KONAMI Arcade Championship

KONAMI Arcade Championship

The KONAMI Arcade Championship (KAC) is an annual competition hosted by KONAMI for some of its games series including the following BEMANI arcade series:

The KACs usually have four rounds:

  1. Qualifying Round: All players with an e-amusement pass can submit their scores to any of the groups. Only players from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, along with the United States and Canada (for the DanceDanceRevolution series only) may participate. jubeat also has teams of up to 4 players.
  2. Japan Semifinal Round (since The 7th KAC): The 8 top-ranked players or teams from the East and West areas compete separately.
  3. Semifinal Round: The 4 top-ranked players or teams from each group compete.
  4. Final Round: The 2 top-ranked players or teams compete to be the champion.

For the sake of convenience, only the information for BEMANI divisions is reflected in this article.

KAC2011

The first installment had 12 games in total, including seven BEMANI titles. Each participant participated in one of five regions: Hokkaido/Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai/Chugoku, and Shikoku/Kyushu/Okinawa, based on the participant's prefecture they reside on.

The Qualifying Rounds are split into two parts that are held on two periods: September 29th - October 23rd for the first part, and October 26th - November 6th for the second part. Each part had three songs with an assigned difficulty for each song, and with some modifier restrictions (such as no using AUTO modifiers and required clearing). The first part qualified 100 players per region who advanced to the second part. The second part qualified only the top four players per region (eight in REFLEC BEAT, twelve in jubeat) to the Final Round.

The Final Round was split into two parts as well: Regional Finals and National Finals. In the Regional Finals, players competed in a series of songs and the player with the highest score moved on to the National Finals. The five finalists advancing to the National Finals competed with the same rules, with each finalist having a song of their choice, and the finalist with the highest score after the round was named the champion for the division.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT
DOLCE. BROSONI. APRICOT MISTER.S VE*K.DSN TATSU N.E.X.T.

KAC Asia

Another tournament for players in Korea, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore. The format for KACA is similar to the original KAC2011 but without the regional finals.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat REFLEC BEAT
ROCK* 513 LOKI.LEN unknown SI-OT AB.C-D^^

2012

KONAMI Arcade Championship 2012 introduced two new BEMANI series to the competition: DanceEvolution and SOUND VOLTEX, of which the latter would become a KAC staple. KAC2012 also allowed Asian contestants to participate in the competition, though with different rules and format.

The Qualifier Period was held from October 1st to November 4th. At the start of the Qualifying Period, only a few songs were picked as Qualifying songs but as weeks passed, a number of Qualifying songs were added gradually. Similar to the last KAC, only a few players with the top scores moved on to the Final Round.

In addition to the Qualifier Round, a special division, BEMANI Master was added, which would award points based on the participation of nine BEMANI titles. Up to 700 points could be earned for one division by placing first, and minus 1 point per each placement, all the way down to the 500th place (201). The winner of this special division was DOLCE..

The Finals were held on three days from November 23rd to 25th. Similar to the last KAC, the Finals were held on two parts, Regional Finals and National Finals, with the exception of SOUND VOLTEX for the Asian region. Six finalists advanced to compete in the National Finals and the winner was determined based on the highest score.

For the SOUND VOLTEX division, in addition to the Finals, a special FLOOR contest was held from September 6th to September 19th whereas artists submitted their compositions to participate. The entry deemed best was awarded as Highest Excellence and was unveiled first on the finals on that day. A total of 12 entries were accepted, with BlackY's Max Burning!! being awarded as the Highest Excellence song.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution DanceEvolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT SOUND VOLTEX
MADOKA GAHOU まろさん GIL. NKN-FAL II-L-Y TATSU A.N.C.B REMILIA

2013

Due to the number of potential players, the format for the Qualifier Rounds was revised, changing from divisions into courses. Japanese players qualified from any one of the five courses, and Asian players qualified from its Asian course. A total of 16 players (3 each from the five Japanese courses and 1 from the Asian course) advanced to the Finals. The BEMANI Master division also returned, with ほしケチぺったんたん being named the winner.

