The four best B-Boys in the world reached the semi-finals. In addition to the finalists, the current world champion winner of the USA and Asian champion Shigekix made it into the last four. The gold could have ended up in anyone’s hands.
Wizard’s path to the finals came at the expense of Shigekix, who was considered by many to be the favorite to make the podium. Shigekix, the Japanese superstar, not only lost 0-3, but also missed out on a medal after losing to Victor in the battle for bronze.
In the final, Wizard – who has the whole package, from athleticism to creativity to musicality – had to fight not only against Dann, but also against the deafening crowd, and still comfortably prevailed 3-0 (23 votes to 4).
Wizard said his toughest fight of the day was the quarterfinals against Dutchman, who he considers the most talented B-Boy in the world.
“To me, Lee was the best B-boy in the world,” he said. “He’s incredibly talented and one of my closest friends. That was the one I honestly thought I was probably going to lose after that.”
“I was just happy to have won it and did my best to take it step by step.”
And Wizard did it in the end. But he believes the real winner is not him, but the sport of breakdancing as a whole.
“Yes, to be completely honest, I expected to lose,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure and a lot of external expectations. A lot of people thought I was going to take home gold because I was ranked very highly throughout the whole process.
“But for me and the breaking community, the ranking doesn’t really mean anything. On any given day, you can lose to someone who is significantly lower ranked than you. I’m happy that I performed consistently well today.
“I mean, I’m just overjoyed right now. I’m still processing all of this.”
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