The Duncan® Team
The Duncan® Team
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Justin Dauer
California, USA
1A Division, World Semifinalist (2019)Justin is a creative young yo-yo player hailing from southern California. Time and time again, we have seen that yo-yo players showing creativity at a young age go on to be some of the best players in the world, and we know the same will be true for Justin. His style and attitude are fresh, positive, and really inspiring. He brings a really unique style of yo-yo play to the game, and is already making significant strides in the competitive world and yo-yo community at larges with his really entertaining performances and tricks. Justin encompasses what it means to be the next generation of yo-yoing, and we are so excited to have him aboard.
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Janos Karancz
Hungary
1A DivisionWorld Champion Janos Karancz has it all: competitive skill, supreme innovation, unbelievable difficulty. Primarily known for being the first European to ever capture a 1A world title. Janos is many things. Most of all though, he is a stand-out: he is a true anomaly. He may be a soft-spoken and humble man, but don't let that fool you. He is twice as good as the players throwing twice as long as him. Even though ranked as one of the most dominant players in the world, he somehow maintains the attitude of your neighborhood best friend. He is a great player, a great person, and a great competitor. Watch out for him as one of the favorites of this year's competition. A few words straight from the man himself: "I am János Karancz from Hungary. I have been playing since 2005 and I am a Duncan® Crew Worldwide member and part of the Backspin team. I love slacks, whips, lacerations, rejections and tension tricks. You can find me at yo-yo events both competing and judging. I really enjoy the atmosphere of yo-yo players."
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Javier Augusto Martinez
Mexico
1A DivisionMy name is Javier Augusto Martinez. I was born on February 15 in Mexico City and am currently living in the state of Queretaro. I consider myself a cheerful person who's very committed to my work. I've been playing yo-yo from since I was 10 years old, and it has changed my life. Thanks to the yo-yo I'm the person who I am today. I have met many people from many places because the yo-yo surrounds you with people from all around the world. It has helped me to generate a lot of self-esteem and confidence over the years. I joined Team Duncan® 8 years ago. Ever since I joined the team, I knew this was my family.
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Sean Perez
Philippines
4A DivisionNo stage will ever be big enough for Sean. Affectionately referred to as "Coffee Boy" by his friends in the yo-yo community, his furiously energetic style of play is an amazing mix of creativity, accuracy and power. And he just keeps getting better. One amazing player to watch in action, Sean is definitely a key player giving offstring a new attitude.
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Bryan Jardin
Philippines
5A DivisionOne of the best 5A players on the entire planet, Bryan Jardin is the 2-time Asia Pacific Champion. Recently transplanted to the U.S.A. from his native Philippines, Bryan now works full time as a Duncan® Professional in Orlando Florida, honing his craft and inspiring thousands of new players. A note from Bryan: "Hi! I'm Bryan Jardin, a proud member of Duncan® Crew Worldwide. I was born and raised in the Philippines and now, I'm living the dream here in the US of A!" Read more here.
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Chris Makita
JapanChris Makita is the type of person who always encourages people to try and play yo-yo. He has helped many national yo-yo champions shape their career. He's been playing for 20 years now and has no plans of stopping. He is now married to Mimi Makita, a former Team Duncan® member.
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Viktor Kollár
Hungary
1A Division, 5A DivisionI started yoyoing because it looks like an awesome sport, but the sport become a passion. My main play styles are 1A and 5A. I teach the next generation of yoyoers and I like to work to make the hungarian community bigger and better than ever before.
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Yoshihiro Abe
Japan
5A DivisionYoshihiro Abe is one of the youngest members of Team Duncan®. He started competing at the age of 8. Every year, you will see improvement in both his trick and his smile. You will mostly see him playing 5A. With the enthusiasm and energy he brings to the table, Yoshihiro could become a world champion any year now!
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Ian Loh
Singapore
1A Division, 5A DivisionMy name is Ian; I am from Singapore and I picked up yoyoing back in 2011. I got sponsored by Duncan in July of 2014 and I also managed to pick up my first national title that same year. I am able to play all 5 divisions but I focus primarily on 1A and 5A. I enjoy yoyoing a lot because it allows me to express my creativity as well as meet many new people from all over the world. I hope to entertain people through my tricks and introduce yoyoing to people all over the planet!