The Finals were also split into two parts, with only a few top players advancing to the second part to determine the winner. For SOUND VOLTEX, GuitarFreaks and DrumMania, a single-elimination bracket was held.

For the FLOOR contest, two songs out of the 20 accepted entries were awarded Highest Excellence: かめりあ's Bangin' Burst and cosMo@暴走P's For UltraPlayers. For the first time, an APPEAL CARD FLOOR Contest was also held for designs.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution DanceEvolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT SOUND VOLTEX
DOLCE. RIN-GO!! aiすくりぃむ.i ぴこ MISTER.S FEFEMZ* TATSU NICHAN.T XD2.BOT (えつや)

The 4th

The naming scheme has been changed from year to ordinal, because the schedule did not end within the single year. Summary to be updated.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX BeatStream DanceDanceRevolution DanceEvolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT SOUND VOLTEX ミライダガッキ FutureTomTom
TOKI PAPPUS FEFEMZ* レミー にるなっつ B9TRIA.A A.K.R-Y TATSU NICHAN.T XD2.BOT ほしケチ

The 5th

Summary to be updated.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX BeatStream DanceDanceRevolution DanceEvolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania MÚSECA jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT SOUND VOLTEX
DOLCE. MIZURIN FEFEMZ* AMiNa (´・ω・`) TRAINMAN FALL CORBY.QS TATSU (male)
8322 (female)
sir・o・n. 1008.BOT

The 6th

Summary to be updated.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania MÚSECA jubeat pop'n music REFLEC BEAT SOUND VOLTEX
LICHT (Single)
VIENNA (Double)
CHRS4LFE にるなっつ A様 DDX A.K.R-Y (solo)
Giant Chicken Family (team)
TATSU (male)
8322 (female)
A.N.C.B. GGD

The 7th

All games EXCEPT DanceDanceRevolution A:

  • Qualifying round 1st Stage: 30/11/2017 - 18/12/2017
  • Qualifying round 2nd Stage: 21/12/2017 - 09/01/2018
  • Semi-Final round East Japan Area: 27/01/2018
  • Semi-Final round West Japan Area: 28/01/2018
  • Final round: 10/02/2018 - 11/02/2018

DanceDanceRevolution A:

  • Qualifying round Group A: 30/11/2017 - 09/01/2018
  • Qualifying round Group B: 21/12/2017 - 09/01/2018
  • Semi-Final round East Japan Area: 27/01/2018
  • Semi-Final round West Japan Area: 28/01/2018
  • Final round: 10/02/2018

Summary to be updated.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music SOUND VOLTEX ノスタルジア
U*TAKA FEFEMZ* ぎるたん まーたんとゆっきー A7STA4A. (solo)
☆ゴリあーにゃ★ (team)
TATSU (male)
10kai (female)
K.FLAT REMILIA

The 8th

  • Website: https://p.eagate.573.jp/game/kac/kac8th/top/
  • Entry: 15/11/2018 - 14/12/2018
  • Qualifying round (GITADORA, ノスタルジア and SOUND VOLTEX): 21/11/2018 - 17/12/2018
  • Qualifying round (Other games): 29/11/2018 - 17/12/2018
  • Semi-Final round East Japan Area: 12/01/2019
  • Semi-Final round West Japan Area: 14/01/2019
  • Final round: 26/01/2019 - 27/01/2019

Summary to be updated.

