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I see Kickers! Snow Park NZ, got to love the place. (Photo: TTR)
Finnish snowboarder Roope Tonteri (FIN), 19, has defeated a field of more than 50 international riders to claim the Open Men's division of the Billabong Slopestyle 4Star TTR World Snowboard Tour event which wrapped up at Snow Park near Lake Wanaka, New Zealand yesterday. The reigning European Open Champion dominated Qualifying on Friday and then did everything necessary on his first finals run to ensure the top-spot on the podium ahead of the USA's Sam Hulbert (USA), 2nd, and fellow Fin, Antti Autti (FIN), 3rd. Tonteri's winning run included a frontside boardslide to front 360 tail tap, a back 900, a cab 900 and a backside 540 over the final feature dubbed the 'Monster Volcano'; a channel-gap nipple jump over a giant inflatable Monster Energy can. The judge's score of 89.40 (out of 100) saw Tonteri walk away with 500 valuable TTR World Tour ranking points, $5,000 in prize money and a swag of prizes that included a state-of-the-art Nex5 Sony Camera. Third placed Antti Autti (FIN), may only be 26, but joked about being the oldest guy in the finals. Autti decided to enter at the last moment, and found himself on the podium. Autti's best run consisted of a cab 900 nose grab, to frontside 1080 tail grab to frontside 720 over the Monster Volcano; with the 1080 being the first he'd pulled successfully in competition.
Two-time TTR World Champion Jamie Anderson left nothing to chance in the Open Women's, bagging yet another first place Slopestyle finish. Tw enty year-old Anderson is recognised as being at the forefront of women's slopestyle progression. Isabel Derungs (SUI) finished 2nd with Jordie Karlinski (USA) in 3rd. Queralt has been proving herself as a force to be reckoned with in the halfpipe and now she has landed the first TTR slopestyle podium of her career.
American rider, Eric Willett, took the first 5Star Big Air title of the 2011/12 TTR World Tour season at the second annual Billabong Ante Up competition held atop Whistler Mountain in Canada. The sun was hidden behind the clouds for most of the day, but riders put on a great performance for the crowd of spectators at the top of the mountain where Sebastien Toutant (CAN) came in a close second behind Willett and Dash Kamp (USA) took home third place.
The Ante Up started out with a qualifying round of 30 snowboarders in the early afternoon that was whittled down to 10 men for the finals. The start list was packed full of riders who are usually super consistent on big air kickers like Seppe Smits (BEL), Chas Guldemond (USA), Gjermund Braaten (NOR) and Roope Tonteri (FIN) but they just couldn't seem to put their landing gear down on the 90-foot gap jump. This opened the door for Eric Willett who took numerous podium spots at Big Air and Slopestyle competitions last season and for Sebastien Toutant who won the Ante Up last year. Eric Willett landed a smooth switch backside double cork 1260 to take $20,000 USD for his win today. Sebastien Toutant was awarded $12,500 USD for landing a Cab double cork 1260 and Dash Kamp walked away with a cool $8,000 for his backside double cork 1080.
The TTR Snowboard Tour kicks off today! Live webcast, so make sure you don't miss out. Check out the previews -
Billabong is proud to announce Billabong Ante Up, a 5star TTR World Snowboard Tour event back for its second year, taking place on July 1st, 2011 in Whistler, British Columbia on the top of Whistler Mountain. The event is the marquee kick-off event for the TTR World Snowboard Tour for the 2011-2012 season and is a qualifying event for the 6Star Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event in February 2012.
Billabong Ante Up will take place at the top of the Whistler Mountain, steps from the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola building with 30 of the world's top snowboarders competing in a Big Air format. Riders will hit an 85-90 foot big air jump, with $50,000 USD in prize money and valuable TTR World Tour snowboard points up for grabs. The top 10 riders from the 2010-2011 season will automatically qualify, with the remainder of riders being filled through a registration/selection process.
"Holding this event at the top of Whistler Mountain on Canada Day, July 1st is the perfect timing and spot for a summer snowboard event" says Risto Scott, Marketing Director for Billabong Canada. "With the world's best snowboarders at the world's best four season resort, and the excitement of a Canadian national holiday, what better way to spend it than on top of Whistler Mountain watching the riders throw down!
