X-Games Slopestyle Breakdown

X-Games slopestyle qualifiers (men) - An analyzing breakdown

RUN 1

Alex Bellemare switch left tails over 270, pretzel 270 out on the hand rail switch left 540 on the wallride left 450 disaster, pretzel 450 out on the middle flat-down rail right dub 1260 mute switch left dub 1260 double japan left dub 1260 safety

86.00 points

No flaws whatever to speak of, fair score even for first run of the event. One of the best runs of the day, highlights being the incredibly hard and risky 4 pretz 4 on the flat-down, a trick rarely seen in a contest run, and 3 perfect and diverse dub 12 variations.

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand switch right 180 to right 180 on the wallride switch left (slight cork) 540 high up on the wallride left cork 450 disaster on the middle flat-down rail, to switch switch right dub 1080 japan switch left dub misty 1260 safety left dub misty 1080 double safety

78.00 points [Jacob's score: 88.00]

Visionary slopestyle run from the young Canadian. How this didn't score in the high 80s is totally beyond me. Compared to Bellemare, ABM gets off-axis on the 2nd wallride and on the 450 disaster on the flat-down, making his rail line more interesting, albeit not as technical compared to Bellemare's 4 pretz 4, but should be rewarded higher for the uniqueness. Jump line is at a whole new level, with two seldomly seen rotations, higher amplitude and more risk-taking. Only weak trick is the first wallride where he could have done something more technical. One could argue that he comes off early on the flat- down, but his skis are in fact sliding it to the end, and coming off the end with your bodyweight slightly on one side should not effect the score.

Oystein Braaten crash score

Evan McEachran right nosebutter 270, 270 out on the hand rail switch left 270 disaster to forward on the flat-down rail right 450 disaster on the middle flat-down rail, to forward left dub 1080 mute right dub 1260 safety switch left dub misty 1260 mute

60.66 points [Jacob's score: 72.00)

The competition's first severe under-score. Evan had some minor issues, including having to fight to make it to the end of the 3rd rail, and overall not looking as clean as the other competitors on the rails, as well as opening up at the very end of his switch dub misty 12. Still, I think this score should make it into the 70's because of the relative uniqueness of the bottom jump trick (very few athletes do the switch misty), and despite not being perfectly clean on the rails he didn't come off early or mess anything up. If athletes are not allowed to make minor mistake we will never see progression happen. Nosebutter on the first rail should be rewarded higher.

Antti Olilla left lip 270 to forward on the down tube surface swap to switch on the down rail switch 270 disaster to forward on the right flat-down right dub underflip tail switch left dub 1260 mute left dub 1080 safety

49.66 points

Not the cleanest, or the most technical run for Antti, and the low score is justified.

Oscar Wester right 270 pretzel 270 on the hand rail left 270 onto the wallride left 450 disaster, 270 out of the middle flat-down rail left nosebutter dub 1260 japan switch right dub 1260 mute right dub 1260 safety

64.00 [Jacob's score: 70.00]

Oscar gets a little bit unlucky on the first rail, catching his edge after the landing but manages to keep it together. Opinions may differ on how to judge it, personally I don't think it warrants more than a 5p deduction, as it happens in between features. The rest of the run is basically flawless except a slight underrotation on the first jump, forcing him to lift his foot a few inches off the ground, but his hand never touches the snow. A few small mistakes but in no way should this be in the 60s.

Jesper Tjäder right 270 onto the wallride right 270 transfer disaster on the flat-down rail backflip 90 disaster on the middle flat-down rail to switch switch right dub 1080 mute switch left dub 900 japan right dub 1620 mute

69.00 [Jacob's score: 74.00]

Tough run to judge. In my mind Jesper could have done something more technical on the first feature, a straight air into a 270 onto the wallride doesn't belong at the X Games in 2015. He then does another right 270 onto the flat-down, which seems a bit repetitive, but to his defense he takes an alternative approach by transferring from the far left kicker, making the gap huge. The backflip disaster is impressive and most likely scary, but shouldn't be scored high for difficulty. The reason for this is that you don't have to spin, which makes the aim much easier than for the 450 guys. However, I'd still score it high for creativity. On the jumps he is flawless on the first 2, but has to sacrifice his grab on the last 900 of his 1620, which he loses points for. Only spins left once. 69 points seems a bit harsh, I think despite the run's weaknesses it should belong in the 70s.

