Red Bull BC One Eastern Europe Final 2015

Eastern Europe has a new king in town. Kazakhstan’s Killa Kolya won the Red Bull BC One Eastern Europe Final 2015 in a unanimous decision by the judges, making him the best B-Boy in the region. His energy, flow and unique style gave him a ticket to represent his native Kazakhstan at the Red Bull BC One Italy World Final 2015, which will be held on November 14 in Rome. His victory marks the first time that a Kazakh will compete at the global stage.

It was a tense battle throughout the night, but Killa Kolya proved his worth among the world’s best. “When I arrived in Tbilisi the only thought I had was about winning,” he said after the event. “Two years ago at the Red Bull BC One Eastern Europe Final I lost my battle in the second round, so I was looking forward to the day where I could try again.”

The final battle was down to Killa Kolya and Ukraine’s Robin. Both came from widely different and widely respected B-Boy styles, but it was Killa Kolya’s stamina that won him the night. “The final was great. I could not even imagine that the level of the participants would be so high,” said judge and Red Bull BC One All Star Lilou, a two-time Red Bull BC One World Champion.

Energy at the iconic Tbilisi Circus was high throughout the night in front of an 1800-strong, sold-out crowd. Additional flavor was given by special performances of by the Sukhishvilebi Georgian National Ballet and Egari national folk music band in collaboration with BMX flatland pro rider Vicki Gomez from Madrid, Spain. But what affected the crowd most of all was the performance of Queen Mary from Bulgaria, the first and only female participant at a Red Bull BC One Final. B-Girls are having their moment and Queen Mary is at the forefront.

Since its inception in 2004, Red Bull BC One has become the world’s premier B-Boy competition, consistently attracting the best individual breakers on the planet. The event and community celebrates breaking culture by using its original, one-on-one, knockout battle format, as opposed to the crew-battle style more prevalent today.