Top Moments From Don't Flop's "Sunburn 2"

A quick rundown of the standout battles and memorable moments from Don't Flop's September event.

With another successful Don’t Flop weekend now in the books, we've put together a list of the best battles and standout moments from the three-day weekend event that was "Sunburn 2."

The event featured probably the strongest ever selection of battles from a strictly U.K. vs. U.K. event so let's start with those.

Top Battles

Tony D vs Raptor

Tony D vs. Raptor. Photo by Joel Hoyte.

Yet again a Don’t Flop headline match really lived up to expectations. Raptor entered this match on an extremely exciting run of form, including a serious step up against Big Kannon and being the standout performer in his 2-on-2 alongside Briggzy against Shox & Tali.

Tony D, however, is, well ... Tony D. The recently retired champ has made a name as one of the hardest emcees to beat in U.K. battle history with his laid-back yet precise and impactful style. Both performers showed up as expected and so far this is the most debated match from the PPV which should lead to some excellent replay value once the official footage drops.

Unanymous vs. Shuffle-T

Unanymous vs. Shuffle-T. Photo by Darren Johnson.

I don’t think many people expected this to play out the way it did. Going into this match, Unanymous was on an extremely damaging losing streak, which featured high-profile defeats to Soul, Tony D, Gemini and most recently JShort.

The majority of people were expecting Shuffle-T’s style to essentially end Unan’s battle career, but that certainly wasn’t the case. Shuffle-T was excellent in his approach and (as usual) managed to bring fresh color to obvious angles and had the venue in stitches, but Unan’s adapted style and premeds allowed him to dodge some of the heavy hitters and in the building it certainly felt like he took the W.

Read our full review of this battle here.

Arkaic vs. Tali

Arkaic vs. Tali. Photo by Darren Johnson.

This was a classic case of old vs. new. Arkaic is one of the longest standing battlers in the world, now almost 10 years deep in the game. Tali, on the other hand, is just approaching the end of his second. Don’t Flop is known for organizing style clashes that bring out the best in both opponents and that’s what happened here. Tali’s unorthodox style of extended multi syllabic patterns mixed with smooth yet aggressive delivery stood toe-to-toe with Arkaic's relentless punchline style. This battle was so entertaining because it had something for every type of battle fan.

Ogmios vs. Wizard

Ogmios vs. Wizard. Photo by Joel Hoyte.

This match was everything that everyone wanted it to be: abstract, ridiculous and hilarious. Wizard is without doubt the gun punch king of the U.K. and Ogmios has probably the most creative approach in the league. That said, Wizard’s second round may be the best round of the event. Amongst the quotables: "She gives me bare head against the wall like a hunter’s lodge."

Ogmios was fantastic as well, his first round remixing Hitman Holla’s "reload with the bullets that came out him" and seeing him pull out a compact magic wand.

In one word: Amazing.

Lefty & Big J vs. P Solja & Matter

Lefty & Big J. Photo by Joel Hoyte.
Lefty & Big J. Photo by Joel Hoyte.

As 2-on-2 battles continue to make a resurgence, it was great to see Matter, one quarter of one of the most popular doubles matches in U.K. history, return alongside new partner P Solja. They were up against another very popular team, Big J & Lefty.

Everyone put on a show in this battle, using their own styles within their teams to hilarious effect. Big J and Lefty really do know how to stretch an angle and make it even funnier the longer it goes on, and on, and on.

In Matter’s own words (among his much buzzed about owl bars): "It really was a hoot."

Honorable Mention - Pedro vs Marlo

Pedro vs. Marlo. Photo by Joel Hoyte.

I wasn’t able to catch much of this hood classic as it was moved outside to a nearby park area when the venue had to close down on Day 1. After watching it back on the PPV though, I can say it lived up to the insanity that was promised. I never knew how many colors of banana were available in the world.

Standout Moments

The Smoke Cloud

Photo by Joel Hoyte.

During Heretic vs. Stowaway on Day 1, a smoke machine accidentally went off and filled the ring in a mist. Joel's photo captures it perfectly.

Callum From The Forum Pocketchecking Juan

Callum. Photo by Darren Johnson.

Callum has somehow gone from DF forum poster to staff member to something like a folk hero. Soljitsu brought him out to pocketcheck Juan, getting revenge for Juan's previous mid-battle attack.

Funzo & Leanne Collection


Photo by Joel Hoyte.

The battle community truly is a wonderful thing. Musical duo Funzo & Leanne are well-known around Don't Flop for being fans who provide amazing pop song parodies about the battle scene. They recently lost their home through fire damage and the first thing the Don’t Flop community did was arrange a collection to help them, which raised a few hundred dollars throughout the weekend.

The Pre-Party

Photo by The Grime Rap Critic via Facebook.

The event kicked off in typical Sunburn style with an extremely warm pre-party. Three out of the six warm-up battles ended up on the main PPV, including newcomer Diztract going up against Rawwz in his long-awaited tryout, and Frankie Phraser vs. Jaybe. The event was headlined by new 2-on-2 team Danny Jaqq & Sleepy Gee (AKA ... me) against the return of Press1 and the debut of Lenz Wan under the name of Camouflage Children.

These battles are available for purchase individually or as part of the whole event. Get them here.

Photos from Darren Johnson and Joel Hoyte.

Were you there? Let us know your favorite moments in the comments below.

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