and overall structure of his routine and definitely proved me wrong when saying he has difficulty outside. On almost any other day, Zac walks home with a cup with that routine and should be very proud of the show he put on.

Finally rounding out the top three, Michael Nakamura came out with another beautiful routine to follow up his World Champion routine. He topped even Ian in his technical score which speaks to how dangerous he can be when he goes even cleaner but with a few drops and miscues, third was a pretty solid finish and probably the best he was going to finish after all the routines were completed. Michael may leave disappointed but absolutely backed up his World title and will continue to be a top contender in international competitions.

Ben Conde was also right there hitting one his cleanest routines through the first two minutes but had a few drops in the end. Ben always brings a great show and will always remain at the top of the division when it comes to innovation. It will be Ben’s time one of these days but this Saturday was not quite it.

Bryan came out with a strong routine that looked much more polished than his World routine and when Zac and Michael were announced in second and third, it looked like maybe Bryan managed to return to the top.  Ian took down the six time defending champion Bryan Figueroa, who earned the admiration of the entire yo-yo community for accomplishing six years of dominance and creating the essence of excellence that the American offstring scene is now defined by. Bryan IS what it means to be a champion and while he did not finish at the top this weekend, he will always have the respect of every offstring player in the United States; but this weekend was Ian Johnson’s–perhaps a passing of the torch.

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 4A Division Winners

1st Place – Ian Johnson

2nd Place – Zac Rubino

3rd Place – Michael Nakamura

 

2013 US National YoYo Contest – 5A Analysis

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2013 US National YoYo Contest Jake Elliot

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 5A division at this years US National YoYo Contest suffered from the same problem as nearly every other division this year: most of the competitors were pretty good for a State or Regional level, but just couldn’t hold their own on the National stage against former champions. As a result, the division had no real momentum. Dylan Benharris got on stage with a routine that started with thirty seconds of tricks from 2001, and a routine that ended :40 early; Shannon Jackson started his routine with a change-out, up-and-coming player favorite Chase Baxter started missing tricks early and then kept going back after them for second tries, and the normally composed Shane Lubecker looked like he was struggling to remember his routine. None of these guys are bad yoyo players by any means, but none of them seemed prepared for what they came to do…and that was get on stage and challenge Tyler Severance & Miguel Correa, two players with multiple National titles. The most exciting moment of the entire division was Jake Elliot’s inspired rebuild of his World YoYo Contest routine with fresh pacing and a lot of the throw-away tricks removed for a leaner, meaner freestyle that ended in Jake’s first National title and a much-needed injection of fresh blood into the counterweight play winner pool.

The counterweight division has been suffering for years now, with legal wrangling killing pretty much all meaningful promotion of the style. The result is a waning interest in behalf of competitors, and what we saw at Nationals this year were two former Champions who are still holding their own but quickly aging out of the competition circuit and only one new contender coming up to represent the next generation of champions. At this rate, it’s pretty likely that 5A will be completely stagnant by 2015 and dead in the water by the time the Duncan counterweight patent expires in 2020.

But for now at least, we have three amazing routines by players at the top of their game, and a field of dedicated hopefuls that might stick around long enough to see this division return to its former glory.


2013 US National YoYo Contest – 5A Division Winners

1st Place – Jake Elliot

2nd Place – Tyler Severance

3rd Place – Miguel Correa

 

Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 1A Contenders

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Three Minutes From The Cup

1A is truly going to be a treat this year. The regional circuit did a great job in making sure the best players are in the finals already; the list of seeded players is good for the sport of yo-yoing as every single one of them is extremely innovative and big names in advancing yo-yoing. There are five or six names that have legitimate shots at taking home the title and we list some of the names we are most excited about seeing. Due to the pure number of competitors, we cannot cover everyone and the nature of competitive yo-yo boils down to who can hit their stuff on stage during their three minutes so underestimate no one.

Top 1A Contenders

Zach Gormley – Defending National Champion

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The defending champion is by far the most impressive player in the United States at the moment. His tricks are extremely innovative and all very visually appealing while still maintaining technical difficulty. But Zach has had switch outs in his last two major competitions in Bay Area Classic and Worlds and he has had a tough time recovering from it. There is certainly the chance it could happen again and open the door for someone to take the champion down.