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution DANCERUSH GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music SOUND VOLTEX ノスタルジア
U*TAKA FEFEMZ NISHI (・m・m・m・) NKN-FAL S&YSN-Y (solo)
☆ゴリあーにゃ★ (team)
TATSU (male)
8322 (female)
LV.MINI REMILIA (Basic)
yukitani (Recital)

The 9th

  • Website: https://p.eagate.573.jp/game/kac/kac9th/top/
  • Entry: 26/11/2019 - 06/01/2020
  • Qualifying round: 27/11/2019 - 07/01/2020
    • BEMANI esports Championship 2019 Qualifying round: 07/11/2019 - 20/11/2019
  • Semi-Final round East Japan Area: 19/01/2020
  • Semi-Final round West Japan Area: 26/01/2020
    • BEMANI esports Championship 2019 Final round: 21/12/2019
  • Final round (DrumMania, pop'n music, and DANCERUSH): 01/02/2020 (esports GINZA studio)
  • Final round (GuitarFreaks, ノスタルジア, and jubeat): 02/02/2020 (esports GINZA studio)
  • Final round (beatmania IIDX, DanceDanceRevolution and SOUND VOLTEX): 08/02/2020 (JAEPO 2020)

Similar to The 8th KAC, the competition had three Rounds: Qualifying, Semi-Final, and Final. The Qualifier Round along with the Team competition for the jubeat division were retained. Similar to previous KAC rounds, players or teams with the highest scores after each Qualifier Round advanced to the Semi-Finals (for Japanese players) or Finals (for Overseas players and all players of the DANCERUSH division). The two champions of the beatmania IIDX and SOUND VOLTEX divisions, U*TAKA and MINI respectively, were directly qualified to the Finals.

Each division had a common entry song, ランカーキラーガール, while ノスタルジア and DANCERUSH STARDOM divisions each had its own remixes of it. Three other divisions were also given an additional song: SCREW // owo // SCREW (beatmania IIDX), The History of the Future (DanceDanceRevolution), and new heaven (DANCERUSH STARDOM).

In Southeast Asia, the BEMANI esports Championship special tournament was held before the qualifiers, for DanceDanceRevolution, DANCERUSH STARDOM, DrumMania, jubeat and SOUND VOLTEX. The winners of each division advanced to the finals.

Like previous tournaments, only the few players who qualified competed in a series of rounds to determine the winner. The unveiled songs during the finals were Popperz Chronicle (pop'n music, both divisions), ピアノ体操第一 and 交響詩「悪魔の誕生」 (ノスタルジア), and 666 (SOUND VOLTEX). For the FLOOR contest, 32 songs qualified, 15 of which were awarded (ten Prize, four Excellence, and one Highest Excellence).

The winners of this KONAMI Arcade Championship were the following:

Participating Games
beatmania IIDX DanceDanceRevolution DANCERUSH GuitarFreaks DrumMania jubeat pop'n music SOUND VOLTEX ノスタルジア
KKM* CHRS4LFE RIRI-. (solo)
AKINA-02 & IEKEIBOT (pair)
雲風亭まっちゃん皆伝 鬼嫁合衆国環境大臣 CORBY.QS (solo)
☆ゴリあーにゃ★ (team)
TATSU (male)
8322 (female)
MINI hr (Basic)
yukitani (Recital)

The 10th

  • Website: https://p.eagate.573.jp/game/kac/kac10th/pre/index.html
  • Qualifying Round: December 23rd, 2020 10:00 (JST)
  • Final Round (Guitar Freaks, DrumMania, jubeat, DanceDanceRevolution, and SOUND VOLTEX): 7/17/2021
  • Final Round (ノスタルジア, DANCERUSH, pop'n music, and beatmania IIDX): 7/18/2021

The 10th KONAMI Arcade Championship sees many changes to its format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike other years, only players living in Japan are eligible to enter, no semi-finals are being held, and the finals are being held without an audience at the esports GINZA studio located inside KONAMI's main offices, as JAEPO 2021, its traditional venue, has been cancelled.

For the first time, games other than pop'n music will feature female-only divisions: beatmania IIDX, DanceDanceRevolution, and SOUND VOLTEX. However, jubeat no longer has Team competitions.

While the Final Round was originally stated to be held on March 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th, 2021, it was later announced to be postponed. The current final round dates were announced on June 3rd, 2021 [1], however, on July 12th, 2021 they were postponed again. The new dates have yet to be announced.

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