France's Mejdi Schalck pushed Sorato Anraku closer than any climber has managed in twelve months at the opening Boulder World Cup of 2026 in Keqiao, with both men topping all four semi-final problems before Anraku's lower attempt count edged a near-flawless duel.
The semi-final scorecard read 99.6 to Anraku and 99.2 to Schalck, separated by the kind of fractional margin that has defined the modern boulder format. No other climber in the field came close. Tomoa Narasaki, the second-most decorated competitor in the men's discipline, finished third with a clear gap behind the top two.
For Schalck, the result represents the strongest season-opening performance of his career and a signal that France's challenge to the Japanese boulder dynasty is no longer theoretical. The 22-year-old has spent the past eighteen months refining a power-and-balance style that suits the increasingly compression-heavy route-setting trend on the World Cup circuit.
Anraku, who took his third consecutive overall Boulder title in 2025, was characteristically understated about his Keqiao performance.
"On the first boulder my performance was so bad, but the others were good," he said. "I like crimps so the second was probably my favourite. I'm constantly trying to hone my skills."
That assessment glossed over the fact that Anraku's "bad" first boulder still produced a top, with the only difference between him and the rest of the field being the number of attempts required. The semi-final structure rewards efficiency as well as outcome, and Anraku's Keqiao performance demonstrated both.
Schalck's path through the round was equally efficient. The Frenchman's score of 99.2 was the second-best produced by any climber in any World Cup boulder semi-final since the format was tweaked ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic cycle. It also extended a recent run of strong performances in Asia, where Schalck has historically struggled to convert qualifier momentum into final-round results.
The broader story of the men's semi was the depth of the field behind the top two. South Korea's Dohyun Lee and China's Yufei Pan rounded out the top five, both producing scores that would have won several smaller World Cup events outright in previous seasons. The competition gap between the two leaders and the rest of the world has narrowed at the top while expanding in raw performance terms.
The rebranded World Climbing Series circuit will move next to Salt Lake City, where Schalck will be expected to mount a continued challenge against the Japanese contingent. The Frenchman's Keqiao result puts him into early-season prominence in the discipline standings, and the coming weeks will test whether his form can be sustained across the longer season.
For Anraku, the message from Keqiao is that even his closest contemporary cannot quite catch him on attempts. The 18-year-old's combination of efficiency and tactical patience is what separates him from a field that is otherwise within touching distance, and Schalck's near-flawless semi-final ultimately could not bridge the gap.
The two will meet again in Salt Lake City. Schalck will need a different kind of performance, and Anraku will need to remain the most efficient climber in the field.
