Yiheng Wang completed a stunning comeback to defeat Xuanyi Geng 5-4 and win the Monkey League Season 6 championship in New York City.
This was Yiheng’s second consecutive Monkey League title. He won Season 5 by defeating Tymon Kolasiński, making him only the second competitor to win back-to-back championships. Tymon, who won Seasons 1, 3 and 4, was in attendance in New York and remained involved throughout the weekend.
Watch the full Monkey League Season 6 final below.
Xuanyi started hot and built a 4-1 lead in the best-of-nine match, moving within one set of the championship.
Then everything changed.
Yiheng used two timeouts during the match. During the second, Monkey League organizer and commentator Phillip Lewicki said Yiheng had a fever and needed medicine.
After the break, the momentum shifted.
Yiheng returned and won three straight sets to tie the match at 4-4. His energy appeared to grow with every win. As the comeback continued, he became visibly happier and more confident while Xuanyi faced increasing pressure to stop the momentum.
The entire championship came down to the ninth and final set.
Yiheng won the first two races to take a 2-0 lead, putting himself one solve away from the title. With the championship slipping away, Xuanyi responded with a 3.84, beating Yiheng’s 5.43 and cutting the score to 2-1.
On the fourth race, Yiheng stopped the timer at 4.69 and shook his head. Xuanyi needed a 4.68 or better to keep the match alive.
He delivered a 4.64.
The crowd erupted as the set moved to 2-2. After eight sets and four races in the ninth, the entire Monkey League season would be decided by one final solve.
More than 3,100 people were watching on YouTube. Lewicki said more than 100 additional spectators were inside Avenues the World School in New York.
Xuanyi solved first and recorded a 5.56.
Yiheng needed one controlled solve to complete the comeback. He did much more than that, stopping the timer at 3.84 to win the final race, the final set and the Season 6 championship.
Yiheng immediately jumped up and celebrated as the room exploded around him. Xuanyi left the stage in tears and was quickly surrounded by people offering support after coming within one solve of the title.
The ending captured the pressure both young competitors faced. Yiheng had to win four consecutive sets after falling behind 4-1. Xuanyi had to fight through Yiheng’s momentum and still managed to force the championship to its final possible solve.
I was there! It was EPIC!