Top 5 Yoyoers in each style via YoyoNews

Ok I received the weekly newsletter from YoyoNews this week and they had a very interesting page where it showed the top 5 yoyoers of all time in each style and I thought it was pretty interesting. Here’s the 1A list and here’s the link for the rest.


1A

  1. Johnnie DelValle - USA_
    1x World Champion, 1x National Champion, 1x Regional Champion, 2x State Champion

In 2003 Johnnie DevValle won the big three: Bay Area Classic, US Nationals and Worlds. In his iconic 2003 World routine he was the first to ever incorporate a range of body, finger and arm grinds into his routines. In addition, he had technical slack and a striking stage presence (who could forget the dramatic removal of his over shirt?) that perfectly complimented his style.

  1. Jensen Kimmitt - Canada
    1x World Champion, 2x National Champion, 4x Regional Champion, 2x State Champion

Jensen’s run to the world title in 2010 saw a man unbeatable. With an array of US  contest wins at the Bay Area Classic, Pacific Northwest, California State, and twice Japan’s 44 Clash, Jensen dominated parts of 2009 and all of 2010 capped off by his decisive win on the World stage. Jensen was known for his incredible flow and style in combination with his eccentric personality which inspired endless yo-yoers. Jensen remains an inspiring figure in yo-yo today.

  1. Tomonari ‘Black’ Ishiguro - Japan
    1x World Champion, 2x National Champion

Innovator of some of the most classic string tricks today, Tomonari ‘Black’ Ishiguro was rewarded with a world title in 2001. Many of his trick elements are still in use today and that only speaks to the level of creativity ‘Black’ brought to the table. His unforgettable performances, most popularly his matrix themed routines, demonstrated he was more than just a competitor; now retired, Black is a full time performer and inspiring many more through the theatrical aspect of yo-yoing as well as his wildly popular TED Talk.

  1. Yuuki Spencer -  USA
    2x World Champion, 3x National Champion, 4x Regional Champion, 3x State Champion

Another innovator of some of the most classic string tricks today, Yuuki Spencer is undoubtedly a legend in the world of yo-yo. As the only player other than Hiroyuki to win more than one world title in 1A, Yuuki is technically unmatched. His 2002 and 2007 routine both demonstrated his creativity; in particular Yuuki’s 2007 routine injected a level of intensity and energy that was unheard of at any level of yo-yo competitions. Yuuki’s contributions to yo-yo bolster his resume and secure his spot near the top of yo-yo’s most competitive division.

  1. Hiroyuki Suzuki - Japan
    4x World Champion, 7x Asia Champion, 6x National Champion, 9x Regional Champion

Over a decade of top 3 placing in the World—it is not difficult to place Hiroyuki ‘Mickey’ Suzuki as the greatest single A player. His incredible choreography, ridiculous speed and technically difficult tricks have proven time and time again why he is the best. Capturing his fourth World title after a full eight years after his first, Hiroyuki has managed to maintain an incredible pace of innovation, accuracy and passion. With no signs of slowing down or retiring from competition, he is clearly not done.

So do you guys agree with this list?

There are a lot of people that are great, maybe even better than them. This just seems to be a top 5 of competitors. In that sense, I agree.

I agree with this. Definitely the best competition wise. If it were the best for creativity, smoothness, or basically anything else, I bet this list would be very different.

They should do a top 5 freestyles/contest moments of all time.

I completely disagree.

Explain then :slight_smile:

By saying this, you are implying the 5 players included in this list lack in creativity, smoothness, and basically “anything else”. I have a feeling this is a Hiroyuki Suzuki bash. Just because he plays fast and controlled doesn’t mean he doesn’t do anything difficult, or that he’s not smooth or creative. He’s smooth, just not in your super slack-flow way. The moves he does are actually very difficult, and if you disagree I invite you to post a video of you attempting one of his freestyles with the precision and speed he has.

[quote=“BenM36,post:7,topic:57397”]

wat.

Anyway, I’m sure Patrick Borgerding knows what’s he’s talking and writing about. I have no objections whatsoever.

Stupid autocorrect. Anyways, I was talking to StrippedAxle and not about the article.

Now that would be cool.

That’s not really what I meant. All of these players are very creatitive, smooth, and most of the characteristics that really make up a truly great player. But I do think that there are more creative players. Most of them on this list would stay very close to the top, and most would probably maintain in the top 5. The players on that list are all innovators that without, we probably wouldn’t have a good amount of tricks we have today. And yes, Hiroyuki is very smooth (especially with the tricks he does) and I know his tricks are incredibly difficult (and yes, I have tried them, unsuccessfully of course). Maybe I did word it wrong, and “anything else” was probably way too broad of a term.

I respect your opinion. Yes, like I said before in this post, that probably was way too broad of a statement. Would they be up there, yes. Would there be one or two other players in there and possibly above a few in there, I think so. But I really don’t think it is something to argue over, because it is just an opinion. So, I did over exaggerate what I said some. Probably not very different, but different nonetheless.

JD Rocks :)!!!

Definitely. I still think his 2003 Worlds freestyle is one of the best of all time.

I mostly agree with this list. It’s a well put together one.

Have any of you seen his modern tricks? This guy is competition ready! He’d definitely place finals if he came back up on stage!