Monster Energy congratulates freeski and snowboard team riders on claiming victories and podium finishes in key disciplines at the LAAX OPEN 2025 on Crap Sogn Gion mountain in Switzerland this weekend.
LAAX, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --
- Birk Ruud from Norway Takes 1st Place in Men's Ski Slopestyle, Alex Hall Finishes in 3rd Place
- Full Podium Sweep in Women's Snowboard Slopestyle: Mia Brookes (1st Place), Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (2nd Place), Kokomo Murase (3rd Place)
- Canadian Team Rider Megan Oldham Claims 2nd Place in Women's Ski Slopestyle
- Women's Snowboard Halfpipe: Chloe Kim Earns Dominant Victory, Gaon Choi Finishes in 3rd Place
- Ayumu Hirano from Japan Takes 3rd Place in Men's Snowboard Halfpipe
Epic wins at the iconic LAAX OPEN! Monster Energy congratulates freeski and snowboard team riders on claiming victories and podium finishes in key disciplines at the LAAX OPEN 2025 on Crap Sogn Gion mountain in Switzerland this weekend.
In the Men's Ski Slopestyle final on Friday, 24-year-old from Baerum, Norway clinched the win in a competitive field. He was joined on the podium by 26-year-old from Park City, Utah. The Women's Ski Slopestyle final saw 23-year-old from Parry Sound, Canada, take second place.
On Saturday, the high-stakes Women's Snowboard Slopestyle final ended with a full podium sweep for team Monster Energy: 18-year-old from Sandbach, United Kingdom, claimed first place, 23-year-old Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from W膩naka, New Zealand, took second place, and 20-year-old from Gifu, Japan, finished in third place.
Also on Saturday, the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe final in front of 10,000 spectators saw the return of the Queen of the Superpipe, 24-year-old Chloe Kim from Los Angeles, California, to the winner's circle with a dominant victory. Kim was joined on the podium by 16-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, who landed in third place. The Men's Snowboard Halfpipe final concluded with 26-year-old from Murakami, Japan, in third place.
From January 14 to 18, the annual LAAX OPEN showcased the world's best freestyle snowboarders in halfpipe and slopestyle competitions, as well as freeski slopestyle. Now in its tenth edition, the contest has hosted A-list riders at the award-winning resort in the Swiss mountains. This year, almost 300 riders from across the globe competed in the official World Cup event sanctioned by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Fans also enjoyed music performances by Annie Taylor, Phenomden, and MOBB DEEP.
Here's how the action unfolded for Team Monster Energy at LAAX OPEN 2025 this weekend:
Freeski: Monster Energy's Birk Ruud Takes Victory in Elite Field
In Friday's Men's Ski Slopestyle final, dropped in as the defending champion from LAAX OPEN 2024. The final featured 12 riders, including Olympic champions, X Games gold medalists, and innovators of freeski.
Ruud secured the win on his second run of the final with a standout performance. Landing switch right double cork 1440 mute, massive switch left double cork 1620 mute on the Wu-Tang jump, left double cork 1440 safety grab, gigantic right double flare safety on the quarter pipe, and right 450 on to switch the final rail earned the Norwegian 85.54 points and the coveted LAAX OPEN trophy.
"It's emotional, this one means so much to me. It's a true dream to be able to be on top and even just to land a really good run," said Monster Energy's Ruud in Switzerland.
Friday's win marks the second consecutive victory in Slopestyle at LAAX OPEN. In 2024/25 FIS Men's Ski Slopestyle rankings, the Norwegian now holds first place with 140 points.
Rising to the podium in third place, put together a technical run on his first attempt. Working the Laax course with precision, Hall strung together nollie right 360 and left 450 on pretzel 270 off and switch left 270 continuing 630 the rail section. He then boosted leftside double cork 1440 Buick grab, right double cork 1080 bringback to 900 safety, switch left 720 to switch nosebutter 720 Japan, rightside cork 540 Japan the quarterpipe, and switch tailbutter 270 pretzel 270 for 81.62 points and third place.
