Aaril Anglin says he is ready to once again carry Jamaica’s hopes at the Red Bull Freestyle World Championship showdown after claiming the national crown of the recently concluded third instalment of the Jamaican leg of the Red Bull StreetStyle competition.

Anglin, the 2010 national champion, earned his second hold on the coveted crown when he proved the best of the crop of 16 finalists that converged to battle for the title in the competition’s scintillating climax at the iconic Ward Theatre.

The 27-year-old’s triumph over Luke Soares in the final battle will see him participating at the international segment of the high-octane competition to be staged in London in November.

Having represented at the South African World Championships in 2010, Anglin is cognisant that he faces an uphill task as the world’s best freestylers from approximately 50 countries will converge to battle for the emblem of world football freestyle.

“It was very tense on the battlefield, but thanks to God I came out on top. I am very elated because I have been practising for the last eight years, so it takes a lot of determination and hard work to get here….you can’t just come into the sport and expect to be on top, so my hard work paid off,” an elated Anglin said after his victory.

“I know going into the World Championships it will be a tough task, but I am ready and expecting to give it my best shot, whilst enjoying and learning from the experience,” he added.

The doors of the iconic Theatre were opened after being closed to the public for over 10 years and was set alight as the country’s best freestylers showcased their unique juggling skills in a bid for local supremacy.

The enthralling evening of skilful competition saw two players facing-off in a one-minute-and-30-second stint with one ball. The rules of the battles made the competition even more intriguing for spectators as the finalists were barred from using their hands at anytime.

Each competitor showed proficiency with the ball and the use of their upper and lower body to juggle. The intense battles kept the judging panel, led by assistant coach of the senior reggae Boyz team Miguel Coley, at the edge of their seats.

As the round of 16 quickly went by, it was then time for the mouth-watering semi-finals, which pitted Kingston’s champion Alrick Carey against Soares and Anglin against Kingston’s runner-up Adrian Thompson.

With the magnitude of the semi-finals requiring more innovation and versatility, both battles were laced with errors, as the freestylers struggled to maintain their composure. This resulted in the judges requesting an additional one-minute for the Carey-Soares battle to formulate a decision.

The decision of a Soares-Anglin final was met with mixed reactions by the moderate crowd at first, but when the showdown got under way, they were left in awe of what the finalists had in store. In the end, Anglin emerged two-time champion following a unanimous decision by the judges.

— Sherdon Cowan