Alex Schlopy switch right 180 to right 270 on the wallride lipslide to switch on the wallride switch right 270, pretzel 270 out on the middle flat-down rail switch right bio 1080 safety switch left dub 900 japan right dub 1260 tail

54.66.

Schlopy, plagued by a sore hip, puts down a safe, but relatively mellow run. Lands backseat on the 2nd jump and keeps the rails on the basic side. Fair score.

Bobby Brown crash score

Tom Wallisch right 270 to forward on the hand rail left lip 450 on the down rail switch left 450 disaster on the right flat-down rail left dub 1260 mute switch right dub 1080 japan switch left dub 1080 double japan

72.00 [Jacob's score: 69.00]

A slight over-score in my opinion. Tom comes off early on the first rail where he most certainly meant to set up for a pretzel 270 but is forced to abort mission and come off straight, then nearly overshoots the second rail, only tapping the very end with his left ski. Seems to struggle with the grab on the bottom jump. A highly technical run with solid jump tricks, but if the judges were so hard on the rails on Evan McEachrans and Oscar Wester's runs, this should also be in the 60s.

James Woods switch left tails over 270 to forward on the down tube right 270, 270 out on the down rail switch right 270 disaster, 270 out on the right flat-down rail left dub 1080 safety right dub 1260 tail switch right dub 1080 octograb

81.66 [Jacob's score: 80.00]

Woodsy throws down a solid run with no mistakes on the rails, but keeps it fairly simple up top. On the jumps however, he gets technical with big grabs and the best switch dub 10 in the industry. Only minor thing is his lack of amplitude on the bottom jump where scrubs the takeoff a tiny bit and goes a little bit smaller than others. In my opinion a little overscored for this run, but not by much.

Henrik Harlaut crash score

Mcrae Williams switch left 360, to switch right 180 on the wallride right 270, 270 out on the down rail switch left 270 disaster, 270 out on the middle flat-down rail left nosebutter dub 1260 safety switch right dub 1080 safety switch left dub 1440 tail

75.66 [Jacob's score: 83.00]

Super tech run by Mcrae, without a single mistake, which makes the 75 point score hard to understand. Only downside I can see is the relatively simple trick on the first wallride, where he doesn't go as big as his competitors due to losing speed after the switch 360. Two safety grabs on the jumps should be a factor but it doesn't warrant a big deduction, especially not since he is one out of only 3 athletes doing a nosebutter double cork. The best trick today on the bottom jump outweighs the relatively simple rails.

Gus Kenworthy switch right lip 270 to switch on the down tube switch left 540 on the wallride left 450 disaster, 270 out on the right flat-down rail left dub 1080 tail right dub 1260 mute switch left dub 1080 japan

77.00 [Jacob's score: 81.00] No mistakes and high technicality + execution in Gus' run, I'm not sure how he didn't get into the 80s. Tail grab on the dub 1080 should be rewarded higher, it's an awkward rotation/grab combo.

Joss Christensen left 270, 270 out on the hand rail switch right 270, pretzel 270 out on the down rail switch left 270 disaster, 270 out on the middle flat-down rail left dub 1260 mute switch right dub 1080 safety switch left dub 1080 tail

88.00 [Jacob's score: 82.66]

Joss is keeping it fairly simple on the rails, with a total of six 270s on and off, only one being to the right. Switch 270 disaster seems too easy for a score in the high 80s. Solid jumps, should end up right in between Gus and Mcrae.

