"I Only Play for an Hour a Day Because I Have to Go to Cram School": 11-Year-Old Elementary Schooler Who Beat a Pro Sets Sights on Asian Games Gold

[Financial News] Among the many national team athletes competing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the youngest is a fifth-grade elementary school student. Yuki Kurihara, an 11-year-old competitor in the esports game Puyo Puyo, earned a spot on Japan's national team after defeating several elite adult professional gamers.
Japanese media outlets, including Chunichi Shimbun, have highlighted Kurihara as a strong gold medal contender at the upcoming Games. He won an international competition as early as third grade and claimed the title at a tournament held this February after defeating his idol, professional gamer Tomo-kun.
Puyo Puyo, which has been adopted as an official Asian Games event, is a strategic puzzle game in which players group together and pop slime-shaped blocks of the same color, using the resulting chains to disrupt their opponent's play. Kurihara excels at large-chain combos, a difficult technique that clears many blocks at once, and boasts the dominant ability to complete chains of up to 19.
What makes Kurihara's story especially intriguing is that he practices gaming for only one hour on weekdays and about two hours on weekends. With middle school entrance exams ahead, he attends cram school until 9 p.m. three times a week while balancing his studies with life as a national team athlete. In an interview with local media, Kurihara displayed a mature attitude, saying, "I also like studying, so this amount of practice time is just right."
Kurihara first encountered Puyo Puyo when he was in kindergarten, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As he spent more time at home, the game software his mother bought for him set him on the path to becoming a national team athlete. As a beginner, he studied strategies through YouTube videos. Now that he has developed into a top-level player, however, he dominates matches using only his own intuition and mental game plans. His mother also stated, "I have never thought gaming was bad, and because he takes it seriously, I fully support my son."
The elementary school national team athlete, who says mathematics and social studies are his favorite subjects, has modest career ambitions. Kurihara shared his concerns, saying, "I like trains, so I want to become a train driver or a cram school teacher," before adding, "It would probably be difficult to have another job while being a professional gamer, so I think I will eventually have to narrow my goal down to one."
The Puyo Puyo Champions event featuring Kurihara will hold qualifiers on the 24th, followed by a final tournament on the 26th to determine the medalists. South Korea's Kang Dong-shin, 25, will represent the country and is expected to engage in a fierce medal battle with the prodigious elementary school gamer.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter