Favourites triumph in World Yo-Yo Contest, second time held in Prague

After 11 years, the World Yo-Yo Contest returned to Czechia. At the Cubex Centre in Prague, close to 300 competitors contended in 8 categories for the most elusive titles in yo-yo. The annual event provided a blistering show, but little in the way of surprising results.

Futuristic atmosphere during the World Cup|Photo: Emely Sander, Radio Prague International

The sport of competitive yo-yo has enjoyed a growing worldwide popularity, no less so in Czechia. For the second time in history, Prague has been chosen to host the pinnacle of the global yo-yo season, the World Yo-Yo Contest. Unlike last time, however, with a domestic title-hopeful in contention.

World vice-champion Jakub Dolejš|Photo: Emely Sander, Radio Prague International

Twenty year-old Jakub Dolejš is already a four-time European Champion, and came second at the World Yo-Yo Contest last year. He did so in the main category of single yo-yo string tricks, labelled 1A. This year, Dolejš returned to compete in the same category, and shared what he thinks sets him apart from his competitors:

“I think my biggest strength is thinking about the tricks, and the performance as a whole, in a creative way. That’s important, because in the finals you only have three minutes to perform. In the qualifying rounds, it's even less, a minute and a half,” he says.

The performances are ranked by two sets of judges. One half ranks the competitors’ technical execution out of 60, the other gives out up to 40 points for freestyle execution – the performative element of the act. The two scores are then added up for a final mark out of 100.

Finalists of the 2025 Yo-Yo World Championship in the 1A category|Photo: Česká Yoyo Asociace z.s.

Filip David, another Czech competitor in the 1A category, describes his strategy of striking the right balance between technique and entertainment, which he insists is not as straightforward as it may seem:

“I try to include a lot of communication with the audience. At the same time, it also still has to feel natural. It’s not really something you can practice, but I always try to come across as authentic,” he says.

Out of the Czech hopefuls, only the favorited Dolejš made the 20-man final in the 1A category. With 86.4 points he finished fourth overall. The title went to seventeen year-old South Korean Mir Kim, who has won the event for a third consecutive year. He scored 94.3 points.

In the remaining ranked categories, it was Japanese competitors who had the upper hand. After two runner-up finishes, Arata Imai became world champion in the 2A category, using two yo-yos for looping tricks.

In the 3A event, where two yo-yos are used for string tricks, Hajime Miura won his 8th title. The now second most decorated yo-yoer in history claimed his first World Contest victory in Prague in 2014. The 4A off-string, and 5A counterweight categories were topped by Kaoru Nakamura, and Sora Ishikawa respectively.

Among the 298 competitors from 40 countries around the world, were also participants in the Junior, Art & Performance, and Women’s Freestyle categories. In the latter, Gabriela Brejšová was the only one to perform an act with two yo-yos. She sheds light on how yo-yo can be an inclusive discipline:

“What's good is that in yo-yo having bigger muscles does not give guys a natural advantage. In the past, girls used to yo-yo as more of a performance, to make it look good. Nowadays, even in the technical details, the differences are much smaller,” she says.

The World Yo-Yo Contest drew thousands of spectators, especially for Sunday’s finals, where tickets were entirely sold out. Starting tomorrow, until Sunday, August 17, the event organizers are also hosting a camp for competitors and volunteers at Pražská Bouda, in the Krkonoše Mountains.