Nick Goepper switch right 180 to right 540 on the wallride switch left 360 on the wallride switch left 270 disaster on the middle flat-down rail switch right dub 900 double japan left dub 1080 rev tail right dub 1260 mute to japan

76.00

Nick gets technical on the wallrides, but comes off a little bit early on the switch 270 disaster. The jumps are flawless and he has great grab variety, but gets punished for his one mistake on the 3rd rail. Fair score.

Judges' scoreboard after run 1 of 2: Jacob's scoreboard after run 1 of 2:

Joss Christensen 88.00 Alex Beaulieu-Marchand 88.00 Alex Bellemare 86.00 Alex Bellemare 86.00 James Woods 81.66 Mcrae Williams 83.00 Alex Beaulieu-Marchand 78.00 Joss Christensen 82.66 Gus Kenworthy 77.00 Gus Kenworthy 81.00 Nick Goepper 76.00 James Woods 80.00 Mcrae Williams 75.66 Nick Goepper 76.00 Tom Wallisch 72.00 Jesper Tjäder 74.00

So far it's fairly even, a few anomalies stand out, the most obvious one being ABM's low 78 for a run that in my opinion is one of the most interesting slopestyle runs ever. Overall, the judges seem to hand out a few extra points for being North American or having prior contest wins. The only exception is Bellemare who deserved his high score, something that is rare to see this early in a contest.

RUN 2 Alex Bellemare switch left tails over 270, pretzel 270 out on the hand rail switch left 540 on the wallride left 450 disaster, pretzel 450 out on the middle flat-down rail right dub 1260 mute switch left dub 1260 double japan left dub 1260 safety

Keeps his first score of 86.00.

Same run again, went slightly higher up on the wallride, but opened up slightly on the 2nd jump. Didn't get the best grab on the bottom jump.

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand crash score.

Keeps his first score of 78.00.

Oystein Braaten switch left tails over 270, pretzel 270 out on the down tube switch right tails over 270 to forward on the down rail left 450 disaster 270 out on the middle flat-down rail left dub 1260 tail switch right dub 1080 safety switch left dub 1260 mute

61.00 [Jacob's score: 82.00]

The strangest score so far in the competition. After reviewing Oystein's run 3 times, I fail to understand what warrants such a huge deduction in the judge panel's eyes. Matching the switch left and right tails over 270s on the first rails is impressive tech-wise, the 450 disaster is on lock, and he gets three different grabs on the jumps, the left dub 1260 being one of the better ones in the contest, tail grab held the whole way. Obviously we are missing something from the camera angles. The only plausible explanation for such a low score is the relatively low amplitude he gets on jump 3, but in no way, shape or form is this a low 60.

Evan McEachran crash score.

Keeps his first score of 60.66

Antti Olilla crash score.

Keeps his first score of 49.66 points

Oscar Wester right 270 to forward on the hand rail left 270 on the wallride left 450 disaster, 270 out on the middle flat-down rail left nosebutter dub 1260 japan switch right dub 1260 mute right dub 1260 safety

66.66 [Jacob's score: 78.00]

Yet another highly questionable score for Oscar, who for his second run polishes up his rails, as well as his landing on the 1st jump. Only minor mistake is the slight underrotation on jump 2, which is the only thing holding him back from the 80s. Steps back from the 270 pretzel 270 and chooses to leave the pretzel out, which is also a factor, but everything else is flawless.

Jesper Tjäder crash score.

Keeps his first score of 69.00.

Alex Schlopy crash score.

Keeps his first score of 54.66.

Bobby Brown switch left tails over 270, 270 out on the down tube. left 270, 270 out on the down rail switch right disaster 270, 270 out of the right flat-down rail right dub 1080 safety left dub 1260 mute switch left dub 1080 japan

83.33 [Jacob's score: 79.66]

Fairly stock run from Bobby, but keeps everything very clean and controlled. Nothing really stands out but he makes no mistakes and goes big on the jumps. Only downside is no pretzels on the rails, only continuing 270s, which in my opinion should give him a lower score. Head judge Mike Atkinson is talking about how the judges were comparing Bobby's run to Woodsy's, and ended up giving Bobby the advantage due to "better flow, and better grabs". I beg to differ, Woodsy's grabs (tail on the 1260, octo on the switch dub 10), should definitely score higher than Bobby's safety, mute and japan. Woodsy also went bigger on jump 1 and 2.

