Small frame, big stakes: 11-year-old Puyo Puyo prodigy takes on Asia

Yuki Kurihara is an 11-year-old fifth-grader with a signature asymmetric haircut, a summer schedule dominated by cram school and a dream of becoming a train conductor. He also happens to be an esports player, and the youngest athlete ever selected to compete for Team Japan at the Asian Games. With competition now underway in Nagoya, Kurihara will don his national team uniform — not to run a race or kick a ball, but to sit before the glow of a screen for a match of Puyo Puyo, Sega’s classic falling-block puzzle game.