Japan's top Mölkky players and teams

World Championships 2026 · Helsinki

An all-Japanese final in Helsinki

The 2026 Mölkky World Championships were held in Helsinki in August. 479 teams entered the team event, and 59 of them were entered under Japan. Finland had the most teams, with 298. After the group stage, the top 256 teams played a single-elimination bracket. Knockout matches were best of five sets, and the final was best of seven.

MOON PRISM POWER won the title, beating fellow Japanese team PHOENIXXX 4–3 in the final. PHOENIXXX took the first set 50–0. MOON PRISM POWER then won three sets in a row. PHOENIXXX levelled it at 3–3, and MOON PRISM POWER won the deciding seventh set 50–38.

Japanese teams in the knockout stage

Seven more Japanese teams reached the last 32: ANKKA ROS ON TT, MUKOGAWA MOLKKY MAMESHI-BA, SETAGAYA 233 MÖLKKY CLUB, DYUBEE, ALLIN WHITE, HARU-1-BANG OF KAMELIASC and DABISUKE ZOO PHOENIX. That makes 13 of the last 32, ahead of Finland (8) and France (5). 46 Japanese teams made the 256-team knockout bracket.

The champions: MOON PRISM POWER

Players, as listed in the official results: Ken Maruoka, Natsuki Murata, Shota Shirai, Joshi Masunari, Yushin Goto and Ishikawa Mika. After the group stage (2 wins, 5 draws), they won seven knockout matches.

• Round of 256 · 3–0 HEITTO HUKASSAFinland
• Round of 128 · 3–2 LES MOLGUY DU MOLKKYFrance
• Round of 64 · 3–1 MÖLKKY QUARTETPoland
• Round of 32 · 3–1 ANKKA ROS ON TTJapan
• Round of 16 · 3–1 E=MC2France
• Quarter-final · 3–1 TEAM KAUBI/SAAREMAAEstonia
• Semi-final · 3–2 FINSKAROOS KULTAAustralia. FINSKAROOS KULTA led 2–1 in sets before losing the last two.
• Final · 4–3 PHOENIXXXJapan

The runners-up: PHOENIXXX

Players: Takuya Sasaki, Masanori Sudou, Tomofumi Kakinuma and Rento Sasaki. Four of their knockout wins were over other Japanese teams (TOSUMÖLKKERS, HARU-1-BANG OF KAMELIASC, KAWANISHI and ALLIN VALKOINEN). Their other wins were over MÖLKKY-SUR-MARNE BIS (France) 3–0, KARHUMÖLKKY/PCU (Finland) 3–2, and SORSAN METSÄSTÄJÄT (Finland) 3–1 in the semi-final.

Third place went to FINSKAROOS KULTA (Australia), who beat SORSAN METSÄSTÄJÄT (Finland) 3–2.

Japan vs. Finland and France

• FIVE OK ROCK 2–0 TEAM MÖYKYSGroup stage, 15 Aug (50–23, 50–39). TEAM MÖYKYS is the team of the Finnish YouTube channel KOUKUS. Their video about the match is titled JAPANILAISET LÖYLYTTI MEITÄ MÖLKYN MM-KISOISSA.
• LES COLIN & DCP 3–2 IGOGUNDAN ANOTHER SKYRound of 16. The French team went through to the quarter-finals.
• MOON PRISM POWER 3–2 LES MOLGUY DU MOLKKYRound of 128. The champions' closest match before the semi-final.
• PHOENIXXX 3–1 SORSAN METSÄSTÄJÄTSemi-final, against the Finnish team that went on to finish fourth.

All scores are from the official results. Team names are written as they appear there.

Japan national team 2026

The national team: Kodama Japan

At the World Championships, each country also sends a three-player team to the Nations Cup. Since 2025, Japan's three places go to the top three players at the Japan Championship (日本モルック選手権大会), a singles event run by the Japan Mölkky Association (日本モルック協会, JMA).

The 2026 Japan Championship final was played on 7 June at Maishima, Osaka. The national team, named 木魂ジャパン (Kodama Japan), was:

The team played the Nations Cup on 14 August and, as announced by the team, finished 5th of 23 countries and regions.

Shumpei Sano is from Kawanishi, Hyogo, and plays for the Kawanishi Mölkky Club (川西モルックの会). He started playing in spring 2024 at a tournament for the city's 70th anniversary and is the first national team player from Kawanishi. On 15–16 August he also played the team event with friends from home as KAWANISHI, who reached the last 16. His supporters' site is sanomolkky.com (Japanese).

