In the closest World Yo-Yo Contest in years, held in Prague, young American Gentry Stein narrowly edged out Japan's Takeshi Matsuura to become the new 1A freestyle world champ.

Stein, 18, is no newcomer: The California native finished third in the 1A category—where contestants are limited to one yo-yo with one string—at Worlds in 2011, when he was just 15. He becomes the first American world champ since 2008.

Here's Matsuura's second-place routine, rated a mere 1.5 points less insane than Stein's:


[H/T Digg]