We officially have our 2020 King of Gate tournament winner!
Last week, YAMATO (Block A), Ishida (Block B), and Eita (Block C) managed to win their respective blocks. A second chance battle royal featuring Naruki Doi vs. Genki Horiguchi vs. Ryo Saito vs. Kzy vs. Ben-K vs. Dragon Dia vs. Jason Lee vs. Yosuke vs. Santa Maria vs. Big R Shimizu vs. H・Y・O saw Doi win the overall match-up and join the three men in the tournament semi-finals.
On June 6, the four semi-finalists finally clashed and Naruki Doi got the win over Kaito Ishida and Eita got the best of YAMATO. The 24-man tournament has seen many twists and turns throughout the competition; however, Eita would emerge victorious in his match-up against Naruki Doi on Sunday, June 7. The bout was a strong back-and-forth affair that ultimately saw Eita lock in his signature submission, Numero Uno, after Doi ate several nasty superkicks. Doi would tap moments later.
This is the first time that the 28-year-old won the annual tournament, though he came close to winning last year. Ben-K would ultimately emerge as the 2019 King of Gate tournament winner. Eita has earned the right to challenge any champion of his choosing in Dragon Gate. We’ll find out in the coming weeks who Eita will face for their respective belt.