Past years' winners

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Vagabonds

 

One of the oldest and most successful crews around, the French Vagabonds have grown through regeneration and have continuously brought fresh talent into the crew. In 2006 they won the Battle Of The Year by beating the 2005 champions, South Korean crew “last for one” in the final. 

After their victory the crew toured through France, Tunisia and Italy with their show “Alien”. Vagabond’s next major b-boy competition was two years later. 

Over the years, the members of the crew have changed because some of the original members, like Lamine, Salah, Laos and Ilaria chose to pursue their own goals. 

The current members are Mohamed (Momo), Nordine (Nono), Mounir, Abdel, Kamel (BossK), Karim (Pepito), Sofiane (Soan) and Nié (Sayan). 

After five years of failing to reclaim the Braun BOTY title, this determined and focused crew rose once again above fierce competition in France to qualify and performed outstandingly to win back the elusive Braun Battle Of The Year title on their home turf.

The deserving 2011 champions are one of the few crews who have managed this feat, and enjoyed a convincing victory in the final versus Battle Born, the American crew.  

 

 

Hall of Fame

2011 Vagabonds (France)
2010 JinJo Crew (Korea)
2009 Gamblerz (Korea)
2008 Top 9 (Russia)
2007 Extreme Crew (Korea)
2006 Vagabonds (France)
2005 Last For One (Korea)
2004 Gamblerz (Korea)
2003 Pockémon (France)
2002 Expression (Korea)
2001 Wanted (France)
2000 Flying Steps (Germany)

1999 Suicidal Lifestyle (Hungary)
1998 Rock Force (USA)
1997 Style Elements (USA)
1996 Toys In Effect (Switzerland)
1995 The Family (France/Italy)
1994 Vlinke Vuesse (Germany)
1993 Always Rockin Tuff (UK)
1992 Battle Squad (Germany)
1991 Battle Squad (Germany)
1990 TDB (Germany/UK)

finalists 2012

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prodigyy, © Felix heller / warda.at / Eugen prosquill

Prodigyy

Prodigyy from Austria are the winners from the 2012 BOTY CEE edition. A young generation of b-boys who are focused on real foundation sets loaded with footwork, Down Rocks, Toprocks and real b-boying. The crew describes its style as "Original Raw b-boy style". 

Supremos Crew

The Supremos Crew was born on the streets of Valencia in 1995, and have gone on to become one of the pioneering groups of urban dance and set an international benchmark for b-boying in Spain.

Pockemon Crew

Everything began in 1996-97, when a group of dancers trained in the street and under the archways of the National Opera of Lyon. United by a mutual philosophy, the group formed naturally and Pockemon Crew was born in 1999.

Hunters Crew

The history of Hunters Crew started in 2002 in Minsk, Belarus. Hunters Crew has established itself as the best crew in Belarus after dominating many festivals and championships in both Belarus (five-time winners of Battle Belarus championship) and abroad.

De Klan

De Klan crew was founded in 2008 in Rome by a small group of b-boys from different cities. Their latest lineup includes 11 members either living in Rome or Naples. With 4 victories in a row at Battle of the Year Italy they are the most successful crew in the history of the event.

Lhiba Kingzoo

LHIBA KINGZOO hail from Morocco and these hungry cats have paid their dues
at a domestic and international level. They won many of the important Moroccan competitions from 2008 to 2012. At the same time they were also invited to represent at a variety of prestigious competitions in many countries, such as The Hiphop Contest (France), Floor Wars (Denmark), Fever Seoul (Korea), North Sea Jam (Holland) Doyobe (Austria) and Underground Base (Turkey).

Formosa Crew

Formosa Crew was formed in 2007 by a group of elite b-boys from different crews (including TBC, Top Coalition, KGB, SBC, Happy Soul, Yasir Kingz, Beggars) around Taiwan. Actively participating in local and international b-boy competitions, Formosa crew has participated in the 2008 “Freestyle Session” in LA and “Battle Of The Year” final in Germany, putting Taiwan on the map in the global street dance scene.

Radikal Forze

First conceived in 1998, during the nascent years of the 2nd wave of b-boyin' to hit Singapore, the name Radikal Forze has since become synonymous with the local hip-hop scene. Veteran turntable master and Singapore's 3-time DMC champ - Andrew Chow aka DJ Wiz, initiated the idea of forming a crew when a group of b-boys started strutting their stuff in his Phuture room at Zouk, and hence Radikal Forze was born.

Dead Prezz

Originally from Athens, Greece, Dead Prezz is a crew of 14 members. Their debut was in 2007, and from the first day on, they aimed to popularize b-boying in Greece. The crew competed at the Braun BOTY Finals in 2010 and 2011, and will look to capitalize on this experience to push for success in the 2012 Braun BOTY.

The Floorriorz

The Floorriorz is a new b-boy crew led by Bboy Taisuke, a leader who already has a big reputation in the global b-boy community. Their motto is keep the b-boy foundation and tradition alive and take it to the next level. 

Kosher Flava

Kosher Flava is a crew ready to blow things up, united to form the strongest squad in Israel. KF is made out of friends that have known each other for 5-7 good years but were always in different crews, and never realized they are having the best times when they were together hanging out and training together.

Upper Army

Upper Army is a professional dance company specialized in Hip Hop and contemporary dance. Since its creation in 2004 Upper Army has built a reputation of creativity and innovation. Not only did the crew's members initiate and develop artistic projects but at the same time they continued to successfully compete in the national and international scene of b-boying.

Reckless Gang

The roots of "Reckless Crew" go back to 2003. Last year they fused with "Deine Lieblingsbreaker", another german crew and "Reckless Gang" was born, a team of totally different characters and dancers with the common aim to show that Germany is still firmly on the b-boy map. Creativity, individual styles and pomermoves are what Reckless Gang is known for. These guys are proud to be "reckless" towards any convention.

Unity Crew

Winners of the Battle of the Year - South Africa Qualifiers 2012. As their name suggests, the crew unifies members from different geographical areas and crews – compromising of members from four different crews namely, Concrete Apostles, Immortal Style, Return to Burn and Psycho Soldiers.

Team Shmetta

Many members danced together before Team Shmetta formed. In 2006 a group of b-boys decided to take the strongest and most promising b-boys from the North of Belgium and form a local all-star crew. In 2009 two b-boys from the Netherlands joined the crew. Although it’s a crew of the strongest b-boys from the area, Team Shmetta is a crew of friends that inspires and motivates each other and forms an important part of their lives.

BOTY France Vagabonds, Photo of BOTY France winning crew Vagabonds, © Laurent Vilarem

Vagabonds

One of the oldest and most successful crews around, the French Vagabonds have grown through regeneration and have continuously brought fresh talent into the crew. In 2006 they won the Battle Of The Year by beating the 2005 champions, South Korean crew “last for one” in the final. 

Pockemon Crew

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Pockemon Crew

 

Everything began in 1996-97, when a group of dancers trained in the street and under the archways of the National Opera of Lyon. United by a mutual philosophy, the group formed naturally and Pockemon Crew was born in 1999.

They participated in their first battle in Grenoble and a series of victories followed. They won the 2003 Battle Of The Year France (Montpellier) and the 2003 International Battle Of The Year (Hanover - Germany). 

Their notoriety exploded when Pockemon Crew became the first French group to make a serious impression in Korea during the KB BBOY Masters in Seoul (2007). This victory ensured that they had become the most successful crew in the world. 

Their latest victory? They won the 2012 French Battle of the Year, and are qualified for the Braun Battle of the Year Grand Finals on 17th November along with Vagabonds crew.