As we posted yesterday, Nyah Huston took out the win at the first Street League event in Phoenix, Arizona. ESPN have some great behind the scenes footage on their website (below) that doesn’t give away too much from the event as it is due to air in full on ESPN2 in the coming weeks. Shane O’Neill walks out of event one US97,000 richer after taking into account two bonuses for best tricks (Line section: Nollie Backside Heel over the gap then Switch 360 Flip down the stairs. Tech Section: Nollie Kickflip Noseslide 270 shove-it… Yup) as well as the peer voted ‘Zumiez 24/7’ award which was US$7000. Chris Cole took out best overall trick for his gap out to frontside 180 switch backside feeble on the kinked rail. There’s a tonne of detail below as well as some footage… Enjoy!
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PRESS RELEASE:
PHOENIX, Arizona – In front of 6500 screaming fans at Phoenix’s Jobing.com Arena, Nyjah Huston captured the first stop of $1.2 million Street League DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy. Non-stop consistency was the key to Huston’s victory as he edged out five other contenders that all had a shot to win in their final trick (Nyjah only missed 5 tricks out of all 4 sections of the finals). Ultimately, Huston fought off Shane O’Neill (age 20) to win the $150,000 first place prize and assume the overall tour lead. O’Neill and Huston were the final two professionals to sign exclusively to Street League’s roster of twenty-four.
Watch Saturday’s action on ESPN2 on Wednesday, September 15th at 8PM ET. The Street League Tour now moves to stop number two at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. on Sept. 11. Detailed results and ticket information are available at www.streetleague.com.
Street League’s introduction of the instant scoring experience proved itself on Saturday as spectators were on the edge of their seats from the first trick to the very last. Fans cheered every step of the way as each skater one-upped each other leaderboard. The event reached a climax in the fourth and final “big” section. With only attempt remaining, five of the seven skaters still had an ability to win the record first place prize. Down by 8.2 points on the last trick of the entire event, Shane O’neill switch three sixty kick flipped the double-set of stairs and jumped from fifth place all the way into second with a 7.0 score, missing the win by only one and one tenth of a point. It was Nyjah’s gap out to kick flip frontside board slide that solidified the $150,00 win. Shane O’Neil took home $97,000 with two best trick bonuses and the Zumiez 24/7 $7000 cash prize that all the pros voted for.
Prior to his Street League victory, the talented Huston had largely occupied the second place spot on the winner’s podium, but moved into the forefront of the skateboarding world on Saturday night. “It felt so good to finally win,” said the fifteen-year-old prodigy. “The format was great. It really brought out the best skateboarding.”
Dyrdek, who has spent the past six years of his life working to bring Street League to fruition, kicked off the event by turning off the lights in the arena and introducing the seven finalists to the roaring crowd as the course illuminated. “Saturday was simply a dream come true for me. It would not have been possible without the support from our best pros and the undeniable entertainment that an instant scoring format brings to skateboarding contests,” says the Street League creator. “Beyond anything it was the best skateboarding I have ever witnessed in my life.”
Six of the Street League’s seven finalists qualified via Friday’s preliminary rounds where all 24 elite participants were split into four heats. Skating in the final group, Cole was dominant, racking up 83 points to runner-up Shane O’Neill’s 79.1, to lead all scorers. Torey Pudwill (age 20, Simi Valley, Calif.) squeaked into the finals during the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) held immediately prior to Saturday’s finals, to win the last remaining slot. Pudwill landed all seven consecutive tricks on the big section en route to a LCQ high score of 33.3. Pudwill would go on to skate his way into third place with 112.8 points.
Final Results:
(1) Nyjah Huston – 116 points
(2) Shane O’Neill – 114.9 points
(3) Torey Pudwill – 112.8 points
(4) Sean Malto – 111.0 points
(5) Chris Cole – 109.6 points
(6) Chaz Ortiz – 102.2 points
(7) Paul Rodriguez – 100.1 points
Best Trick Bonus Breakdown:
Creative Section: Peter Ramondetta – Ollie Impossible 50/50, 6.2 pts ($5000)
Line Section: Shane O’Neill – Nollie Backside Heel over the gap then Switch 360 Flip down the stairs, 6.3 pts ($5000)
Tech Section: Shane O’Neill – Nollie Kickflip Noseslide 270 shove-it – 6.9 pts ($5000)
Big Section: Tie between Chris Cole and Nyjah Huston (7.5 pts each). Chris Cole gap out to 180 switch feeble. Nyjah Huston gap out to big spin flip boardslide. In the event of a tie, the next best trick determines the bonus. Chris Cole’s three sixty flip 50-50 on the big section hubba edged out Nyjah’s second best trick. ($5000)
Overall Best Trick: Chris Cole gap out to FS 180 switch bs feeble on the kinked rail. ($5000)
See how it really went down on ESPN2 on September 15th at 5PM PT, 8PM ET!
