Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world[1] and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying".[2] Regional qualifying tournaments, also known as preliminaries, are held worldwide culminating in the BOTY International, the world finals event which is currently held at Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France.
For the first twenty-three editions, Battle of the Year was a crew competition; in 2013, a one-on-one competition was added. Since 2014, the one-on-one portion of Battle of the Year is one of ten tournaments that are a part of the World BBoy Series.
The competition spawned the 2007 documentary Planet B-Boy as well as a 2013 eponymously named feature film Battle of the Year, both directed by Benson Lee. It has also gained attention for positive promotion of hip-hop culture and social unity.[3]
In 2006, 2 semifinal battles were implemented, with the winner of each battle advancing to the finals. The losers of the semifinal battles do not battle each other; therefore, there is no longer a fourth-place award.
| Year | First place | Second place | Losing Semifinalists | Best show | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Predatorz | Flow XL | The Ruggeds /  Foundnation | Foundnation | |
| 2022 | The Ruggeds | Flooriorz |  Rock Force Crew / Mortal Combat | The Ruggeds | |
| 2021 |  Jinjo Crew | The Ruggeds | Squadron / Flooriorz | Jinjo Crew | |
| 2019 |  Last Squad | Artistreet | Body Carnival / Team Vinotinto | Artistreet | |
| 2018 | Jinjo Crew | Foundnation | Top Coalition / Vagabonds | Jinjo Crew | |
| 2017 | Flooriorz | Vagabonds |  Kienjuice / Mortal Combat | Flooriorz | |
| 2016 | Flooriorz | Melting Force | Body Carnival / Kienjuice | Melting Force | |
| 2015 | Flooriorz | Kienjuice | U-Taipei /  Doble K.O. | Doble K.O. | |
| 2014 | Predatorz | Fusion MC | Body Carnival / S.I.N.E. Crew | Fusion MC | |
| 2013 | Fusion MC | The Ruggeds | B-Town All Stars / Flooriorz | Flooriorz | |
| 2012 | Vagabonds | Flooriorz | Pockémon / Morning of Owl | Vagabonds | |
| 2011 | Vagabonds | Battle Born | Nine State B-boyz /  TPEC | Vagabonds | |
| 2010 | Jinjo Crew | Mortal Combat | Gamblerz / La Smala | Mortal Combat | |
| 2009 | Gamblerz | Top 9 | All Area Crew / Phase-T | All Area Crew | |
| 2008 | Top 9 | T.I.P. Crew | Formosa / Smokémon | Top 9 | |
| 2007 | Extreme Crew | Turn Phrase Crew | Legiteam Obstruxion / Funk Fellaz | Turn Phrase Crew | |
| 2006 | Vagabonds | Last For One | Drifterz / B-Town Allstars | Vagabonds |
Until 2006, one battle was held solely for first place and one battle was held solely for third place.
| Year | First place | Second place | Third place 1 | Fourth place | Best show |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Last For One | Ichigeki | Gamblerz | Phase-T | Ichigeki |
| 2004 | Gamblerz | Fantastik Armada | Stuttguard |  Break the Funk | Break the Funk |
| 2003 | Pockémon | Expression Crew | Gamblerz | Fire Works | Fire Works |
| 2002 | Expression Crew | Vagabonds | Deep Trip | Top 9 | Vagabonds |
| 2001 | Wanted | Team Ohh | HaviKoro | Visual Shock | Visual Shock |
| 2000 | Flying Steps | Waseda Breakers | Scrambling Feet | South African Allstars | Waseda Breakers |
| 1999 |  Suicidal Lifestyle | Rock Force |  Bag of Trix | The Family | Spartanic Rockers |
| 1998 | Rock Force | The Family | Phase 2 | Suicidal Lifestyle | Spartanic Japan |
| 1997 | Style Elements | South Side Rockers | Black Noise | Suicidal Lifestyle | South Side Rockers |
| 1996 | Toys in Effect | Enemy Squad | Wedding B-Boys & Flying Steps | Passo Sul Tempo | None awarded |
| 1995 | The Family | Enemy Squad | Out of Control | Flying Steps | None awarded |
