Russian defends crown as Japanese B-Boy becomes youngest ever winner.
B-Girl Kastet defended her Red Bull BC One women’s title as Japanese B-Boy Shigekix triumphed in a stacked men’s field to become the youngest ever winner during an epic livestream of the 17th edition at Hangar-7 in Salzburg.
Here is all you need to know:
– Sixteen breakers represented 11 countries to inspire their local breaking communities and help celebrate a cultural phenomenon rooted in the early 1970s hip-hop and New York City street culture.
– Reigning 2019 World Champion Kastet from Russia became the first competitor in history to hold a back-to-back Red Bull BC One World Champion title.
– She went head-to-head with B-Girl Madmax from Belgium – who was the Red Bull BC One E-Battle 2020 winner – with the Russian’s execution that bit better.
– Kastet, who is part of the 3:16 crew, said: “My secret is that I am not afraid to lose. I am just in the moment and want to represent myself in the best way, the true way.”
– Russia were denied a clean sweep of the titles when B Boy Shigekix delivered outstanding musicality and variety to defeat B-Boy Alkolil, who is known for his combination of power, footwork and tricks.
– B-Boy Shigekix becomes the youngest competitor to take the title in front of cheering breaking fans and the competitors’ crews, who were on LED screens alongside the central stage in a virtual experience throughout.
– He revealed: “I’m super happy and I still can’t believe it’s real. I worked so hard for this competition. Not only this year, I have been working hard to win this.”
– The competition was live-streamed in English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Japanese, Polish and Russian with a commentary-free stream also available exclusively on Red Bull TV.
MEET THE WORLD CHAMPIONS
B-Girl Kastet (Russia)
From Krasnodar, Russia, B-Girl Kastet, whose name means “brass knuckles” in English, is a member of 3:16 Crew and started breaking in 2010 at the age of 12. Going from Latin dances to judo, before finally discovering breaking, Kastet learned the dance from her crew, especially members B-Boy Marvel, and, her husband, B-Boy Jerry Metal. Inspired by breakers such as Kmel, Machine, Remind and Rockadile, when Kastet dances she tries to use her whole body, and believes that it’s very important to allow soul to shine through her dance. Not only is she the 2019 Red Bull BC One World Champion, she is also a two-time Red Bull Russia National Cypher Champion. Additional accolades include the 2018 Russia B-Girl BOTY Qualifier and the Combonathion 9 Solo B-Girl Competition.
B-Boy Shigekix (Japan)
B-Boy Shigekix (Nakarai Shigeyuki) is a member of K.A.K.B. crew and discovered breaking at the age of seven through his older sister, B-Girl Ayane. With a unique style of breaking, he is known for his fast and controlled power moves, mixed with unexpected, on-beat freezes. A defining moment in Shigekix’s young career was winning the Under 12 Baby Battle in 2014 at the Chelles Battle Pro in France. Since then, Shigekix has gone on to win the 2016 1on1 Nothing2Looz World Final Kids battle, the 2016 Hustle and Freeze solo battle and the 2016 Marseille Battle Pro 1on1 Kids battle. At the age of 15, Shigekix became the youngest B-Boy in history to enter the Red Bull BC One World Final in 2018, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals by Menno. He also became one of the first breakers to win an Olympic medal when he took home bronze at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
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