DMC Scratch Championships 2010

The DMC World DJ Championships were held last week at the lofty Koko in Camden.

It's quite a serious and chin-strokey event to uncover the world's best scratch DJs, who are each allowed a six-minute mix in the final, voted on by a panel of judges including Scratch Perverts Mr Thing and Prime Cuts (team winners in 1999).

Across the competition this year there was a marked absence of the kind of showmanship and physical trickery you'd have seen from stars of yesteryear like Craze and Qbert. So with a technically speedy but uninspiring set, DJ LigOne - a very French-looking Frenchman (pictured above) - won the top prize, which included a red Vestax mixer, Technics decks and a DMC bomber. Kireek from Japan took home the team trophy the night before.

This year's competition was notable not for the quality of mixes, but for the announcement made by DMC and Mixmag founder Tony Prince.

He came on stage to report that from next year, Serato manufacturer Rane will be sponsoring DMC - and DJs will be allowed to use Serato in the competition. This moves the championship in a whole new direction, since it means DJs can use the digital mixing system and a laptop instead of getting hands-on with traditional vinyl and all those sticky labels.

Prince said: 'We will always protect true turntablism but the time is right to allow for new technology.' Proving the depth of feeling towards change in the 25-year-old competition, the crowd booed when they heard the news.

Prince's speech was accompanied by a bizarre choreographed pisstake in which another guy hopped on stage dressed just like him, with grey hair, black jeans and tucked-in white T shirt (bless). To lively up proceedings again we had a beatbox performance from some French guy whose name escapes me, followed by a set from the father of mixing GrandWizzard Theodore - who, at one point, wore a silky black eye mask and scratched blind.

Hottest tip for the night was this little beauty I discovered at the merchandise stall. It's the best thing since that four-croissant deal at Greggs.