"World of Dance" Week 10 Recap: Duelin' It and Duelin' It and Duelin' It

How dramatic have the “World of Dance” Duels rounds been this year?? We’ve seen everything from the elimination of last season’s Junior champ to the bestowing of the show’s first-ever perfect score. And last night’s ep promised to bring the drama, too, with previews teasing a three-way showdown.

So, what actually went down during the third round of Duels? Here are our favorite performances from another highlight-filled episode, plus the final results.

Jaxon Willard

Early favorite Jaxon, an extraordinary contemporary dancer, faced off against charming tapper Lucas Marinetto in the Junior division. While we always love a solid tap performance, Jaxon’s powerful, emotional routine—inspired by his feelings about being given up for adoption—was on a different level, earning a big standing O from the judges.

Jonas and Ruby

Comparing Jonas and Ruby’s fiery tango number to fellow Junior group Freshh’s throwback hip hop is like comparing…well, the dance equivalent of “apples and oranges” is basically “tango and hip hop,” right? Ultimately, the ballroom duo simply brought more intensity to the floor, blazing through their choreo’s lightning-speed footwork—and pulling off a few impressive quick changes, to boot.

FLIP

The Junior Team division featured a three-way, all–hip-hop showdown—and one of the tightest races of the night. Dem Raider Boyz and Cubcakes both put in strong performances (Cubcakes’ was especially impressive given that one of their dancers was injured and unable to perform), but FLIP ended up on top after nailing a complex, choreographically sophisticated routine set to Beethoven’s 5th (!!).

Who else had a good night last night? Poreotics, who beat out Marissa and the Heartbreakers in their duel; The Ruggeds, who outscored Pursuit; and Connection, who squeaked by Funkywunks. Those three Upper Team groups will join Jaxon, Jonas and Ruby, and FLIP in The Cut round. But we still have one more batch of Duels to go. Tune in to NBC next Wednesday night to see how it plays out!