SA's breakers battle for glory at Red Bull BC One national finals

Chay Botman, aka B-Boy Shady, from Parktown, brings the flavour and footwork to his knockout battle at Saturday's Red Bull BC One national final at Thibault Square in the Cape Town CBD. Image: Fuad Esack South Africa's best breakers went head-to-head, battling for the national crown and a shot at global glory. The finalists earned their spots through qualifying cyphers held across South Africa, with the winning B-Boy and B-Girl earning the right to fly the South African flag on the global stage. Ultimately, Cape Town's Toufeeq Baatjies and Courtnae Pau, from Durban, were crowned B-Boy and B-Girl champions and will now represent SA at the World Final in Toronto, Canada, in November. The two breakers came through a tough field of South Africa's top B-Boys and B-Girls, earning their places on the global stage with standout performances in Saturday's one-on-one battles on Thibault Square in the Mother City's CBD. Newly-crowned Red Bull BC One SA champ Toufeeq Baatjies on the floor during Saturday's finals on Thibault Square Image: Moegammad Abrahams/Red Bull Content Pool For Toufeeq, the victory was a record fifth national title, including four in a row. He wysed: 'I feel so great, five-time champion, four times back-to-back. I'm just trying to push myself to the highest level that I can go, and also just trying to open that door for the next South Africans to just go through.' Paul also made history by claiming her fourth national crown. The B-Girl said: 'It feels amazing. This was very personal for me, I've been through a lot in life and I had to do it. I had to do it, for myself more than anything else.' Now the pair turn their attention to Toronto, where they will face the world's best breakers on 29 November 2026. Parktown breakdancer Chay Botman, aka B-Boy Shady, after qualifying for Saturday's Red Bull BC One Top knockout finals. Image: Fuad Esack Red Bull BC One 2026 SA champions B-Boy and B-Girl champions, Toufeeq Baatjies and Courtnae Paul will represent South Africa at the world finals in Toronoto, Canada in November. Image: Fuad Esack Red Bull BC One B-Boy champion, Toufeeq Baatjies following Saturday's final battle on Thibault Square in the Cape Town CBD. Image: Fuad Esack The breakers brought the heat as fans packed out Thibault Square for Saturday's Red Bull BC One national finals. Image: Craig Kolesky/ Red Bull Content Pool Ocean View's Lakeisha Dick, aka B-Girl Keisha Keesh, soaks up the moment after booking her spot in the final battle against eventual winner B-Girl Courtnae Paul. Image: Moegammad Abrahams/Red Bull Content Pool Crowd-pleaser Toufeeq Baatjies, aka B-Boy Toufeeq, throws down one of his signature power moves that helped him claim this year's BC One crown. Image: Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool Red Bull BC One winner B-Girl Courtnae Paul brings her A-game to the floor during Saturday's national finals on Thibault Square, Image: Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool Lakeisha Dick, aka B-Girl Keisha Keesh, gets busy in front of the judges and crowd during Saturday's Red Bull BC One national finals on Thibault Square. Image: Fuad Esack Ultimate winner Toufeeq Baatjies turns the floor into his classroom, serving up a master class during Saturday's BC One finals. Image: Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull BC One Content Pool