SECAUCUS, N.J. - After two and a half hours of freestyle battle in front of a capacity crowd of 600 at Webster Hall in NYC, Steve "Eli Freeze" Elias was the last man standing at the Red Bull Futbol de Calle finale, narrowly edging out 19-year-old Angelo Storms in the final round to claim the title of the "Maestro." Elias dazzled the audience with an array of tricks, none more impressive than when he balanced one ball on his right foot, picked up a second ball with his left foot, then bounced the second ball off the stage and trapped it on top of the ball on his right.
"We brought a bunch of freestylers from all over North America to come together and entertain some people in New York and have fun with the ball- you can't complain about that," said Elias, a 34-year-old from Toronto. "I thought this event was amazing. Red Bull New York put on a really great event, it was well-organized. The win (itself) was also amazing. Angelo came out with some great moves, I came out and did my best and it worked out in my favor. I'm very happy with it."
The Red Bull Futbol de Calle Finale brought North America's top-flight freestylers together for a night of unrivaled soccer skill and flair. This elite group prevailed over more than 150 trialists to earn their place in the Finale.
Despite being the youngest freestyler in the competition, Storms certainly held his own. His arsenal of tricks included taking his sneaker and sock off while still balancing the ball on his foot, lying on his back and juggling the ball with his feet like a seal, and transferring the ball from the top of his head, to his forehead, to his lips, to the side of his head and back, without losing control.
"I thought it was awesome," said Storms. "The way it was set up, the way they prepared it, it was amazing. I've never been a part of something like this."
While DJ's Kool Bob Love and Cosmo Baker kept the crowd energized with their work on the turntables, the freestylers routinely brought the house down with their inspiring displays of creativity and skill. Performing under the bright lights on an elevated stage in the center of the venue, three battles-including the final between Eli Freeze and Storms- required a tie-breaking round after the five judges declared a draw. New York Red Bulls defenders Todd Dunivant and Taylor Graham were two of those judges.
It was unbelievable," said Graham. "The whole night was top-class from the set-up, the organization, the skills. All of the contestants were amazing and being able to meet so many people from so many realms of this area and see what they do best, it was great.
"The one thing that everyone has in common here is a passion for soccer, whether it's in the streets or on the field," Graham added. "Hopefully, it will generate energy about the sport, about Red Bull, about everything that we're doing and showing the passion, energy and effort we're putting into all of these different events and team."
Red Bull Futbol de Calle Finale:
ROUND 1
Tim Donnely (Los Angeles, CA) defeats Abuelo (Chicago, IL)
Victor Escobedo (Skokie, IL) defeats Buck (W. Hempstead, NY)
Oscar Villegas (Inwood, NY) defeats Julene Pena (Washington, DC)
Jayzinho (Toronto, ON) defeats The Energizer Benny (Monsey, NY)
Noe Cornejo (Washington, DC) defeats The Touch Master (Greenwich, CT)
Jefferson Hinds (Copiague, NY) defeats Angelo Storms (Rome, NY)*
Mr. Skillz (Brooklyn, NY) defeats Moy (Los Angeles, CA)
Eli Freeze (Toronto, ON) defeats Victor Bertini (Newark, NJ)
ROUND 2
Angelo Storms defeats Victor Escobedo #
Jayzinho defeats Oscar Villegas
Noe Cornejo defeats Jefferson Hinds
Eli Freeze defeats Mr. Skillz
#- Tim Donnely voluntarily gave Storms his spot in the second round because of how close the Storms/Hinds first round battle was
SEMIFINALS
Angelo Storms defeats Jayzinho
Eli Freeze defeats Noe Cornejo*
FINALS
Eli Freeze defeats Angelo Storms*
*- Battle deemed too close to call, required additional tie-breaking round to break deadlock
During the first and second rounds, each competitor had 90 seconds to showcase their skills. The winner was determined by the panel of five judges, including Graham and Dunivant, professional skateboarder Benny Fairfax, DJ Alex Sensation from MEGA 97.9 FM and one of the true pioneers of hip-hop, Grandmaster Caz. Once the field was narrowed down to four, the freestylers battled back and forth, alternating two one-minute routines each.
This innovative event was a unique fusion of freestyle soccer, music, dance and urban culture on one stage, for one night, at one of New York City's most famous venues.
Between competition rounds, special guests including the Dynamic Diplomats of Double Dutch, Elephant Samba Band and Capoiera Nago delivered spectacular performances.