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Tal Mordoch
Israel
1A DivisionTal Mordoch started yoyoing in the summer of 2010. He got into yoyoing through a present from his aunt. Tal was passionate about yoyoing since he got his first yoyo and knew that this skill toy is just for him. After years of practicing, Tal became the first ever Israeli National Champion. One of his dreams was to join Team Duncan® and in 2015 it finally happened. Since then, he became the first Israeli player to win the European Championship and he has won more national and multinational contests as well. Tal is currently in high school, trying his best to take the next title while still maintaining excellent grades.
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Takayuki Kuriyama
Japan
5A DivisionMarron first started throwing about 19 years ago with a Duncan® Wheels yo-yo. Since then, he has started a family, who he loves very much, but he hasn't forgot about Duncan®! Marron is also a skilled comedian, and juggling performer. He can juggle 7 balls, as well as 3 diabolos. Marron is also a skilled contact juggler. Of course, his favorite is still yo-yo. Marron's play style is stylish and unique. He incorporates his personality into his tricks, as well as the occasional counterweight! Very simply, Marron=Crazy!
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Hidemasa Semba
Japan
1A Division -
Team Hornet
JapanHusband and wife team Ryuya Kaneko and Mai Kurihara travel the world playing, promoting, and performing yoyo, delighting tens of thousands of kids and families every year. Find them in famous tourist spots in Tokyo and all across the globe in the USA, Thailand, Vietnam, and more!
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Jason Kao
Taiwan
3A DivisionJason Kao is the 3x Taiwan champion, one of the first yoyo pioneers in Taiwan, and he has run the Taiwan National Contest for years.
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Tyler McCallumore
United StatesTylor started yoyoing with his best friend at a local toy store called A2Z when he was just six years old. At the store, he learned from some of the best yoyo players in the world such as Jack Finn, Andre Boulay, Eric Koloski and Nick Gumlaw. Being the competitive person he is, yoyoing stuck with him right away, because it was a challenging skill toy with so much possibility and a lot to learn. With the challenging aspects of the hobby and the positive atmosphere at A2Z, Tylor would end up taking a yo-yo with him everywhere. When he hit middle school and started taking yoyoing more seriously, he began to practice for multiple hours a day. With the extra hours of practice, he started to do better in competitions and eventually won multiple championships. Tylor loves complicated tech tricks to show how much practice and time goes into each trick. As of today, he is a multiple Mass State Champion and he spends his days teaching yoyo classes at the very store that taught him. He loves yoyoing for the creativity and the challenges it brings, but also for how many people it brings together.
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Owen Ekblad
United States
5A DivisionHe’s a prolific member of the yo-yo community, and boasts having a unique style and personality. In early 2017, Duncan took notice of that, offering him a position on the team. Naturally, he accepted. He has flourished with Duncan, being given the opportunity to help with Duncan social media, and even create some content for the company. He enjoys pushing the envelope of what it means to be good at yo-yoing, and doesn’t see any end in sight.
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Hajime Sakauchi
Japan
2A Division, 1-Time 2nd World Runner-Up (World Yo-Yo Contest 2019)Hajime is a strong yo-yo player coming from Japan. He is one of the newest 2A players to continue the rich tradition of 2A play, and he is really bringing a fresh perspective and style of tricks to the style. Already having made a name for himself on the world stage in Cleveland in 2019 where he placed 3rd, Hajime has shown that he is really both the present and future of 2A play. We are so excited to have Hajime on our team!
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Christopher Chunn
United States
4A Division, 1-Time National 2nd Runner-Up (USA 2018)Christopher Chunn is one of the most positive yo-yo players. Seriously. Hailing from southeastern Michigan, Chris grew up around team members Owen and Chase, and has shown time and time again that the Michigan yo-yo scene is something to pay attention to. Chris is known for his crazy 4A tricks and super wonderful freestyles, and more recently Chris has been playing some great 1A. Chris is a really great guy, and we’re super happy to have him on board.
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Philip Pacific
United States
1A Division, 4A DivisionPhilip Pacific is one of those yo-yo players who will win worlds one day. He has that aura. He’s probably going to be the best yo-yoer in the galaxy, to be honest. He’s a strong competitor in both the 1A and 4A divisions, having performed exceptionally well at the 2019 World Yo-Yo Contest in Cleveland, and he’s still just getting started. He started out on our Next Generation team, but he made it clear to us that he deserved bigger and better things. He’s a nice kid, and he really loves yo-yo. He is the type of player we love to have as a part of Duncan and we cannot wait to see his future come to fruition.
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Ginji Miura
Japan