Kobayashi ends Prevc’s winning streak with Engelberg victory

Dec 21, 2025·Ski Jumping

Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) celebrates with his teammates - FIS/ActionPress/Julia Piatkowskav

Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) put an end to Domen Prevc’s (SLO) winning streak by claiming victory in Engelberg (SUI), on Sunday. A strong second-round jump helped Kobayashi move up from fifth to first place, finishing 3.6 points clear of Crystal Globe leader Prevc. Felix Hoffmann (GER) rounded out the podium.

Prevc was level with Philipp Raimund (GER) at the halfway point, but difficult wind conditions saw him lose out on valuable style points in the second round, despite a jump of 141m (155.7 points). Kobayashi, meanwhile, soared to 132m and 163.4 points in the final round to move from fifth to first place with a combined total of 310.0 points.

The win marked Kobayashi’s second of the 2025/26 season, following his victory in Lillehammer (NOR) in November. "I am so happy to win," Kobayashi said afterward. "My performance today was good."

The victory denied Prevc a sixth straight World Cup win, which would have seen him equal five legends, including Kobayashi himself.

The Japanese jumper admitted he had not been confident of victory after being in fifth place at the halfway stage following a 133.0-meter jump (146.5 points) in round one. “Not yet,” Kobayashi laughed when asked if he thought he could win. “Coach Janne (Väätäinen) just said: concentrate on your performance.”

Coach Väätäinen praised his athlete's response in the second round in challenging wind conditions. “It was extremely difficult with the changing winds today, also in the second round”, Väätäinen said. “But still, it was the (his) best jump of this week. That (the second jump) was the turning point. It’s really difficult to win in the World Cup at the moment. I like it, this is exciting.”

Kobayashi said he is now 'getting nervous' with the Four Hills Tournament coming up next, the event he previously won in 2019, 2022, and 2024.

'Windy lottery'

Despite finishing second, Prevc remains in the lead of the Crystal Globe standings with a 199-point advantage over Kobayashi.

Prevc, who shared the lead with Germany’s Raimund after the first round, jumped 141.0m in the second round but came up short on points in the fight for victory. "I am mostly satisfied with myself that I managed to stay calm despite all the waiting and did two even better jumps than yesterday", Prevc said afterward.

"Today was a bit of a windy lottery", he added. "You had to have some luck too. Ryoyu couldn't cope with the conditions yesterday, but he did today. Overall, it was a nice weekend for me."

Hoffmann, who had qualified in first place just 1.0 points ahead of Prevc, landed in third place with a combined total of 303.8 points. “I’m pretty satisfied,” Hoffmann said. “Yesterday the flying was nice, today it was a little tougher in the air. Especially in the first round, I didn’t feel much from my skis over the knoll. The second round was a bit better, but not as good as yesterday. Nevertheless, third place is a very good result. I’ll take it.”

Raimund, who had led the way together with Prevc at the halfway mark, ended up in fourth place. Kacper Tomasiak (POL) rounded out the top five.

The Engelberg event also saw a new hill record in the first round, set by Stephan Embacher (AUT) with a jump of 145.0. “This is my first hill record, I think. I’m pretty happy with that", Embacher, who finished in eighth, said.

Reigning Crystal Globe champion Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) missed out on the second round after his first-round score of 127.0 points proved insufficient to qualify.