27 Jan Yusuke Otsuka and Minato Furuta take 1st place at the Central Japan Yo-yo Contest!
Team yoyorecreation members Yusuke Otsuka and Minato Furuta took home 1st place in the 1A and 3A divisions of the Central Japan Yo-yo Contest held on the 22nd of January 2017.
Having won the 3A title the previous year too, Minato put in a fierce performance to keep other competitor’s hands off the title. His freestyle structure was a relatively difficult one with a good number of new tricks thrown into the mix. Having attained the CJ title, he is once again seeded to compete at Japan Nationals.
In the 1A division, last year’s Japanese National Champion took to the stage to add a fourth title to his previous three successive titles.
Although he came 2nd in the preliminary round, Yusuke showed that the world of 3 minute freestyles was entirely his domain by flexing his competitive prowess. As we have learned to expect, the freestyle was full of high-level tricks timed expertly to the music performed in Yusuke’s signature restrained style. Although the freestyle composition was somewhat compromised to buffer the lower consistency of some of his new tricks, he managed to come out on top overall. Having won the CJ title for the 4th time in a row, Yusuke is beginning to gather momentum toward defending his National title this summer.
Tatsuya Fujisaka, one of the most technically renowned players on our team, also placed in highly in the 1A division!
Performing a 3 minute routine packed full of highly original combos of the kind you will see from nobody else, Tatsuya took home 3rd place.
Finally, the most discussion-worthy freestyle came from none other than Arata Imai who’s impressive performance earned him 2nd place. Often under the spotlight for his innovative 2A play, Arata reminded us that his skills extend beyond the boundaries of play-style.
Placing 1st in the preliminary round, and narrowly missing out on the title in the finals due to a change-out, Arata racked up serious points using his Valkyrie.
Arata flowed through most of his freestyle, where each element of each combo overflowed with unique style and complexity. It was unsurprising that he was awarded the Extreme Trick Award at the end of the day.
This freestyle confirms that Arata Imai is indeed a player to watch out for in the 1A international competitive scene.