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Defending National Champion Zach Gormley has proven himself to be not only a leading contender for any contest he attends, but also one of the most innovative and influential players of this generation. Even with his amazingly undervalued 7th Place finish at this years World YoYo Contest, Zach has some serious momentum built up from his year of work with Innovation Movement and strong First Place finishes at PNWR and SCR. Zach has spent the year as THE player to beat and this weekend everyone else in the 1A Division has their work cut out for them.

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Gentry Stein

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Gentry missed out on the finals this year at the World Yo-Yo Contest so he will be hungry. Coming in second last year only compounds his aspirations to take home the cup this year. Gentry is a hometown favorite and knows how to cater his routine to the demands out outdoor Chico;  he always has beautifully constructed routines that match the music almost trick for trick—something that is often dramatically underappreciated. Gentry has all of the tools to win, and Zach and Anthony are the only people who can possibly beat him straight up. If Gentry goes cleaner than those two, he will take it.

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Gentry Stein failing to make Finals at the World YoYo Contest was absolutely crushing to everyone in attendance. 2013 has been a great year for this rising star…the release of his new signature yoyo, the Shutter, some great video parts, a historic tie for First Place at the Bay Area Classic and a win at California States would have satisfied most players for a while, but it’s only made Gentry hungrier. He’s been gunning for the top spot for a while now, and if anyone is a major threat to Zach, it’s Gentry.

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Sebastian Brock – Former National Champion

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Sebastian failed to make it to the finals at the World Contest for the second straight year after his 2nd place finish in the 2011 World Yo-Yo Contest which means we haven’t see Sebastian compete in a while–this makes it tough to know how he will do but he was on top of the yo-yo world not so long ago so he should be considered a threat still. He is another incredibly innovative thinker in the yo-yo world and only adds to the great lineup–from an entertainment standpoint.

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Sebby is a wildcard this year. We haven’t seen much of him on the contest scene, but with one National title already under his belt and an established track record of mind-blowing and highly original play that players love and judges love to click, he’s absolutely a contender and it would be foolish to consider him anything less than a threat.

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Isaac Sams

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Isaac is an exciting name to see on the seeded players list. Right now, he is probably not a top contender but top 5 is certainly within reach, but anyone can win on any given day—it really comes down to who hits their stuff. Isaac has tons of innovative concepts and his (becoming) signature straightjacket tricks are super exciting. He has faltered in consistency at times but his routine at Bay Area Classic was a pure joy to watch and a guaranteed three minutes will allow Isaac to construct a well thought out routine which will certainly increase his shot at top 5.

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Isaac Sams is on the short-list for players we expect to scoop up their first National title within the next few years. A leading force in the innovation of modern 1A yoyo play, he’s easily Top Five material at any contest when he’s on his game. He’s not as consistent yet as he needs to be, but on his best days he is absolutely National Champion material. Will this Saturday be his best day?

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Alec Campbell

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Alec is another player that will probably not be a top contender but his guaranteed three minutes is good for the competition. His innovation and style is much needed when competitive yo-yoing can sometimes devolve to scoring as many clicks in three minutes  and style is sacrificed—but not with Alec.  As with Isaac, the seed will allow him to construct a routine and practice it with confidence without having to split his time with a one minute that requires an entirely different type of yo-yoing. He is also a threat for top 5.

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Alec Campbell has been building plenty of buzz with great video parts this year, and Top Five finishes at Midwest Regionals and Kansas States. His prelim at Worlds showed promise, but wasn’t enough to push him through to finals. Alec will need to pick up some speed to get enough trick density to be a serious contender at Nationals, but he’s proven that he’s got the skill.

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Kevin Nicholas

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Kevin has been competing sparingly, Asia Pacific being his last competition and his performance was impressive. The fact he hasn’t been on stage in over three minutes means he will have lots of practice under his belt and probably some new tricks. Kevin brings incredibly acrobatic tricks to the stage which evokes lots of cheers from the crowd and his performance at Pacific Northwest Regional proves he can hang with Zach and Gentry and should be considered a real threat to take the title.

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Kevin Nicholas is a rising star of the YoYoFactory team, and with promising showings at AP 2013, California States, and PNWR, he’s made enough noise that we think if he goes clean, he could take a spot in the Top Five.

