SLS Super Crown World Championships 2021

Men’s Skateboard Street Final

As the 2021 season’s #1 top-ranked rider, six-time SLS World Champion Nyjah Huston from Laguna Beach, California, qualified straight into Sunday’s final. In a field of eight riders, the 26-year-old Monster Energy rider went head-to-head against finalists from Australia, Brazil, Portugal, and the United States.

Straight out the gate, the Men’s Street final cranked the competitive level to the max, as Team USA’s Jagger Eaton and Australia’s Shane O’Neill posted Nine Club scores by landing flawless and highly technical runs. As SLS broadcast commentator and seasoned pro skateboarder Geoff Rowley commented: “The standard is going to the moon already!"

No stranger to high-stakes finals, Huston fired back by stringing together a highly technical routine of his own. Starting his Line section run with a burly gap to backside lipslide the kink rail, Huston posted a frontside Smith grind off the quarter pipe top bar, 360 kickflip the kicker, nollie backside 180 nosegrind the Hubba, and gap kickflip backside lipslide the rail. But a misstep on a kickflip frontside boardslide cost the reigning SLS World Champion precious points, cutting his Line score to 6.8 points.

When the action shifted into Best Trick attempts, Huston missed his initial trick attempt and faced mounting pressure to make his remaining three tricks count. No problem for the world’s winningest street skater. On attempt number two, Huston regained his focus by landing a highly technical Caballerial backside noseblunt slide down the Hubba for 9.0 points.

While most of the riders struggled to land tricks under the weight of the official world championships, Huston followed up by landing a massive gap kickflip to backside lipslide the kink rail (9.2 points). He then secured his spot among the four top-ranked riders in the Super Final by posting a clean kickflip frontside boardslide down the kink rail.

With only two more attempts to go, and top competitors such as Eaton and Brazil’s Lucas Rabelo rising to the top with Nine Club scores, Huston needed a huge score to claim the win. He chose the perfect trick by sending a massive switch frontside heelflip lipslide over the kink rail but could not ride away on his remaining attempts. With a total score of 26.2 points, Huston finished the SLS Super Crown World Championship 2021 in fourth place after holding down the top spot for the entire season.

Also making a strong mark in the final, Olympic silver medalist and Monster Energy rider Kelvin Hoefler stoked the crowd with his signature blend of technical street skating. In the Line section, the 28-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, strung together a gap to backside lipslide the kink rail, noseblunt on the bank, gap to backside noseblunt slide the rail, nollie frontside nosegrind the Hubba, Caballerial backside tailslide fakie the flat rail, and frontside kickflip the quarter pipe.

But a fall on a kickflip crooked grind ended up cutting Hoefler’s line score to 7.1 points, sending him into Best Trick attempts under pressure. He managed to recover by sticking a gap kickflip to backside lipslide the rail for 8.8 points and a difficult frontside kickflip lipslide in the same spot for 8.8 points. But a harsh slam on a gap to sugarcane grind on the rail during his fourth attempt set Hoefler back far enough to finish the final in fifth place.

Earlier in Saturday’s Qualifiers, 15-year-old Monster Army rider Filipe Mota held his own as the youngest competitor in an elite field. His Line section highlights included gap to frontside feeble the rail and gap kickflip backside tailslide the Hubba for 4.9 points. In Best Trick, Mota finessed a perfect kickflip backside tailslide shove-it down the Hubba for 8.0 points to end his season with a strong showing.

Speaking of a strong showing, French Monster Energy team rider and Olympics skateboarder Aurelien Giraud had the crowd on its feet. In the Line section, the 23-year-old from Lyon put down a huge gap to frontside feeble the rail, frontside air into the bank, nollie backside lipslide the flat rail, hardflip down the stairs, gap kickflip backside lipslide the rail and a huge 360 kickflip for 7.0 points. In Best Trick, Giraud maintained his momentum by landing a 360 kickflip 50-50 grind the tall Hubba for 8.0 points, followed by the day’s biggest hammer: An ultra-technical gap hardflip to frontside boardslide netted the French powerhouse a 9.5-point score. With a total score to 25.5 points, Giraud emerged from the high-pressure qualifiers in fifth place, missing Sunday’s final by one place.

A big thank you to the entire team at Street League Skateboarding (SLS) for bringing back the SLS Championship Tour after a year-long hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.