It was lights on in Berlin's historical Palast der Republik. More than 1,000 breaking aficionados from all around the world gathered at the Red Bull BC ONE to celebrate their heroes.
Sixteen B-Boys from nine countries and five continents had come to Berlin to battle to the max. Shortly before midnight, Red Bull BC ONE saw a glorious winner. Heat after heat, the France's 21-year-old Lilou impressed the judges with his seemingly endless power and perfect dancing technique. In the finals, he beat Korea's Hong 10.
Everyone wanted to be part of excitement.There was a massive run on the tickets, even those left at the box office were sold out within minutes. For those who couldn’t make it into the iconic Berlin venue, a huge video wall outside of the Palaste screend the event live. The arena around the winner's circle was already pumping when the Godfather of Noyze himself, Rahzel, encouraged the crowd to “get ready to rumble!”
Already in the first heat, the renowned jury headed by German B-Boy-legend Storm found it hard to send half of the participants home. The only German B-Boy competing, Rubber Legz, made it clear where he got his name. He turned and twisted his legs and earned himself some great respect. But in the end, he didn’t make it into the next heat.
In the second heat, the spectators saw many of their favourites out. Even last year’s semi-finalists Junior and Sonic, as well as current champion Omar, had to give in. In the semi-finals Korean Hong 10 beat Brazilian Pelezinho. Even Ronnie, last year’s runner-up, finally had to give way. None of them was able to cope with an overwhelmingly strong and energetic Lilou.
In the finals Lilou went all the way to victory. He even suggested battling five minutes instead of three to be able to prove his skills. And then Lilou just went off! He presented a highly explosive mixture of music, finest acrobatics and dancing skills and made the crowd jump off their seats. The judges agreed: The winner of the Red Bull BC ONE 2005 is Lilou! The master’s belt is his!