Following the Beyblade X national tournament last year, I attended the World Championship this year, held at Tokyo Tower in Japan, and it was a lot of fun.
Beyblade is one of those stealthy franchises that is surprisingly and almost bewilderingly massive. The recent iteration, Beyblade X, is also a global phenomenon with a wide range of the titular spinning tops and an anime series to go along with it.
Last year’s tournament was more of a national one, and it pitted kids against adults who’ve grown up with the series since its 1999 inception.
That tournament was both a lot of fun and fascinating, as there is genuine skill at play and something the older ‘Bladers’ used to great effect against their younger opponents.
This time, as it was a World Championship, the kids were separated from the adults, with individual tournaments for each, and I attended the former, as I remembered the enthusiasm the kids showed last year, so I thought it would be more fun.
Unlike last year’s tournament, which was held outside in the blazing Japanese summer heat, this World Championship event was wisely moved to October and into Tokyo, at the famous Tokyo Tower.
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of press around, and each of the kids’ families was cheering them on very energetically, which was rather lovely, actually.
Both the Japanese and US finalists had already been eliminated the day before, and the final set of players was an interesting mix from all around the world.
The top three finalists were Leobardo from Mexico, who won gold, Balya from Indonesia, who won silver, and Balya from France, who won Bronze (shown above).
Naturally, the kids were elated that they won and managed to get that far, and were also understandably shy about the whole thing. They also received certificates along with their trophies, I suppose, because they likely need proof to show their schoolmates.
As always, I am genuinely happy to attend and see these kinds of events happening in Tokyo, not least because it shows the surprisingly wide reach of Japanese pop culture and the impact it has on people of all ages.
You can watch the full 6-hour-long livestream of the Beyblade X World Championship 2025 below.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