| 1994 | Vlinke Vuesse | Enemy Squad | Always Rockin Tuff | Crazy Force Crew | None awarded |
| 1993 | Always Rockin Tuff | Fresh Force | Enemy Squad | TDB | None awarded |
| 1992 | Battle Squad | Second 2 None | Enemy Squad | TDB | None awarded |
| 1991 | Battle Squad | TDB | Enemy Squad | Fresh Force | None awarded |
| 1990 | TDB | Crazy Force Crew | City Rockers | Robot Force |
| Year | Winner | Crew | Runner-up | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Phil Wizard | United Rivals / 7 Commandoz | Onton | Supernaturalz / United Rivals |
| 2019 | Zeku | Future Force Crew / Monster B-Boys | Pac Pac | Bad Trip Crew / Tekken Crew |
| 2018 | Dany | Vagabonds | Beetle | Navi |
| 2017 |  Onel | Black Out Crew | Mowgly | Marittima Funk |
| 2016 | Bruce Almighty | Momentum Crew | Nasso | Melting Force/Arabiq Flavor |
| 2015 | Menno | Hustle Kids/Def Dogs/RBBC1AS | Alkolil | Original Breakers Circle |
| 2014 | Alkolil | Original Breakers Circle |  Kleju | Funky Masons/Polskee Flavour |
| 2013 | Menno | Hustle Kids/Def Dogs/RBBC1AS | Thesis | Knuckleheads Cali/Massive Monkees |
| 2012 | Niek | The Ruggeds |  Hill | Unik Breakers |
| 2011 | Niek | The Ruggeds | Vicious Victor | MF Kidz/Squadron |
| 2010 | Thesis | Knuckleheads Cali/Massive Monkees | Alkolil | Original Breakers Circle |
| 2009 | Lilou | Pockemon/RBBC1AS | Morris | Fallen Kings/Rock Force |
| Year | Winners | Crew |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ayumi and  Sarah Bee | Body Carnival / Zamounda crew |
| 2019 |  Lil Mami | Hardcore Detroit/Venus Fly |
| 2018 | Ayane | KAKB |
| 2017 | Yasmin and Miju | KAKB/Sparky Jewel |
| 2016 | Ayu and Ami | Good Foot crew |
| 2015 | Ayane and Noa | KAKB |
| 2014 | Shie-chan and Nagi | Air Real/Qween of Qweenz |
| 2013 | Kanami and Myw | KANAMYM |
| 2012 | Nao and Nagi | Qween of Qweenz |
| 2011 | Eri Fenesis and Yurie | Qween of Qweenz |
| 2010 | Ayumi and Micchan | Body Carnival |
| 2009 | Shie-chan and Narumi | Air Real/Body Carnival/Qween of Qweenz |
The event is a 2 on 2 battle, but was a solo battle in 2018 and 2019.
Best Show: Melting Force
Bruce Almighty earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series in Prague at the end of the 2016 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Best Show: Doble KO
Menno earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series at the end of the 2015 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Best Show: Fusion MC
| Crew | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Fusion MC | Winner, BOTY Korea 2014 |
| Black Out Crew | Winner, BOTY BALKAN 2014 |
| Body Carnival | Winner, BOTY Japan 2014 |
| Last Alive | Winner, BOTY Italy 2014 |
 619 Fellerz | Winner, BOTY Nigeria 2014 |
 Street Son Crew | Winner, BOTY Brazil 2014 |
| Soul Mavericks | Winner, BOTY UK 2014 |
| Winner, BOTY Rusia 2014 | |
 Crazy Elements | Winner, BOTY West Africa 2014 |
| Infamous | Winner, BOTY France 2014 |
| Ten Years in a Moment | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2014 |
| Gravedad Zero | Winner, BOTY Central America 2014 |
| S.I.N.E Crew | Winner, BOTY SEA 2014 |
 The Saxonz | Winner, BOTY Germany 2014 |
| The Ruggeds | Winner, BOTY BeNeLux 2014 |
 Unstopabullz | Winner, BOTY Israel 2014 |
Alkolil () earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series at the end of the 2014 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Like in 2012, Battle of the Year 2013 included an additional semifinals placer to add additional battles to the tournament. Six crews qualified after the showcase stage of the competition consisting of the two highest scoring crews automatically qualified for the semifinals and four crews competing for the two remaining places against them.
