Red Lycans edged out its rival team Dark Riderz at a gripping dance-off as both dance crew finalists battled it out for the Astro Battleground 2016 championship.
The decade long-running street dance reality show produced by Astro Wah Lai Toi (CH 311 & HD CH 310), also witnessed the rise of its new All Star Overall Champion from Red Lycans; Lim Leong Inn (KidInn), 23, who outperformed the rest of his 7 teammates with his striking dance moves.
Held recently at Sunway Pyramid Ice, the final round of Astro Battleground 2016 saw 16 out of 46 contestants go through 9 intense stages over 3 months, squaring off at the 10 th and final stage.
It was no easy victory for Red Lycans, who won by a slight margin of 3-2, after undertaking 5 rounds of challenges in the finals, namely ‘The Style’, ‘The Spirit’, ‘The Origin’, ‘The Journey’ and ‘The Battle’.
The results lied in the hands of the judging panel made up of 5 eminent international dance gurus; Brian Puspos from the USA, Funky Lia, 1G and Bboy Skim from Korea, as well as C. Hsiang from Taiwan.
However, Red Lycans’ hard work paid off as they now qualify to represent Malaysia at the Asian Battleground, dubbed as Asia’s biggest broadcasted street dance competition, on 8 th October 2016, competing against top dancers from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing and Thailand.
The team was also rewarded with a total cash prize of RM50,000.
“All of us in the team are extremely glad that we’ve finally made it. But now it is time to practice and work harder. Up next will be a tougher challenge as we will face top contenders from countries around Asia.” – Jayden Koi Kian Boon, team leader of Red Lycans.
The 3-hour Astro Battleground 2016 finals reached another climax when the eight in Red Lycans had to battle among themselves for the All Star Overall Champion title after rallying to win as a team.
Showing off his slick and varied choreography, KidInn outshone his team members by garnering the most votes from the judges to clinch the solo championship.
The freelancer with 11 years of experience in the dance scene admitted that it has not been an easy ride for most contestants.
All Star Audience Choice Award
On the other hand, the All Star Audience Choice Award went to Jym Tan Jia Tzer, 19, from Dark Riderz who won RM2,000.
Red Lycans members include Jayden Koi Kian Boon, Lim Leong Inn (KidInn), Rita Cheam Heng Mun, Marcus Lim Yeow Hwee, Tan Yu Ki, Puteri Aisya Marissa (Shasya), Sheena Low Hui Lin and Samantha Soon Hui Zhen.
Despite defeat, Dark Riderz’s Chung Hon Yew (Black-Z) and Muhamad Amirul Hafiz Mohd Azlee were chosen to join Red Lycans in their quest to do Malaysia proud at the upcoming Asian Battleground.
Former winner of Astro Battleground Dennis Yin reprised his role as host, pairing Denise Camilia Tan who is the champion of Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2012.
Throughout the early stages of the competition, Astro Battleground invited experienced dance instructors across the globe to put on both hats as judge and mentor.
On top of that, contestants got the opportunity to travel to Korea to harness their dancing skills, courtesy of the considerable amount of investment and effort put in by the production team.
The final episode of Astro Battleground 2016 will premiere on Astro Wah Lai Toi (CH 311 & HD CH 310) on 17 th July 2016, Sunday at 8.30pm, and will also be available on Astro on the Go (AOTG) and On Demand (OD).
Catch Astro Gempak for the show highlights starting this August towards the much-anticipated Asian Battleground on 8 th October 2016.
