The World Games 2025: China Takes Gold In Men's And Women's Breaking
So far, the World Games 2025 is the most prominent global appearance for this hip hop dance form since the Paris Olympics in August 2024, at least in a sporting context. Before Paris, The World Games 2022 in Birmingham also featured breaking, where USA's Victor Montalvo and Japan's Yuasa Ami won gold.
In Chengdu, the first day of round robin matches determined who qualified for the second day's single elimination brackets, which were even more hard fought. The energy was palpable in Chengbei Gymnasium, as the crowd cheered their favorites on, building to a high in the two final battles.
The Men's Breaking podium consisted of Lithe-ing (CHN), Issin (Hishikawa Issin, JPN) with the silver, and Shigekix (Nakarai Shigeyuki, JPN) taking bronze. This is a vindication of sorts for Lithe-ing, who barely missed out on gold at the WDSF Asian Breaking Championships this past June, where Shigekix won the Men's.
The Women's Breaking finals was all Chinese, as Royal had to face off against her national teammate 671 (Liu Qingyi). Nicka (Dominika Banevič, LTU) won the battle for third. It's an especially impressive streak for Royal, who won both the Youth and Adult divisions at the Asian Breaking Championships. 671 wasn't far behind then either—she won the bronze in Adult.
These podium results underscore the importance of consistency and endurance in these two-day 'sport breaking' events. All six breakers who medaled in TWG 2025 are known for their consistent execution all the way from prelims to finals, and they showed it in Chengdu.
It was also a treat to see somewhat less conventional approaches wow the crowd. For example, France's Killian (Killian Emmanuel Treport) and Syssy (Sya Dembélé) tended to opt for punchy blowups that were just as, if not more memorable than the longer power move combinations from other competitors.
Overall, the performances from these past two days captured the essence of breaking about as well as possible given the context. The breakers displayed their personalities and own flavor, along with the impeccable technique that this level of competition requires. While audience members were seated rather far from the stage—crowd engagement energizes the dancers but there are logistical considerations—the DJ and MC's performed admirably and kept the room's energy buzzing.
Although this year's World Games are coming to a close, this isn't the end for breaking on the world stage this year. New and seasoned fans alike can look forward to the Red Bull BC One World Final in Tokyo on November 9. Japan is shaping up as the place to be for pro breaking this winter, as the WDSF World Breaking Championships will be held in Fukuoka on December 12-13.
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