Best Show: The Floorriorz
| Crew | Qualification |
|---|---|
| WaveOmatic | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2013 |
| De Klan | Winner, BOTY Italy 2013 |
| KGB TC Unity | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2013 |
| The Floorriorz | Winner, BOTY Japan 2013 |
| Unstopabullz | Winner, BOTY Israel 2013 |
| Hunters Crew | Winner, BOTY Central Europe 2013 |
| Space Unlimited | Winner, BOTY Nigeria 2013 |
| B-Town Allstars | Winner, BOTY Germany 2013 |
| Soul Mavericks | Winner, BOTY UK 2013 |
| S.I.N.E Crew | Winner, BOTY SEA 2013 |
| Melting Force | Winner, BOTY France 2013 |
| Knuckle Head Zoo | Winner, BOTY USA 2013 |
| Fusion MC | Winner, BOTY Korea 2013 |
| Vinotinto | Winner, BOTY Central America 2013 |
| The Ruggeds | Winner, BOTY BENELUX 2013 |
Battle of the Year 2012 included an additional semifinals placer to add additional battles to the tournament. In 2012 six crews qualified after the showcase stage of the competition consisting of the two highest scoring crews automatically qualified for the semifinals and four crews competing for the two remaining places against them.[4]
Best Show: Vagabond Crew
| Crew | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|
| Vagabonds | Champion, BOTY International 2011 | |
| Dead Prezz | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2012 | |
 Prodigy | Winner, BOTY Central Europe 2012 | |
| Supremos | Winner, BOTY Iberica 2012 | |
| Pockemon | Winner, BOTY France 2012 | |
| Flooriorz | Winner, BOTY Japan 2012 | |
| Kosher Flava | Winner, BOTY Israel 2012 | |
| Hunters Crew | Winner, BOTY Belarus 2012 | |
 Upper Underground | Winner, BOTY North Africa 2012 | |
| Reckless Gang | Winner, BOTY Germany 2012 | |
| De Klan | Winner, BOTY Italy 2012 | |
| Formosa Crew | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2012 | |
 Radical Force | Winner, BOTY SEA 2012 | |
| Space Unlimited | Winner, BOTY Nigeria 2012 | |
 Team Shmetta | Winner, BOTY BeNeLux 2012 | |
 Unity Crew | Winner, BOTY South Africa 2012 | |
 Lhiba KingZoo | Winner, BOTY West Africa 2012 | |
| Winner, BOTY Korea 2012 |
Best Show: Vagabonds
| Crew | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|
| Champions, BOTY International 2010 | ||
| Battleborn | Winner, BOTY USA 2011 | |
| CT Group | Winner, BOTY Scandinavia 2011 | |
| Vagabonds | Winner, BOTY France 2011 | |
| Nine States B-Boyz | Winner, BOTY Japan 2011 | |
| TPEC | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2011 | |
| Kosher Flava | Winner, BOTY Israel 2011 | |
 Simple System | Winner, BOTY Kazakhstan 2011 | |
 Guatemaya Crew | Winner, BOTY Central America 2011 | |
| Maximum Crew | Winner, BOTY Korea 2011 | |
| Battle Born | Winner, BOTY USA 2011 | |
| Amazon B-Boys | Winner, BOTY Brazil 2011 | |
 Ruff'n'X | Winner, BOTY Switzerland 2011 | |
| Fusion Force Crew | Winner, BOTY North Africa 2011 | |
| Flavaz Army | Winner, BOTY West Africa 2011 | |
| Reckless Bunch | Winner, BOTY Germany 2011 | |
 OnePiece UD Town | Winner, BOTY SEA 2011 | |
| Hoochen Crew | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2011 | |
| De Klan | Winner, BOTY Italy 2011 | |
| Slam Fam & Over Boys | Winner, BOTY Middle East 2011 | |
| BMT & Mafia 13 | Winner, BOTY Russia 2011 |
Best Show: Mortal Combat
| Crew | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|
| Gamblerz | Champion, BOTY International 2009 | |
| Jinjo | Winner, BOTY Korea 2010 | |
| Mortal Combat | Winner, BOTY Japan 2010 | |
| Top Coalition | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2010 | |
| La Smala | Winner, BOTY France 2010 | |
 Big Toe (S.I.N.E) | Winner, BOTY SEA 2010 | |
| De Klan | Winner, BOTY Italy 2010 | |
| 2DR Squad | Winner, BOTY Switzerland 2010 | |
| Winner, BOTY Russia 2010 | ||
| / Team Shmetta | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2010 | |
| PRODIGY | Winner, BOTY South East Europe 2010 | |
| Bio All Stars | Winner, BOTY Brazil 2010 | |
| Simple System | Winner, BOTY Kazakhstan 2010 | |
| Dead Prezz | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2010 | |
| Flowjob | Winner, BOTY Germany 2010 | |
| Chapin Crew | Winner, BOTY Guatemala 2010 | |
| Unstopabullz | Winner, BOTY Israel 2010 | |
| Kamikaz Crew | Winner, BOTY Algeria 2010 | |
| La Halla King Zoo | Winner, BOTY Morocco 2010 |
For the first time in the Competition's history, a 1 on 1 Tournament was held for b-boys who weren't competing as a part of a crew. The first 1 on 1 Battle of the Year final saw Lilou of Algeria defeat Morris representing the U.S..