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Andrew Maider

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Andrew is another player on the rise. Missing out on finals at Worlds this year also gave him time to focus on his guaranteed three minutes at Nationals which should ensure a well-constructed three minutes.  Andrew took fourth last year and with another year of experience and development, he should be considered a big threat and can take the cup. He has the technical tricks and innovation to score high and it comes down to how he hits them on stage

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Andrew Maider had strong showings at MA States and BAC, and took his Nationals seed from a solid 1st Place win at NER. He had a promising prelim at Worlds, but just couldn’t go clean enough to earn a spot in finals. Andrew isn’t at the top of his game yet, but he could lock in a Top Five placing for himself this weekend and set himself up for a run at next year’s cup.

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Anthony Rojas

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Anthony is perhaps the most beloved 1A player in all of the United States. His innovation is appreciated by everyone and his freestyle construction is always improving. Anthony is in the top 3 for contention with Zach and Gentry; he, too, did not qualify at the World competition which gave him time to fine tune his routine and practice it. Anthony has had trouble with switch outs last year and if he can avoid any major deductions, he will be right there for the cup. Everyone wants to see Anthony hit his routine the way Anthony wants to do it.

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Rojas, Rojas…when’s it going to be his time? One of the most inventive players in the game, and a tremendous crowd favorite, Anthony Rojas is an incredible talent sponsored by a dodgy company. It’s hard to say if picking up a better sponsor could give him the resources to make a solid run at the championship, but he could still get there on his own, and his solid routines at BAC, California States, and Semi Finals at Worlds, as well as his stunning win at BLC prove that he’s absolutely got the skill to pull this off. But does he have the drive? Does he want it as badly as his competition?

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Harold Owens III – Former National Champion

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Harold had a tough World Contest showing not qualifying to the semi-finals so he will be coming to Worlds with a polished three minute routine but he has to go through prelims again which could potentially trip him up again—his style does not suit one minute routines well at all. Harold has never prided himself on speed; his brilliance is seen in his trick development, set up and most importantly his stage presence but all of that is lost in one minute routines. Harold will be a threat to take the cup but he has to make it to finals first.

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Harold has one win already under his belt and is a busy college student; he’s got the skill for sure, but it’s hard to say how bad he wants another National title. But here’s the thing about that level of skill…if he wakes up Saturday morning and decides that he wants it, Harold could probably take home another cup. His Prelim at Worlds was good, but not dense enough to move him through to Finals..that said, his pacing is something that has always played well with the judges in longer routines.

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Paul Han – Former National Champion

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Paul Han is a legend of yo-yo and is a threat to win in any competition he joins; however, he has been out of the scene for a bit of time now so it will be very interesting to see what he has come up with since he last competed. It is tough to say what his chances are without having seen him play in months but don’t sleep on Paul, ever. If Paul comes out with great new stuff and hits it, he can take home another cup.

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Would anyone really be surprised if Paul Han showed up and just straight monkeystomped everyone? Paul has been a dominant competitor since the late 90s, and has kept his skills current. He’s more comfortable on stage than pretty much anyone else who will be there, and if anyone could come out of left field and upset all predictions, it would be Paul Han.

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Eric Tranton

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Eric was the top American at the World competition which is no small feat. Last year the top American at the World competition was the US Champion so Eric is in good company. Eric is a multi-talented player drawing influences from his highly skilled 3A repertoire and creating extremely technical tricks. Eric has also been dramatically increasing his choreography and this completes his check-list before taking the title. Eric is my darkhorse to take the title.

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Fresh off a stellar 4th Place showing at the World YoYo Contest, Eric Tranton is a strong contender in both the 1A and 3A divisions at this years National YoYo Contest. Up until yesterday, Eric didn’t think he was going to be able to make it to the contest…will this last-minute change be the decision that brings him TWO Nationals titles? We’re definitely looking forward to seeing what Eric brings to the stage.

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Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 2A Contenders

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Three Minutes From The Cup

This year the 2A division is looking incredibly thin, competition-wise. Without Patrick Mitchell defending his title or Grant Johnson seeking to add to his list of titles, the cup for 2A is completely up for grabs!

2A Division

Joseph Harris – 2x National Champion

Joseph Harris is the clear frontrunner and, save a complete meltdown, should walk away with his third title. He had a very strong showing at Worlds despite taking the last spot in the finals. Joseph has improved his choreography considerably and has lots of new concepts and a few solid bangers.

Yoshi Mikamoto

Yoshi is Joseph’s biggest and most serious competition; Yoshi has just missed out on the podium for the last few years and looks poised to finally take home a medal. Yoshi is the most acrobatic 2A player in the US, which is always an applause generator–add in the fact he’s beloved by so many and it is easy to see why he’s a crowd favorite. For Yoshi to take down Joseph he will need to have upped his technical tricks since he last competed, and since he sat out this year at Worlds it will be interesting to see what he brings.

