Hirotaka Akiba and Takumi Yasumoto come 2nd at JOYC Finals

Hirotaka Akiba and Takumi Yasumoto come 2nd at JOYC Finals

The first JOYC Finals were held at Haneda airport on the 26th and 27th of November 2016.

The combination of some new-releases and excellent performances from our team members made this a huge contest for Yoyorecreation.

Hirotaka Akiba was the runner up in the SS division.
We saw a big leap in the variation of his tricks, where he combined slack elements with his famed chopstick skills.
It also seemed as though his consistency had stepped up a level, allowing him to flow through his mind-bending tricks. Although he was very unlucky not to have taken the title, we think this freestyle is a sure sign that he has what it takes to be number one.


Iori Yamaki took third place in the SS division having entered under Yoyorecreation’s sponsor seed.
Despite having been on hiatus since worlds 2015, Iori Yamaki returned to the stage and showed his undeniable quality with a freestyle packed with high-difficulty horizontal combos and world-class speed combos. It was a perfect example of a high-scoring, yet stylish freestyle.


Takumi Yasumoto took home second place in the DS division using the Sygtyr.
Although Takumi was under the spotlight for his offstring play last year, this year he demonstrated his high level of prowess in the DS division. His ability to precisely control the two simultaneously moving yo-yos allowed him to flow from combo to combo with ease. The precise synchronization of his tricks to the melody of his music over the entire three minutes made this one of the standout performances of the division.


Minato Furuta took home third place in the DS division.
Minato, also using the Sygtyr, performed a freestyle which was even more high-energy than usual. The freestyle was packed full of big bangers such as behind the back and sword dancer combos which he landed one after the other with amazing consistency.
A veteran 3A player with an impressive track-record, Minato clearly still has what it takes to get great results.