Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990.
Since 2014, the one-on-one portion of Battle of the Year is one of ten tournaments that are a part of the World BBoy Series.
The competition spawned the 2007 documentary Planet B-Boy as well as a 2013 eponymously named feature film Battle of the Year, both directed by Benson Lee.
Best Show: Melting Force Bruce Almighty () earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series in Prague at the end of the 2016 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Best Show: Doble KO Menno () earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series at the end of the 2015 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Best Show: Fusion MC Alkolil () earned a bid to the Undisputed World BBoy Series at the end of the 2014 year by winning BOTY Solo.
Best Show: Vagabonds The format comprises firstly a showcase round in which all crews perform a routine of no more than six minutes in length demonstrating their ability in the different styles of breakdance.
For example, starting in 2007, there is a new BOTY Asia regional preliminary that will send the top 3 finishers to the world finals; in 2006 and years prior, Asia region countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan had their own preliminaries and sent one crew each to the world finals.
While a "Best Show" award was still granted based on showcase performance, the judges would also rank the crews as to who they thought should participate in the championship battle.
Examples include three "Best Show" winners in the final five years under the old format: Break the Funk (2004), Fire Works (2003), and Visual Shock (2001).
The film was directed by Benson Lee, who produced Planet B-Boy, and featured famous artist Chris Brown in the primary role.
[12] On occasion with the annual competition, a CD/LP titled "The Official Battle Of The Year Motion Soundtrack" is released since 1998.