Ian Lawson

Ian one of the few up and coming 2A players. I’m confident he will take home a title eventually, but this might not be his year. He failed to qualify for the finals at this years World YoYo Contest, which means his technical skill just isn’t quite there yet; but he is improving faster than any other player in the United States and we can assume he will have improved considerably even since Worlds. This should land him a spot in the top 3 for the first time.

Ryan Lai

Ryan is a classic 2A player from the THP era which means his fundamentals are on lock. He has a great repertoire of tricks, and with a thin list of competitors Ryan has an undeniable shot at the top 3; he, however, is outmatched considerably by Joseph and Yoshi and will probably be fighting Ian for the final podium spot.

Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 3A Contenders

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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.

Three Minutes From The Cup | Top 4A Contenders

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Three Minutes From The Cup

Offstring will be one of the most interesting divisions to watch this year simply due to the strange nature of the World contest. There will be several players looking to prove something, and others still looking to make their name on the big stage. There is a great lineup of seeded players and semi-finalists and YoYoNews is providing some insight on who we believe to be in top contention for the title.

UPDATE: Ben Conde is now on the registered list of competitors and thus has been added to this list.

4A (Offstring) Division

Bryan Figueroa – 6X National Champion

Bryan Figueroa is the six time defending champion. For that reason alone he has to still be considered a favorite despite his performance at the World contest two months ago. Chances are he will be out to prove he is still the best American offstring player. Little has to be said about his trick complexity and typical accuracy–he has dominated this contest every single year since 2007. The only thing stopping Bryan from capturing his 7th straight title would most likely be Bryan himself; however, this contest could be the turning point of the American offstring scene if Bryan loses.

Michael Nakamura – World Champion

Michael Nakamura is one of the few players to have Bryan’s number as of recent and became only the second American player to take home the 4A World title. This obviously makes Michael the prime candidate to take down Bryan but the World contest and the National contest are different–outside versus inside, which plays the biggest role in offstring more so than any other division. Michael has a fast, accurate style with an ever improving choreography and will, similiar to Bryan,  be out to prove why he is the World champion which will surely mean he is bringing his A game.

Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson is undefeated through two minutes in 2013 winning all five contests he entered leading up to the World competition; if the World contest was a two minute routine, he may have been crowned the 2013 World Champion, but his final minute saw an unraveling that dropped him to fifth place. He did manage to take down Bryan Figueroa and Ben Conde despite the flawed final minute. Ian’s focus on choreography is readily apparent with themed shirts and gloves, and his trick complexity and creativity have each seen dramatic increases from last year. If he can put together a solid three minutes, he will be tough to beat.

Ben Conde

Ben just appeared on the registered player list for the 2013 National Yo-Yo Contest and he is a huge threat to take the title. If he hits his routine straight through he is probably near unbeatable but his tricks are just so hard that even he has difficulty hitting them consistently–add in the variable of outdoors and his tricks become even harder. Ben is the ultimate performer and always has a fun routine to watch. Whether Ben wins or not is in the air but what we do know is the audience sure wins.

Zac Rubino

Zac is the darkhorse of the 2013 National Yo-Yo Contest in offstring. His tricks are there and his choreography has been in contests before but his consistency can be questionable at times due to the Conde-esque difficult nature of his tricks. Zac, a Chico native, has home court advantage  but doesn’t seem to do well outside but he has the potential to step up and take the title if the door is left open and he put together a routine that has no switch outs.

Alex Lee

Alex is one of the most exciting up and coming youngsters. With the seed he will be able to focus on his three minute routine which will give him the time to improve his choreography and trick density. Every contest he has competed in this year he has improved dramatically and he was the first cut at Worlds in an extremely tough 4A prelim that saw four flawless routines. If any of the names listed above leave the door open for Alex, he may find his way into the top 3 but is probably a year or two off being a top contender–but look out.

Julian Grunauer

Julian Grunauer is on a similar level with Alex Lee in that he is improving dramatically but should set his sights on around top 5. Right now, all of the names listed above are currently more poised to the fill the top 5 but Julian showed a few weeks ago at the Bill Lebowitz Classic that he has the skill to put on a top 5 performance but needs to get experience on the big stage and find a level of confidence that the above listed names have demonstrated many times before.