Best Show: All Area
| Crew | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Champion, BOTY International 2008 | |
| Soul Mavericks | Winner, BOTY UK 2009 |
| Phase T | Winner, BOTY France 2009 |
| Prodigy Crew | Winner, BOTY SEE 2009 |
| Breakers Without Fear | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2009 |
| Belarusian B-Boys | Winner, BOTY CIS 2009 |
| Team Shmetta | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2009 |
| 2nd place, BOTY Asia 2009 | |
| Formosa | 3rd place, BOTY Asia 2009 |
| All Area | Winner, BOTY Asia 2009 |
 Myztikal | Winner, BOTY Caricom 2009 |
| Unstopabullz | Winner, BOTY Israel 2009 |
 Octagon | Winner, BOTY Scandinavia 2009 |
| De Klan | Winner BOTY Italy 2009 |
| Funk Fellaz | Winner BOTY Germany 2009 |
| Ubuntu B Boyz | Winner BOTY Africa 2009 |
| Knuckle Head Zoo | Invited Directly |
| Ghost Rockz | Winner BOTY Switzerland 2009 |
| Amazon B Boyz | Winner BOTY Brazil 2009 |
Best Show: Top 9
This list is in chronological order by date qualified.
| Crew | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Extreme Crew | Champion, BOTY International 2007 |
| Bad Taste Cru | Winner, BOTY UK 2008 |
| Groove Kingz | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2008 |
| Smokemon | Winner, BOTY France 2008 |
| Dead Prezz | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2008 |
| Crazy Twisting Tribal Team | Winner, BOTY South East Europe 2008 |
| Top 9 | Winner, BOTY Russia 2008 |
| La Halla King Zoo | Winner, BOTY West Africa 2008 |
| Winner, BOTY Asia 2008 | |
| Formosa | 2nd place, BOTY Asia 2008 |
| Kaiten Ninja | 3rd place, BOTY Asia 2008 |
| Now or Never | Winner, BOTY Canada 2008 |
| Unstopabulls | Winner, BOTY Israel 2008 |
| Ghost Rockz | Winner, BOTY Switzerland 2008 |
| Tsunami Allstars | Winner, BOTY Brazil 2008 |
| TNT Crew | Winner, BOTY Germany 2008 |
| Octagon | Winner, BOTY Scandinavia 2008 |
| Fallen Angels Crew | Winner, BOTY Iberica 2008 |
| Furious Soldiers | Winner, BOTY USA 2008 |
Best Show: Turn Phrase Crew
This list is in chronological order by date qualified. Preliminaries that have not occurred yet have a colored background.
| Crew | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Hoochen | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2007 |
| Sick 7 | Winner, BOTY South East Europe 2007 |
| Plastic Def Squad | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2007 |
| Legiteam Obstruktion | Winner, BOTY France 2007 |
| Rapid Soul Moves | Winner, BOTY Italy 2007 |
| Fallen Angels Crew | Winner, BOTY Iberica 2007 |
| Extreme (Obo Wang) Crew | Winner, BOTY Asia 2007 |
| Turn Phrase Crew | 2nd place, BOTY Asia 2007 |
| Ground Scatter Crew | 3rd place, BOTY Asia 2007 |
| Breakerholics | Winner, BOTY Israel 2007 |
| Ultimate Desperados | Winner, BOTY Scandinavia 2007 |
| Funk Fellaz | Winner, BOTY Germany 2007 |
| Ruff'n'X Crew | Winner, BOTY Switzerland 2007 |
| DF Zulu Breakers | Winner, BOTY Brazil 2007 |
| Vagabonds (withdrew) | Champion, BOTY International 2006 |
| Last Minute Crew (withdrew) | Winner, BOTY South Africa 2007 |
Best Show: Vagabonds
| Crew | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|
| Champion, BOTY International 2005 | ||
| Vagabonds | Winner, BOTY Asia 2006 | |
| Electric Force Crew | Winner, BOTY Balkans 2006 | |
| Octagon | Winner, BOTY Scandinavia 2006 | |
| Top 9 | Winner, BOTY Russia 2006 | |
| Moving Shadows | Winner, BOTY South East Europe 2006 | |
| Ormus Force | Winner, BOTY Italy 2006 | |
| Camelot | Winner, BOTY North East Europe 2006 | |
| Mortal Combat | Winner, BOTY Japan 2006 | |
| Fallen Angels | Winner, BOTY Iberica 2006 | |
| Lions of Zion | Winner, BOTY Israel 2006 | |
| STO | Winner, BOTY China 2006 | |
| Knuckle Head Zoo | Winner, BOTY USA 2006 | |
| Ground Scatter Crew | Winner, BOTY South East Asia 2006 | |
| Ubuntu | Winner, BOTY South Africa 2006 | |
| HRC | Winner, BOTY Taiwan 2006 | |
| B-Town Allstars | Winner, BOTY Germany 2006 | |
| Ruff'n'X Crew | Winner, BOTY Switzerland 2006 | |
| Drifterz Crew | Winner, BOTY Korea 2006 | |
| Floor Burning | Winner, BOTY Benelux 2006 |
The format comprises firstly a showcase round in which all crews perform a routine of no more than six minutes in length demonstrating their ability in the different styles of breakdance. Judges rank all competing crews by evaluating certain criteria based on the shows.
