King of Gate



King of Gate is an annual singles tournament held in Dragon Gate. It is designed to determine the strongest singles fighter of the year. It is the successor to El Numero Uno from Toryumon Japan. Where El Numero Uno was a round-robin tournament, King of Gate uses the single-elimination format.

The tournament was originally used at the end of the year, taking place over the course of the last December shows. Following a hiatus in 2009 due to the Generation Warfare, the tournament was moved to Spring in 2010. On 2016 it was adopted a new system for the King of Gate and it is a Round Robin tournament that contains four blocks.

Tournament Winners

 * 2005: Ryo Saito
 * 2006: Masaaki Mochizuki
 * 2007: Gamma
 * 2008: Naruki Doi
 * 2010: Shingo Takagi
 * 2011: BxB Hulk
 * 2012: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!
 * 2013: Ricochet
 * 2014: Jimmy Susumu
 * 2015: Masato Yoshino
 * 2016: YAMATO

2005 King of Gate
The first King of Gate tournament took place over the course of five days from December 23-25, 2005. Virtually every member of the Dragon Gate roster participated, so a select few were given byes into the second round.

2006 King of Gate
The second King of Gate tournament took place over the course of four days from December 10-22, 2006. The number of participants was diminished with only Ryo Saito, last year's winner, receiving an automatic bye into the second round. Dick Togo became the first outsider to participate in the tournament. Kouji Shishido won a fan vote to be included in the tournament.

2007 King of Gate
The third King of Gate Tournament took place over the course of seven days from December 1-9, 2007. The previous year's winner, Masaaki Mochizuki, no longer received an automatic bye into the second round. Austin Aries became the first gaijin to participate in the tournament.

The tournament ended in controversy when Gamma was declared winner by default due to CIMA's inability to continue after taking numerous kicks to the groin. Dragon Kid, who himself lot to Gamma by less than honorable means, demanded a rematch with Gamma and won, though he is not recognized as the winner of the tournament.

2008 King of Gate
The fourth King of Gate Tournament took place over the course of six days from December 2-19, 2008. Shingo Takagi was scheduled to participate, but decided to pull out as he was the reigning Open The Dream Gate Champion at the time. His spot would be filled by outsider Madoka, who won a battle royal on November 29 to earn entry.

Ryo Saito legitimately injured his right arm during his first round match with BxB Hulk. It was severe enough for the referee to call the match.

Naoki Tanizaki's ringout loss to Don Fujii in the second round was caused by an intrusion from Cyber Kong.

2010 King of Gate
The fifth King of Gate Tournament took place over the course of five days from April 3-14, 2010. While he was a part-time member of the Dragon Gate roster at the time, Takuya Sugawara was still listed as an outsider.

2011 King of Gate
The sixth King of Gate Tournament took place over the course of six days from May 12-21, 2011.

2012 King of Gate
The seventh King of Gate Tournament will take place over the course of six days from May 10-19, 2012. CIMA was scheduled to participate, but agreed to pull out and be replaced by Eita Kobayashi, who wanted to enter the tournament as his prize for winning the King of Chop tournament on April 19, 2012.

2013 King of Gate
The 2013 King of Gate tournament, a sixteen man tournament, took take place from May 10 to May 25, covering seven shows.

2014 King of Gate
The 2014 King of Gate tournament, a sixteen man tournament, took take place from May 9 to May 31, covering nine shows.

2015 King of Gate
The 2015 King of Gate tournament, a sixteen man tournament, took take place from May 8 to May 30, covering seven shows.

2016 King of Gate
The 2016 King of Gate tournament, a round robin tournament, featuring 4 blocks and will take place from May 8 to June 12, covering twenty shows.

1. This match ended in a double count out and none of them received points.