For over 40 years, the DMC World Championships have brought together the finest DJs on the planet to compete for the crown of the best turntablist around.
This year, for its milestone anniversary, the Championships, launched in London in 1985, will take place in Japan for the first time from October 10th-12th 2025. You can stream the action live on Saturday October 11th on Mixcloud via Monkey Shoulder’s official profile from 1:45PM JST / 5:45AM BST / 11:45AM ET / 9:45PM PT.
The competition is presented by Technics and sponsored by Monkey Shoulder. It will be broken down into four categories: Classic, Supremacy, Scratch and Open. Each will test the competing DJs abilities in a range of different formats.
Kicking off on October 10th in Shibuya with the opening party, competition activity begins the following day. DJs will take part in the finals of the Classic, Supremacy and Scratch portions. This will lead to the Open finale on October 12th and one DJ claiming the ultimate DMC crown. In between, there will be a host of special performances and surprises in store. As well as a tribute to legendary Japanese DJ Honda, who will receive the DMC Lifetime Achievement Award.
Over the years, the Championships has played host to the DJs of the future. Back in 1986, DJ Cheese revolutionized the competition with never before seen scratching techniques that pushed the boundaries of DJing. “I thought it was funny at the time,” he reflects. “But I knew instantly from the crowd’s reaction that I had won.”
10 years later, a 15-year-old A-Trak blended intricate beat juggling, rapid-fire cuts and musicality beyond his years to win the competition, the youngest to do so. Meanwhile, Craze won the competition three times between 1998-2001, wowing the world with his incredible prowess.
But what does it take to win the competition? DMC Founder Tony Prince shared some gems: “Originality is the key word guys. It’s what brought the DMC titles to legends such as Cash Money, Qbert, Roc Raida, DJ Fly and Mix Master Mike. Each and every one of them had that star quality that set them apart from their rivals. They were simply unique. They were all ‘the best’ when their moment came. Each new DMC Champion is standing on the shoulders of giants. You can see the development in each successive year.”
If you can’t make the competition IRL, don’t forget to head over to Monkey Shoulder’s official Mixcloud profile from 1:45PM JST / 5:45AM BST / 11:45AM ET / 9:45PM PT on Saturday October 11th to watch the action!
To get you in the mood, check out a specialist mix by Japan-based open format DJ IKU – part of the judging panel for this year’s Championships – below.