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The story
In the esports Puyo Puyo event at the Asian Games, 11-year-old Yuki Kurihara of Tokyo Verdy won gold, becoming the youngest medalist in the history of the Games. At the Olympics, gold medalists receive a flat 5 million yen from the Japanese Olympic Committee, but the Asian Games have no unified prize-money system — it’s left up to each sport’s governing body. The track and field federation has announced it will pay gold medalists 1 million yen, but it’s expected that the esports federation will pay Kurihara nothing. On 5ch, alongside questions about the gap between federations, discussion also spilled into his age and the old “are games even a sport” debate, splitting opinion.
Yuki Kurihara (11, Tokyo Verdy), the youngest member of Japan’s delegation, won gold by beating Kang Dong-shin of South Korea 10–2 in the final of the puzzle battle game “Puyo Puyo.”
The previous record for youngest medalist at the Games belonged to Nimas of Indonesia, who was 12 when she won bronze in women’s street skateboarding at the 2018 Jakarta Games — Kurihara has now smashed that record.
At the Olympics, the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) pays a flat 5 million yen to gold medalists, but the Asian Games have no set prize-money system, leaving it up to each sport’s governing body. As one example, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations has announced it will award gold medalists 1 million yen (500,000 yen per runner for relays).
Source: approach.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
You mean Compile Co., Ltd.? (that ship already sank) lol
When it went under, Sega bought the Puyo Puyo rights
Sega owns the Puyo Puyo rights now
Back in the day this kind of thing used to be a book voucher
Street Fighter 6 has a ton of sponsors and the prize money is huge — famous pro gamers have revealed they pull in over 100 million yen a year.
Though it depends on the game…
There's no unified rule across the whole Asian Games, so it's up to each esports federation
Apparently the Puyo Puyo Tetris Switch versus scene is really thriving, but I had no idea a truly competitive scene like this existed.
Learned something today (´・ω・｀)
https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/32417066/
Apparently you can win it all on an hour a day
This kid's just a monster, that's all. You could grind 10 hours a day and it wouldn't mean a thing without the talent.
And apparently he's playing Puyo Puyo on the side while attending a cram school aiming for a top school like Nada (an elite prep school) — I actually feel for the Korean player who went all-in and still lost.
The guy who bought this and looked down on it got absolutely clowned lol
Old man, it's not even a Famicom…
So why not him? Makes no sense.
That'd be paid out by the Korean federation, surely
There are versions of the game sold specifically for competitive play, you know
Oh, didn't know that.
So it's really in the same category as versus fighting games, huh
Heck, all sports in general are just play if you think about it.
What you're actually doing isn't any different.
Yeah, exactly.
Video games, baseball, soccer — none of it's really different.
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/DuBIw-gUUAEqyFW.jpg
Being good at games doesn't help you one bit…
What are you doing switching your ID over and over and talking to yourself?
No wonder they go overseas.
The track and field federation pays out 1 million yen.
The esports federation pays nothing lol
Is Puyo Puyo even a sport to begin with, though
Isn't this supposed to be a tournament adults compete in too?
I think elementary school age is when you soak things up the most.
When I was a kid too, just playing casually — nothing to do with competing — all sorts of knowledge just sank in on its own.
His reflexes are probably insane too.
Doesn't work like that once you're older.
But you look down on pro pachinko players too, don't you? Same thing.
It's the esports federation itself that's not paying out.
They shouldn't be looking down on it in the first place — makes you wonder just who's running Japan's esports governing bodies.
I think he's just a rock/mineral nerd.
You see that a lot among smart kids.
It's not a sport to begin with.
It's literally called the "Asian Games" lol
If this were Puyo Puyo, they'd all have been chain-cleared already
Background and Key Points of This Story
Unlike the Olympic model, where the Japanese Olympic Committee pays a flat 5 million yen for gold, Asian Games prize money has no unified system and is left to each sport’s governing body. The track and field federation has announced it will pay gold medalists 1 million yen, while the esports federation is reportedly planning to pay Kurihara nothing — and this “gap between federations” is the real core of the story. The thread tends to drift into his age or the tired “are games even a sport” debate, but what’s easy to miss is that the real issue isn’t age discrimination — it’s a matter of budget and policy design on the part of the body governing esports. Worth noting too: the previous youngest-medalist record belonged to skateboarder Nimas, who was 12 at the 2018 Jakarta Games — a record Kurihara has now broken.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Sports News+) thread “[Esports] Japanese Association Reportedly Won’t Pay Prize Money to Puyo Puyo Gold Medalist Yuki Kurihara.”
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