What a rip-roaring bodybuilding show was celebrated at the EVLS Prague Pro. The fans throughout the Czech Republic lost their minds as Michal Križo emerged victorious. The sheer size of Michael was enough to leave people dumbfounded. This Top 6 Olympian definitely brought it to the show, once dominated by Martin Fitzwater. There was pandemonium all throughout the streets of Prague. This small European country was treated to one of the most intense battles in physique based sports. People were out of their seats, their hands up in the air like they just didn’t care, it was wild. The promoters couldn’t have asked for a better contest and the judges had their work cut out for them. We’re talking about some serious competition. These competitors brought it. They worked hard and they paid their dues. They posed in the mirror and they posed hard on stage. But in the end, it would be Michael who would emerge victorious. And this was no surprise to me. Was it a surprise to you? I ask, knowing full well that many of you will say that you never expected this in a million years. But that is how exciting bodybuilding is.
A lot of times what you think is going to happen happens but sometimes it doesn’t. Because every single man that takes the stage could be a winner. After all, every single man on that stage was a professional bodybuilder. Now I know that with other divisions it may be a little easier to get a pro card. I know that I’m going to catch some heat for saying that, but it’s the truth. For example, I suspect it’s a lot easier to get a pro card in say bikini, or maybe men’s physique, but bodybuilding remains the flagship division. And as such, any professional bodybuilder has earned that pro card through a lot of hard work. They have earned it more than likely after cutting their teeth on less than stellar placings and come back better and better. This is because this is what you have to do. This is what the talking heads and superfans call the business of bodybuilding. So, was I surprised that Michael won? I wasn’t surprised, but I was expecting the unexpected. You always have to expect the unexpected in bodybuilding.
So what did Michael do from the Olympia to Prague? Well I’ll tell you what he did, he didn’t skip a beat. A lot of times the competitors will totally fall off the wagon after the Olympia. And they deserve it after all, I mean we’re talking about the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. When competitors go to Las Vegas many of them prep the whole year. Forget about 12 to 16 weeks, I’m talking the full 52 weeks. I’m talking the very next day after an Olympia they might have a cheeseburger and fries and they’re right back at it. Because it’s that important. So, when Krizo earned Top 6, I would have imagined that he would have gone on an eating binge for 2 weeks. Ice cream, pizza, cheeseburgers, you name it, he would eat it. I mean that’s what I would have thought, but that’s not what happened. Looking at this phenomenal competitor take the stage in Prague, made me think that Krizo probably had maybe a day or two of bad eating and he was right back doing his cardio, eating his prepared meals, and probably posing hard in the mirror. That’s exactly what he did in the Czech Republic. He got on that stage against top competition and he posed hard. He posed the same way that he was posing when he was up against Nick Walker, Derek Lunsford, and of course the Great Andrew Jacked. The reality of the matter is that, this is what you have to do to win. You don’t ease up for different shows. You pose hard every single show. Because you never know what the judges can see and what they can’t. Just because you can see the judges clearly from the stage doesn’t always mean they can see you. Plus, you have to factor in tan color, lighting, as well as glare and other factors. Michael is a seasoned professional. He’s keen on all of these seemingly minor details. It’s those minor details, however, that decide champions.
Let me tell you the competition was tough. For example, Pavel Beran (2nd) and Josef Kveton (3rd) hit the ground running. These guys didn’t know that this show was supposed to be won by Michael. And in their purview they were going to win. That’s exactly how you have to operate when you’re competing against the Top 6 Olympians. I mean, after the Olympia everybody probably thought that Michael was going to go in there and win in his sleep. But these two guys, in particular, presented fierce resistance. They were battling pose after pose. Whether it was the most muscular, the side chest, the rear double biceps, it didn’t matter. They were trying to win as many poses as they could. Like I said, these competitors brought their game. These competitors made the judges have their work cut out for them. They didn’t care what Michael did in Las Vegas. Las Vegas was Las Vegas, this was Prague baby! And in Prague there was going to be a battle the likes of which hadn’t been seen since World War II.
And who benefits from that? Who benefits from seeing competitors fight hard? And it’s not like it was just these three guys. Take Balazs Koczfan, he brought tremendous size and looked almost as good as Josef. These guys were definitely on the ball. Their coaches, their corner everybody was pushing them hard to take the win. Imagine the bragging rights of winning a contest that featured a Top 6 Olympian fresh off of the Olympia? I mean you’re talking about bragging rights that could totally transform a competitor’s entire career. I mean no disrespect to Michael, but for him to throw his hat into Prague and not win, that would almost be the equivalent of a Mr. Olympia going to the Arnold Classic and losing. It just shouldn’t happen. It’s a very bad look. That’s why I said earlier in the article that I wasn’t surprised that Michael won it all because this was not supposed to be an easy show. In the 80s and 90s the Olympians used to go on European Grand Prix tours. A lot of times those shows were essentially glorified posing exhibitions with titles attached to them. Very seldom, if ever, would a Top 3 Olympian ever get unseated. The placings were pretty much the same and they would flip-flop maybe at the third, fourth or fifth places. But the Prague Pro was not one of these grand prix shows from yesteryear. This is a formidable show. I would put it in the same category as the contest in Dubai, maybe as well as the contest in the United Kingdom or Germany. The Prague Pro has really come up the ranks over time. It has drawn out big names like Martin, Samson, and Chris Bumstead. This is a major show and if you’re going to do this contest, you had better bring your A game. And that’s exactly what Michael did. The competition was not going to miss the opportunity to catch the big man while he was off guard.
And Michael is very much a big man. I don’t call him a big man in the same context as I call Nick Walker a big man though. Because Michael is more in the category of a Samson or an Andrew. He is big, but he’s aesthetic. He has great proportions and great symmetry. Even though he is a tower of power he still has tremendous balance. So, all the more reason why beating a guy like this on a stage like Prague could totally have changed any of these guys’ careers. Even though Michael won, the competition is still getting a feather in their cap because they held their own against him. It’s not like Michael just walked in there and dominated everyone. I’m sure that could happen elsewhere, but it didn’t happen here. All of the guys I mentioned, including some others, did very well. In fact, I’ll mention another name who I was very impressed with and that is Krystian Wolski. His fans were going crazy for him, shouting his last name almost like fans used to shout “RUHL!!!” for Markus Ruhl back in the day.
These guys have cheering sections and those cheering sections are proud of their competitors because they put in the work. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see it. You just look at them and you can see they did their homework. And not only could they see it, and not only could the judges see it, but I suspect Michael could see it also. I think Michael appreciated the fact that he faced serious competition. Nobody wants to walk into a contest and stand next to a bunch of flabby guys that didn’t take it seriously. I think everybody won here, especially the fans.
Also, Michael gets major kudos by qualifying as early as possible for 2027. This show was basically a week after the ’26 Olympia. So now this Top 6 Olympian can prepare for an entire year for the 2027 O. That’s massive. Now is he going to do that? Probably not because competitors nowadays want to compete as much as possible. There is a certain level of respect that I give to those competitors, but I have always been of the opinion that once you qualify, you don’t compete anymore and you focus 100% of your efforts on the following year’s Olympia. That doesn’t have to be the case for everybody, It should be the case for a Top 6 Olympian, however. Michael has all the tools in his arsenal to be the best bodybuilder in the world and after this very impressive victory in Prague, definitely puts him on the proverbial map.
Do you agree that Michael should have won the Prague Pro? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here at IronMag. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
