Arts & Entertainment

Comedy duo Punkbooboo, Tetsuo Sato, left, and Jun Kurose, win the annual Autobacs M-1 Grand Prix 2009 on Sunday. (Mainichi)

Comic duo Punkbooboo won the first prize in the Autobacs M-1 Grand Prix 2009 stand-up comedy championship held on Sunday.

This year, a record 4,629 pairs competed for the No.1 title among young Japanese comedians. It was the first time that the duo, which was formed in 2001 by Tetsuo Sato, 33, and Jun Kurose, 34, made it to the final in the annual Manzai comedy tournament held at TV Asahi in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

The winners were awarded 10 million yen.