With a superpipe win Thursday night, Australian rider Scotty James tied with Shaun White for the most X Games medals of any men’s halfpipe rider. The win was his fourth consecutive superpipe win, and seventh X Games halfpipe title.
James stomped the first triple cork 1440 in X Games history to do so. His 96.33 beat out Japanese riders Yuto Totsuka and Ayumu Hirano.
James came to Aspen fresh off of a gold medal at the Laax Open in Switzerland. It’s been a busy off-season for Scotty: he hired snowboard legend Ross Powers as his coach, wrote a children’s book, and had a baby with his wife Chloe.
Hirano and James were the favorites heading into Thursday night. X Games broadcast announcers Craig McMorris and Brandon Cochran urged viewers at home not to sleep on Yuto Totsuka as well, and they were right.
Totsuka had a massive final run that allowed him to pass Hirano and take over second place in the final. Hirano fell so hard in his first playoff run that X Games medical staff rushed over to him. He popped right back up though, and laid down a run worthy of making it into the final.
In the final, there was little drama. Hirano, who fell on his first finals run, pieced together a gorgeous run that featured a 1260, stylish 900, and a 1440. It was enough to land himself in second place for a short while, until Totsuka overtook that spot.
In his final run, James dropped in switch and kicked his run of with a McTwist. He then landed a cab triple cork 1440, a frontside 1260, a backside 1080 and a switch double 1260. It was an ideal blend of spin-to-win and silky style, and it was enough to hold off the competition for the rest of the night.
“Yeah, give him the gold, “McMorris said after James finished his run with a backside 1280. “Everybody go home. It’s over. It’s over.”
He was right.
Lucas Foster found himself in the final by coming up big when no one else was able to lay down a complete run. The first three contestants had already dropped it, and missed on one of their hits, which led to a minimal score. Foster let off with a 1260 and capped off his run with his signature double McTwist to find himself at the top of the leaderboard, if only temporarily.
In women’s big air, 17-year-old phenom Mia Brooks missed the podium for the first time all season. She was outlasted by Anna Gasser – who laid down a triple cork —Japanese rider Iwabuchi Reira, and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. Defending gold medalist Kokomo Murase also missed the podium, as she failed to land either jump in the final.
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
This X Games is the beginning of the future, of sorts. Much has been made about new CEO Jeremy Bloom‘s efforts to bring the brand into the present day. Gambling was permitted for the first time, though no one mentioned it at the broadcast.
“Owl AI” was also introduced which analyzed rider’s runs on-screen. The execution fell a bit flat, though, as the broadcast enlisted Owl right as Totsuka began his second run. That disrupted the flow of the broadcast and required broadcasters to scramble and announce his run after it was already complete.