JMA uses "national player" only for the Nations Cup team. Other Japanese players at the World Championships are called World Championship participants.

The scene

Mölkky in Japan, in numbers

The Japan Mölkky Association was founded in 2011 by Shuichi Yatsuga (八ツ賀秀一), who was living in Helsinki at the time. A Japanese team first entered the World Championships in 2010. In 2024, JMA hosted the World Championships in Hakodate, the first held outside Europe, with 643 teams. By JMA's estimate (December 2025), about 3.62 million people in Japan have played Mölkky at least once. JMA posts on X as @Molkky_Japan.

The big events

• Japan Championship日本モルック選手権大会Singles. Regional qualifiers from March to May, then a final in June. The top three become the next national team. JMA player registration is required.
• 13th Mölkky Japan Tournament, Maizuru Entries closed第13回モルック日本大会31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026, Higashi-Maizuru Park Athletics Stadium, Kyoto. Up to 320 teams of 3–5 players.
• 3rd Mölkky Asia Tournament, Imabari Open slot第3回モルックアジア大会15–17 Jan 2027, Imabari City Sports Park, Ehime. Up to 384 teams of 3–5 players. The Asia Nations Cup is on 15 Jan and the team event on 16–17 Jan.

Where people play

Most tournaments in Japan are run by local clubs, towns and venues, and are announced on X and in Japanese. MOLKKY HUB (in Japanese) collects them in one place. As of 28 September 2026 it lists 212 upcoming tournaments, 113 of them in October.

Molkky Dome Kawanishi (モルックドーム川西) in Kawanishi, Hyogo, is a Mölkky ground under a large roof, so games go ahead in any weather. It has 12 courts and runs regular events every month: an evening tournament, an early-morning cup and a family cup. It posts on X as @molkkydome. Kawanishi calls itself a Mölkky town: Manganji temple (満願寺) is treated as the sport's sacred site, the mayor calls himself the "Mölkky mayor", and Mölkky has been introduced in every elementary, junior high and high school in the city.

How to play in Japan

Entering a tournament in Japan

• You usually don't need JMA registrationJMA player registration is required only for the Japan Championship and its qualifiers, and registration is open only to Japanese nationals and foreign residents of Japan. The Japan Tournament, the Japan Open and most local events don't require it, although some lottery rounds are reserved for registered players.
• Teams are usually 3–5 playersAt the big JMA events, up to four players play in each set, and teams of 4–5 can rotate players between sets.
• Entry is by form, often with a lotteryLarge events typically take entries through a Google Form, then draw lots. Teams that get a place pay through LivePocket (ライブポケット), a Japanese ticketing site. Names are entered in full, and the Asia Tournament asks for them in Latin letters.
• Watch the datesBig events fill up months in advance and have several entry phases. The organiser's page always has the full conditions, so read the entry form before you enter.

The easiest way in right now: Imabari 2027

The Asia Tournament's international slot and Japan slot are closed, but its open slot is for any nationality and needs no JMA registration. The phase 3 lottery runs 1–15 October 2026, and a small phase 4 lottery runs 1–15 November. The fee is ¥14,700 per team (about €80), paid in yen.

The entry page is in Japanese with an English section. Details are from JMA and may change, so check there before entering.

Sources

Where these facts come from

1. Official results, Mölkky World Championships 2026: mm2026.molkkify.app/results
2. JMA, 2026 national team: molkky.jp/info-jma/32951; Japan Championship 2026 result: molkky.jp/info-jma/32914; selection: molkky.jp/faq/12351
3. JMA, history: molkky.jp/jma; player numbers: molkky.jp/info-jma/31472; player registration: molkky.jp/about-tournament/player-registration
4. JMA, 13th Japan Tournament Maizuru: molkky.jp/tournament/32999; 3rd Asia Tournament Imabari: molkky.jp/tournament/33057
5. Nations Cup result and Shumpei Sano's profile: sanomolkky.com
6. MOLKKY HUB, Imabari open slot (Japanese): molkky-hub.com/molkky-asia-imabari-open-2027; overseas Mölkky YouTube channels (Japanese): molkky-hub.com/kaigai-molkky-youtube
7. Molkky Dome Kawanishi: molkkydome.com