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.