Three Minutes From The Cup – Top 5A Contenders

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Three Minutes From The Cup

Nationals is coming up fast…the best players in the United States will descend on Chico, California for their moment on stage to compete for the title of US National YoYo Champion. All this week we’ll be featuring our top picks for each division!

5A (Counterweight) Division

Tyler Severance – 2x National Champion

Defending US National 5A Champion Tyler Severance showed up with one of the best 5A routines of all time at this years World YoYo Contest, and he is definitely at the top of the game. Severance has shown in recent years that he’s getting steadier and steadier on stage…where in the past you could see his pacing start to slip towards the end of his routines, now he stays steady and true until the end. Tyler is first in line for the cup this year, and everyone else is going to have a hard fight ahead of them to take his title.

Miguel Correa- 4x National Champion

Miguel Correa sat out most of the 2013 contest season to re-focus on work and family, but his level of play is so high that it might not make a difference. All it takes for Miggy to win is for him to wake up feeling good…with him in the mix, everyone better bring their A-game. That said, his teammate Tyler Severance is his #1 competition…we know where Tyler’s play is, but Miggy is coming in with some mystery around him which should make for an exciting head-to-head between these two reigning champs.

Sebastian Brock

Sebastian Brock is one of the best 5A players that no one ever talks about. Sebby has said himself that he doesn’t have as much confidence in his 5A play as he does in his 1A routines; but he seems to be the only one with that opinion. His counterweight tricks are clean, inventive, and stand out from the field in a way that crowds like and judges can follow. As the 2010 National Champion in the 1A division, Sebby is in a good position to be one of the incredibly few people to win a national title in different divisions.

Jacob Elliot

Relatively new on the scene, Jacob Elliot made a lot of noise at Worlds with his incredibly fast and seemingly out-of-control style in the 5A finals. His freestyle had people flinching at the back of the room, waiting for a yoyo to shoot off the stage. But it never did, and the question for Nationals is: will his speed help him rack up the points to win, or will he outplay the judges’ clickers?

Chase Baxter

Chase Baxter is an up-and-coming talent who is quickly becoming a fan favorite. He’s got an easy-going style on stage that makes him easy to score, but his consistency just isn’t there yet. If he has a good day in the park, Chase could go clean and hit Top 5…but he’s a wildcard and it’s hard to tell what he can do.

Shane Lubecker

Shane is another up-and-coming player who made a strong showing at Worlds in the counterweight division. His trick density isn’t quite there yet, but he’s got some really original stuff and when he’s on his game, his trick construction and pacing are really nice. Judges score what they can follow, and Shane is good at playing to the judges. He’s a contender for sure, but he’s going to have to go cleaner than he managed at Worlds if he wants a shot at Top 5.

Three Minutes From The Cup | Petition Results for Semi-Finals

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The petition results for advancing to the 2013 US National Yo-Yo contest semi-finals have been posted online. Looks like a great group of players moving on and a solid addition to the already impressive list of qualified players which we posted here. The petition process has gone smoothly and served its purpose. Congratulations to all the players!

[Editor’s Note: We’re receiving word that the petition results were posted, but none of the petitioners were actually contacted by the National YoYo Contest. If you know someone on the list, please contact them and let them know! – Steve]

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Congratulations to all those who made it through a very difficult petition process this year, here is the list that will be moving into the prelims at the US National YoYo Contest!

1A 
Andrew Bergen
Keiran Cooper
Harold Owens III
James Reed
Jason Lee
Mitchell Ruskin
Paul Han
CJ Atkinson
Kahli Evans
Michael Nakamura

2A
Connor Scholten
Alexander Kido

3A
Josh Yee

5A
Matthew Fernandez
Miguel Correa

See the results here.

Three Minutes From The Cup | OFFICIAL US National Semi-Finalist Qualifiers

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3minutesvertlarge_nationals

Here is an unofficial list of semi-finalists for the 2013 US National YoYo Contest. This list is unofficial for now but will be reviewed by the National YoYo League and should be posted soon on the official website and when it is we will update this list to reflect the official list.

We are still unclear if you must qualify to finals to be considered top 5 from the region (ex: only 3 in region players are in finals). Bold indicates the seeded player from the region. The number following the name of the region designates the number of qualifiers and total participants.

