'Cobra Kai' Season 4's new karate champ on what it’s like to be king: ‘I feel so amazing’

The fourth season of Netflix's Cobra Kai includes plenty of twists and turns, especially when it comes to the infamous All Valley Karate Tournament that seems to always be at the heart of the action. So what does the new season’s champ have to say about it all?

**Spoilers ahead for Season 4 of Netflix’s Cobra Kai**

As fans who checked out the two-part finale for Season 4 already know, the tournament included two winners: Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz took the surprise crown as the boys' champion, while Tory Nichols beat out Sam LaRusso to win the girls' tournament. Uproxx caught up with star Jacob Bertrand, who plays Hawk, to dig into what it was like when he learned he’d be one of Cobra Kai’s newest champions.

Just when it seemed like the tournament would come down to another face off between Miguel and Robby, Miguel suffers an injury and decides to drop out of the tournament and head off to Mexico to find his long-lost father. That left Hawk to face off with Robby for the top prize in the boys division, a clash made all the more climactic considering Robby was responsible for shaving off Hawk’s trademark, ya know, mohawk earlier in the season.

Thankfully, Hawk gets his mojo back just in time, channels the teachings he learned at both Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, and manages to knock off Robby in a close match — making him the latest boys champ in the All Valley. Bertrand told Uproxx he was bummed to learn he’d be losing his trademark mohawk, but the writers promised it’d be worth it in the long run. So he basically traded that mohawk for a crown.

“[T]hey’re like, ‘You’ll have a super cool arc in this series from that.’ And going into this season, all of the cast had talked about and placed bets on who would win the tournament, either Robby or Miguel. I heard that, and I thought, ‘I know I’m not going to win the tournament, but it’s really cool that I get to have an interesting arc this season.’ That in itself was enough for me in a season,” he told Uproxx. “I’m glad that I get to have fun, and the writers still trust me enough to give me some stuff to do on the show. Then finding out that I won the tournament, that was such a huge cherry on top because who doesn’t wanna win a tournament? Everyone is so attached to their characters on this show. Everyone’s a little competitive about it. And I’m probably one of the most competitive out of everyone. So me winning was like, ‘Oh my god.’"

Having Hawk win the tournament was definitely a twist, and a welcome one after the expected clash between Miguel and Robby felt so telegraphed from the jump.

Hawk has been on quite a journey as a supporting player in this story, and he finally got a chance to shine as the star, if only for one magnificent moment. We can’t wait to see what the new champ does next.

Cobra Kai Seasons 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix. Season 5 is in the can, but no word on a premiere date yet.