Tom Wallisch right 270, pretzel 270 out on the hand rail left lip 450 on the down rail switch left 450 disaster on the right flat-down rail left dub 1260 mute switch right dub 1080 japan switch left dub 1080 double japan

89.66

Very impressive run by Tom, with probably the most technical rail section of the whole event. Rightside (unnatural for Tom) 270, pretzel 270, and the lip 450 definitely adds to his score, and this time he gets all the grabs and goes bigger on the jumps. Fair score, and a worthy leader.

Keeps his first score of 81.66 [Jacob's score: 83.66]

Repeats his first run but adds the extra amplitude he needed and gets his octo grab much better (grabs closer to the tips) on the last jump. Comes off slightly on his noses on the second rail but holds on until the end and gets his 270 out. Should definitely improve his score.

Henrik Harlaut switch left 180 to right 270 on the wallride left 270 on the wallride left 450 safety disaster on the middle flat-down rail switch right dub 900 double japan left nosebutter dub 1260 tail switch left dub 900 safety

82.33

Henrik gets extra points up top for going the biggest on the second wallride, getting all the way up on the coping. Nosebutter dub 12 tail should score high too. A little bit surprising the judges didn't punish him more for opening up so much on the bottom jump, as well as doing two 900s in his run, in a field where at least two 12s and a 10 seems to be the standard. Still a fair score.

Mcrae Williams switch left 360, to switch right 180 on the wallride right 270, 270 out on the down rail switch left 450 disaster on the middle flat-down left nosebutter dub 1260 safety switch right dub 1080 safety switch left dub 1440 tail

Keeps his first score of 75.66

Gus Kenworthy crash score.

Keeps his first score of 77.00

Keeps his first score of 88.00

Nick Goepper crash score.

Keeps his first score of 76.00

Judges' scoreboard after run 2 of 2: Jacob's scoreboard after run 2 of 2:

Tom Wallisch 89.66 Tom Wallisch 89.66 Joss Christensen 88.00 Alex Beaulieu-Marchand 88.00 Alex Bellemare 86.00 Alex Bellemare 86.00 Bobby Brown 83.33 James Woods 83.66 Henrik Harlaut 82.33 Mcrae Williams 83.00 James Woods 81.66 Joss Christensen 82.66 Alex Beaulieu-Marchand 78.00 Henrik Harlaut 82.33 Gus Kenworthy 77.00 Oystein Braaten 82.00

Nick Goepper 76.00 Gus Kenworthy 81.00 Mcrae Williams 75.66 Bobby Brown 79.66 Jesper Tjäder 69.00 Oscar Wester 78.00 Oscar Wester 66.66 Nick Goepper 76.00 Oystein Braaten 61.00 Jesper Tjäder 74.00 Evan McEachran 60.66 Evan McEachran 60.66 Alex Schlopy 54.66 Alex Schlopy 54.66 Antti Olilla 49.66 Antti Olilla 49.66

To conclude, the big losers here are obviously Oystein Braaten and Mcrae Williams. Besides them, it's all a lottery but as you can hopefully tell I have been doing my best to break down who should be in the top 8, and in what order they should be in, and most importantly, why. At times, I get the impression that the judges are focusing intensely on minor mistakes, such as waving an arm or coming off an inch early on a rail, while completely missing other nuances that I think should boost their scores, such as which grabs are easier (or harder) in certain tricks, left/right spinning on rails, etc. I also believe unique and rare tricks, such as ABM's dub misty, woodsy's octo grab, and Mcrae's switch dub 14, should be rewarded higher than the stock dub cork 10/12 with mute grabs. Hopefully this has brought some light on how I think, and why judging freeskiing is so incredibly difficult. Thans for reading!