Following the showcase round, the top four crews are selected to take part in a crew-vs-crew battle playoff. In the semifinals, the top-ranked crew battles the 4th-ranked crew and the 2nd-ranked crew battles the 3rd-ranked crew. The winner of each semifinal then battle each other for the championship.
An award, "Best Show", is also given to the crew that had the best-scoring showcase.
Judges evaluate the showcase round on two main elements, artistry and technicality, each of which includes several criteria. The artistry element includes theme, music, synchronicity, and choreography, among others. The technicality element includes toprock, uprock, footwork, and power moves, among others.[5]
The champion of the world finals is always invited directly to the following year's world finals to defend their title. All other crews qualify via preliminary tournaments, although historically there have been a few instances of directly-invited crews (usually when there is no preliminary in that crew's region).
Qualification is moving towards a two-step system consisting of individual country preliminaries followed by regional preliminaries. Historically, each country had an individual preliminary and sent one crew to the world finals; however, countries have become more and more regionalized over the years. For example, starting in 2007, there is a new BOTY Asia regional preliminary that will send the top 3 finishers to the world finals; in 2006 and years prior, Asia region countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan had their own preliminaries and sent one crew each to the world finals.
The following is a chart showing the regions and countries in the region, as well as number of crews sent to the world finals, for the 2007 season.
| Region | Crews Sent | Member Countries | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | ,  Indonesia,,,,,,,,,,* | ||
| 1 | ,,,,,,,,, | ||
| 1 | ,, | ||
| 1 | , | ||
| BOTY North East Europe* | 0 | Belarus,  Estonia,  Latvia,  Lithuania, | |
| 1 | ,,, ; also, BOTY North East Europe member countries are invited to participate* | ||
| BOTY South East Europe | 1 | Austria,,  Croatia, Hungary,  Slovenia,,,  Slovakia |
Prior to 2006, the current championship playoff system was not used. Instead, there were only two battles: two crews would compete for first place, while two other crews would compete for third place. While a "Best Show" award was still granted based on showcase performance, the judges would also rank the crews as to who they thought should participate in the championship battle. This resulted in frequently-occurring situations where the crew that received the "Best Show" award was not even able to compete for the championship, as they were picked for the third place battle instead of the championship battle. Examples include three "Best Show" winners in the final five years under the old format: Break the Funk (2004), Fire Works (2003), and Visual Shock (2001).[8] The change to the playoff system also brought the world finals format into line with some of the qualifier formats, such as the BOTY Korea Preliminary, which has been using the four-crew playoff system for years.
Starting in 2004, a strict 6-minute time limit per crew on the showcase was enforced for the world finals, with scoring penalties assessed for going over time. This was enacted so that the world finals event would finish in a shorter time period. The 6-minute limit was quickly adopted at preliminaries.[9]
In 1990, when the event was known as the International Breakdance Cup,[10] there were only shows and no battles. From 1991-1996, there were battles resulting in a crowned champion, but no "Best Show" award was given.
An official DVD documenting the event is usually released a few months after the tournament. It is a perennial best seller on breaking and hip-hop media retail web sites.
Several documentaries have been produced based on the competition, including the 2007 feature-length documentary Planet B-Boy. The film premiered at the 2007 TriBeCa Film Festival[11] and was released on DVD on November 11, 2008.
A movie based on this competition, called Battle of the Year, was released on September 20, 2013. The film was directed by Benson Lee, who produced Planet B-Boy, and featured famous artist Chris Brown in the primary role.[12]
On occasion with the annual competition, a CD/LP titled "The Official Battle Of The Year Motion Soundtrack" is released since 1998.[13] It features some of the leading B-Boy Funk artists such as Mr. Confuse, Cosmic EFI, DJ Nas'D, Esone, Def Cut, Cutmaster GB, and DJ Phantom. The cover artwork is drawn by Graffiti artist Mode 2.[14]