The seeded players will be the focal point for our analysis on who we believe to have a great shot at taking home the cup and, looking at this list, the US National YoYo Contest is going to be extremely competitive. It is really great  for all parties involved, competitors and spectators, to see the likes of Alec Campbell and Isaac Sams in 1A, Joesph Harris and Shane Karan in 2A, Ian Smith and Eric Tranton in 3A, Alex Lee and Ian Johnson in 4A and Chase Baxter and Shane Lubecker in 5A, get guaranteed stage time. All of those 10 names will have a well deserved shot at their three minutes for the cup.

Finally, still looking for some motivation? Check out the promo vids.

UPDATE: The official list has been posted here. We have made the corrections below to reflect the official list published by the NYYL. We will update this list following the weekend and publication of the results of the 2013 Bill Lebowitz Classic.

UPDATE #2: I received official clarification on if you must qualify for finals to be considered top 5 from your region and you do not. Therefore, we have updated PNWR and BAC to reflect that clarification with Tomas Keane, Ibrahim Rahman from PNWR and Ian Lawson from BAC.

1A:

Seeded Players:

  • Isaac Sams
  • Alec Campbell
  • Zach Gormley
  • Andrew Maider
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Gentry Stein
  • Sebastian Brock
  • Anthony Rojas 

Mideast Regional – 8 (41)

  • Tylor McMallumore
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Eric Tran-Ton
  • Isaac Sams
  • Michael Stecz
  • Chandler Steele
  • Joseph Plummer
  • Yu Tsumura

Midwest Regional – 8 (43)

  • Eric Koloski
  • Grant Johnson
  • Tessa Piccillo
  • Alec Campbell
  • Adam Brewster
  • Shane Lubecker
  • John Narum
  • Eric Tranton

South Central Regional – 5 (26)

  • Zach Gormley
  • Patrick Canny
  • Dylan Benharris
  • Jon Best
  • Darren Kim

Northeast Regional – 5 (43)

  • Andrew Maider
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Michael Kurti
  • Mark Mangarin
  • Eric Koloski

Mid Atlantic Regional – ?

Pacific Northwest Regional –  9 (54)

  • Zach Gormley
  • Eric Koloski
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Grant Johnson
  • Gentry Stein
  • JT Nickel
  • Luke Finnell
  • Tomas Keane
  • Ibrahim Rahman

Bay Area Classic – 7 (100)

  • Gentry Stein
  • Anthony Rojas
  • Eric Tranton
  • Augie Fash
  • Guy Wright
  • Tessa Piccillo
  • Ian Lawson

Southeast Regional – 5 (20)

  • Sebastian Brock
  • Mark ?
  • Jon ?
  • Daniel ?
  • Charlie ?

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

2A:  

Seeded Players:

  • Yu Tsumura
  • John Narum
  • Shane Karan
  • Ryan Lai
  • Joseph Harris
  • Patrick Mitchell

Mideast Regional – 5 (6)

  • Yu Tsumura
  • Adam Bottiglia
  • John Wolfe
  • Mike Durdak
  • Seth Gerstner

Midwest Regional – 3 (3)

  • John Narum
  • Josh Kanoff
  • Seth Gerstner

Southcentral Regional – 2 (2)

  • Cade Herrera
  • Cody Schneider

Northeast Regional – 5 (5)

  • Shane Karan
  • Phillip White
  • Graeme Steller
  • Ben Gates
  • John HasselbackIII

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 5 (5)

  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ryan Lai
  • Ian Lawson
  • Jordan Sambueno
  • Hugh Higinbotham

Bay Area Classic – 6 (7)

  • Joseph Harris
  • Patrick Mitchell
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ian Lawson
  • Anthony Rojas
  • Haru Ray

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 2A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

3A:

Seeded Players:

  • Yu Tsumura
  • Eric Tranton
  • Darren Kim
  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • Ryan Lai
  • Ian Smith
  • Alex Hattori

Mideast Regional – 6 (9)

  • Eric Tran-Ton
  • Yu Tsumura
  • Collin Beckford
  • Ky Zizan
  • Mike Durdak
  • Chris Chunn

Midwest Regional – 5 (5)

  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Eric Tranton
  • Ian Johnson
  • Martin Christofferson
  • Josh Kanoff

South Central Regional – 3(3)

  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Darren Kim
  • Mack Finley

Northeast Regional – 4 (4)

  • Alex Hattori
  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • John Wolfe
  • Stuar White

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 8 (11)

