How was the Czech Yoyo Cup: Liberec - report

Back on Top: Michael Malík Takes the 1A Pro Division

Michael Malík returned to the top after fifth-place finishes in Prague and Kněževes, confidently winning the 1A Pro division. His Liberec victory, however, was not the result of months spent drilling a single routine. As Michael admits, he often puts together his two-minute freestyles just a few days before the contest, meaning he always steps on stage with a certain amount of risk.

This time, however, his excellent form and recent competition experience from the World YoYo Contest in Japan worked in his favor. The experience helped him hit his tricks much more confidently on stage, and Michael took another Czech Yoyo Cup victory.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Česká Yoyo Asociace z.s. (@czechyoyo)

For a multiple-time Czech champion, winning a Cup event is nothing new. However, the real confidence boost heading into the upcoming Czech Nationals did not come in Liberec. The key moment came earlier, at the World YoYo Contest in Japan. According to Michael, he made mistakes in both of his freestyles there. Despite the significant errors, he still managed to advance with one routine, while he missed the finals with the other by just five points.

For him, this was clear confirmation that his technical level and the value of his tricks can stand up against the toughest competition in the world. His Liberec victory only reinforced the feeling that he is heading into the November finals in great shape.

Jáchym Mocek took second place with a very strong performance, while Kateřina Halíková completed the podium for the third time this season.

Huge Progress and a Surprising Training Strategy Among the Juniors

The dominant junior victory showed that another major talent is emerging on the Czech scene. Matyáš Moravec invested two months of focused training into his preparation for the Liberec contest. But his pre-contest strategy was perhaps even more interesting.

During the final two weeks before the competition, he actually reduced his training volume. According to Matyáš, this surprisingly helped him perform better and, most importantly, stay calmer on stage.

His current form has also made him look toward the main 1A division. He plans to fully test himself against the Pro division players at the upcoming Czech National Championships. However, he approaches the challenge with plenty of humility and admits that he is not yet counting on making the finals against the most experienced Czech yoyoers.

So what will his preparation for the biggest event of the season look like? His winning Liberec routine will get some changes before the Nationals. The basic trickset will remain more or less the same, but fans can look forward to new music and new tricks around the ears.

With less than two months remaining before the Czech Nationals, Matyáš plans to focus mainly on drilling even greater precision, with the goal of delivering a completely clean performance at the biggest domestic competition of the year.

Jakub Kollár finished second in the junior division, followed by Dan Škrabánek in third.

Slovak Invasion Revives the X Division: Gold Goes to a Clean Offstring Performance

The victory in the X division, which brings together alternative styles ranging from 2A to 5A, went across the border to Slovakia. Nikolas Jurkovič secured first place with a clean performance, approaching his freestyle mainly with a calm mindset and a desire to enjoy being on stage.

Nikolas says he has been training individual offstring tricks for more than a year, but had not practiced a complete freestyle for a long time. That made his clean performance on stage even more surprising – even to himself. He also added that playing offstring currently brings him more joy than traditional 1A.

This strong Slovak group is playing an important role in bringing new energy to the Czech X division. Nikolas confirmed that he and his friends Marek and Jakub help each other, create new tricks together and constantly support one another, which is pushing them forward significantly on the creative side.

When asked what it is like to compete in a division where completely different yoyo styles meet, Nikolas answered with a great deal of perspective. The different approaches of the other players do not bother him. Instead, they inspire him to discover interesting new elements for his own tricks.

Rather than worrying about how such different styles are judged, he also praised the judges. In his view, they have a challenging job when it comes to fairly evaluating such diverse freestyles and choosing a winner.

Intense Battles: Dolejš Advances, While the Final Spot Will Be Decided in Brno

The Liberec schedule also saw a change in the battle bracket. Instead of the originally planned two semifinal battles, only one took place – but it was all the more intense.

Jakub Dolejš and Kryštof Nosek faced each other in the semifinal. Jakub Dolejš ultimately took the win and secured an important step toward the final. It was by no means an easy decision, though.

We will still see Kryštof at the Czech Nationals, where he will compete for third place. The second semifinal has been moved to the upcoming Czech Yoyo Cup stop in Brno. That means there is just one final chance to shake things up and claim the remaining spot.

Will it be Michael Malík or Pavel Kucherov?