The podium finishes continued in the Women's Ski Slopestyle final. claimed second place in front of a stoked crowd on the mountain. Her second run featured standouts such as right slide and left continuing 270 as well as switch left slide continuing 450 the rail section, left double cork 1080 mute, right cork 900 Blunt, switch left cork 900 safety, alley-oop 540 safety the quarterpipe, and front swap to forward the waterfall rail for 72.80 points and second place. Oldham holds second place in the 2024/25 Women's Freeski Slopestyle rankings with 109 points.
Snowboard Slopestyle: Full Podium Sweep for Team Monster Energy with Mia Brookes in 1st Place
The wins continued on Saturday in Women's Snowboard Slopestyle. Under blue skies and in front of a high-energy crowd, the contest concluded with a full podium sweep for team Monster Energy.
Leading the charge, sealed her victory on the first run. Finessing Cab 360 nose tap and switch back blunt switchup 270 and 50-50 frontside 360 rocket air on the rails, Brookes sent big airs including backside 900 Indy, Cab 900 tailgrab weddle, frontside 720 frontside grab, handplant nosegrab the quarterpipe, and 50-50 backside blunt 270 the final rail for 84.86 points and the victory.
"Winning [the LAAX OPEN] was definitely on my list for sure. This is a super fun course and really hard," said Brookes, who celebrated her 18th birthday on Sunday. "This is the best birthday present ever. I'm so hyped!"
Brookes was joined on the podium by in second place. On Run 2, the Kiwi ripper found her groove with a combination of Cab tailtap frontside 270 off, and switch backside blunt 450 off the rails. In the air section, she posted backside 900 tailgrab, switch backside 1260 Weddle, frontside 720 Weddle, backside tailgrab the quarterpipe, and backside boardslide to 50-50 the final rail for 77.29 points.
Rounding out the podium sweep, finished in third place. On her second attempt, Murase posted frontside blunt 270 tailgrab the rail, frontside 1080 truck driver, backside 900 tailgrab, Cab 540 lien, backside melon air the quarterpipe and gap to frontside lipslide to pretzel the final rail for 71.15 points.
After Laax, Brookes now holds first place in 2024/25 Women's Snowboard Slopestyle rankings with 180 points. Brookes has claimed three victories to date in the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season. She is trailed by Sadowski-Synnott in second place with 160 points and Murase in third place with 112 points.
Snowboard Halfpipe: Chloe Kim Earns Dominant Victory
As the worthy finale to an epic contest, Snowboard Halfpipe finals unfolded in front of a festival crowd under the floodlights on Saturday night. The Women's Snowboard Halfpipe stoked the crowd with a dominant performance by the Queen of the Superpipe Chloe Kim.
Dropping into the Superpipe at Laax with confidence and focus, Kim secured her victory on her first run: Putting together a massive backside 360 tailgrab, switch method air, Cab double cork 1080 Weddle, frontside 900 tailgrab, and Indy McTwist on the final wall for 96.50 points and the win.
"This means so much to me. I was having a hard time in practice, but I really wanted to show you guys my Cab double. So happy to put down for you all! Thanks for having me," said Kim after winning Women's Snowboard Halfpipe in Laax.
Kim now ranks fifth in the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe season rankings with 150 points.
Kim was joined on the podium by 16-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, in third place. Dropping in switch, Choi hit the Superpipe with a switch backside 900 Weddle, Cab 720 stalefish, frontside 900 tailgrab, backside 900, and a huge Crippler on the final wall for 93.25 points and third place.
The Men's Snowboard Halfpipe final featured some of the best vertical snowboarders on the circuit, including the current Olympic gold medalist in the discipline, .
Coming into the finals, Hirano opened his run with his signature frontside triple cork 1440 Weddle, followed by Cab 1440 Weddle, frontside double cork 1260 frontside grab, backside double cork 1260 Weddle, and frontside 1080 frontside grab on the final hit for 87.00 point and third place.
Hirano now holds third place in the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe season rankings with 210 points.
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