  • Donald Hodgkinson
  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ryan Lai
  • Mack Finley
  • Elijah Tan
  • Mason Devriend
  • Luke Reinert

Bay Area Classic – 5 (6)

  • Eric Tranton
  • Elliot Ogawa
  • Patrick Borgerding
  • Yoshi Mikamoto
  • Ian Smith

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 3A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

4A:

Seeded Players:

  • Alex Lee
  • Ian Johnson
  • Jimmy Peng
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Michael Nakamura

Mideast Regional – 8 (13)

  • Ben Conde
  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Alex Lee
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Mike Durdak
  • Owen Ekblad
  • Jumario Simmons
  • Michael Stecz

Midwest Regional – 5 (9)

  • Ian Johnson
  • Ben Conde
  • Eric Tranton
  • Alex Lee
  • Noah Bachofen

South Central Regional – 5 (5)

  • Jimmy Peng
  • Zach Ostler
  • Ryan Ayers
  • Jared Popwski
  • Ty Foos

Northeast Regional – 5 (7)

  • Tylor McCallumore
  • Stuart White
  • Phillip White
  • Ethan Lassey
  • John Wolfe

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 7 (13)

  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Zac Rubino
  • Kevin Nicholas
  • Ian Lawson
  • Nick Johnson
  • Anthony Martinez
  • Mason Devriend

Bay Area Classic – 6 (8)

  • Michael Nakamura
  • Bryan Figueroa
  • Zac Rubino
  • Julian Grauner
  • Cory Hendon
  • Michael Goody

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 4A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

5A

Seeded Players:

  • Chase Baxter
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Patrick Canny
  • AJ Kirk
  • Sterling Quinn
  • Josh Yee
  • Tyler Severance

Mideast Regional – 6 (11)

  • Chase Baxter
  • Jacob Elliot
  • Darnell Hairston
  • Shane Lubecker
  • Owen Ekblad
  • Isaiah Messer

Midwest Regional – 6 (11)

  • Shane Lubecker
  • Ian Johnson
  • Adam Brewster
  • Eric Tranton
  • Chase Baxter
  • Justin Perez

South Central Regional – 7 (7)

  • Tyler Severance
  • Ryan Ayer
  • Patrick Canny
  • Darren Kim
  • Shannon Jackson
  • Colter Colvetti
  • Cody Schneider

Northeast Regional – 7 (12)

  • AJ Kirk
  • Elliot Jackson
  • Chase Baxter
  • Andrew Maider
  • Alex Morgan
  • John Wolfe
  • Ethan Bein

Mid Atlantic Regional –

Pacific Northwest Regional – 7 (10)

  • Sterling Quinn
  • Michael Kurti
  • Kyle Hedges
  • Slade Riggs
  • Jacob Jensen
  • Mac Wood
  • Luke Reinert

Bay Area Classic – 6 (10)

  • Tyler Severance
  • Josh Yee
  • Elliot Jackson
  • Oscar Ramirez
  • Kyle Hedges
  • Will Haun

Southeast Regional – No dedicated 5A Division Run

Bill Lebowitz Classic – TBD

If anyone has information regarding the Mid Atlantic Regional, please post below.

Full Results are linked here:

MER – http://www.yojake.com/Mideast/MERResults2013.html
MWR – http://www.mwryoyo.com/2013mwr/2013mwr.html
SCR – http://www.jongates.com/yoyocontest/past-events/
NER – http://a-two-z.com/ZGames/results/
MAR – ?
PNWR – http://yoyonews.com/2013/02/24/2013-pnwr-yoyo-contest-zach-gormley-wins/
BAC – http://bayareaclassic.com/results/
SER – https://www.facebook.com/events/444758475562995/?fref=ts
BLC – TBD

Three Minutes From The Cup | 2013 US National YoYo Contest

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Three Minutes From The Cup / 2013 US National YoYo Contest

As the 2013 US National YoYo Contest quickly approaches, YoYoNews has lots of top-notch coverage planned, including in-depth analysis of the top contenders for the title this year in all divisions with commentary from past champions, interviews, resources and below, promo videos to get you guys excited and inspired for the United States’ top competition.

Zach Gormley | 1A Defending Champion

Gentry Stein | 1A Contender

Harold Owens III | 1A Contender

Patrick Mitchell | 2A Defending Champion

Ian Johnson | 4A Contender

Get registered over at contest.nationalyoyo.org and start practicing! Keep an eye out for the coverage!

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