Article by Tom Kingsnorth
Pipe contests for me have always been the highlight of any snowboarding contest but when it’s held at night, in front of a gigantic crowd of excited (and sometimes drunk) onlookers, it makes the spectacle even better. That’s what we were graced with on Sunday night, as the Laax Open reached its climax for another year, with the men and women’s halfpipe finals.

Women’s Halfpipe Finals

If you are someone that likes gambling, then putting money on Chloe Kim to win is a solid bet. That was yet again the case in Laax as the cool Californian, came up trumps to claim the gold. She goes bigger and spins harder than the others and honestly it sometimes looks like she is just cruising in second gear.17-year-old, Ono Mitsuki from Japan came closer than the others to take Chloe’s crown. She’s got a great cab 10, high above the lip and her run got awarded with a second place and a score of 89 points. Mitsuki will have a great career ahead of her and I am excited to see what the future holds. Spain’s Queralt Castellet, who is being coached by the legendary pipe rider and silver Olympic medal winner Danny Kass, rounded up the podium in third place. Castellet, who won the Laax Open in 2020, is no stranger to the locals, as she spent a few seasons living in Laax in order to ride the best pipe around.

Men’s Halfpipe Finals

This was the event that everyone had been looking forward to all week. There were rumours that the legend that is Shaun White would be making a long over-due appearance in Laax, in order to try and earn his spot at the Beijing Olympics, his 5th Olympics. Shaun White is either loved or hated but either way, 20 years plus of professional snowboarding is an incredible achievement. The other main question of the town was if we would see the first triple being thrown by any of the competitors. Shaun White, complete with his signature wide stance and Moncler Jacket was evidently hungry for a result in Laax. His first run, consisting of back to back 10’s and back to back 12’s with his skyhook air was enough for third place and a ticket to Beijing. Local hero, Jan Scherrer, aka the Jan Grenade, got the crowd going bananas as he stomped the shit out of his run to get second place. His run including a huge fs 14, fs 12 and then his alley oop 9 got Jan a well-deserved second place. Ayumu Hirano, back from taking part in the Tokyo Olympics for skating, looked as cool and collective as ever as he dropped in. The crowd collectively held their breath as he attempted his triple, which he got around but just slipped out on the landing. His winning run had ridiculously big, back-to-back 14’s and a double 10 right at the bottom of the pipe to bring him the gold with 93.5 points and the ultimate ending to another dramatic Laax Open finals.

Was für ein Abschluss der LAAX OPEN 2022! Das absolute Highlight der Woche ist das Nachtfinale in der Superpipe unter Flutlicht am Crap Sogn Gion. Eine wahrlich magische Atmosphäre nach Sonnenuntergang auf 2.252 m.ü.M., kombiniert mit sensationellem Riding und begeisterten Fans.

She did it again! Vorjahressiegerin Chloe Kim (USA) steht erneut beim Superpipe- Nachtfinale des letzten FIS Weltcups vor den Olympischen Winterspielen am obersten Treppchen und ist somit vierfache LAAX Gewinnerin. Ihren Sieg sichert sie sich mit ihrem ersten Run, den keine ihrer Konkurrentinnen toppen konnte. Mitsuki Ono (JPN) landet auf dem zweiten Platz, die Spanierin Queralt Castellet vervollständigt als Dritte das Podium.

Bei den Männern dominierte Ayumu Hirano in souveräner Manier. Neun Jahre nach seinem letzten Sieg hier in LAAX holt sich der Japaner, der 2021 auch bei den Olympischen Sommerspielen im Skateboarden angetreten ist, den Sieg. Jan Scherrer, mehrfacher Vierter bei den LAAX OPEN, schafft endlich den Sprung aufs Treppchen am Crap Sogn Gion mit einem unglaublichen zweiten Run. Auf dem dritten Platz landet der dreifache Olympiasieger Shaun White, der somit den Medaillensatz bei den OPEN Contests in LAAX vervollständigt: 2008 Gold im Slopestyle, 2009 Silber in der Halfpipe, 2022 Bronze in der Halfpipe.

Winning Runs:

Chloe Kim:

backside air, frontside 1080 tail, cab 900 melon, switch backside 540 weddle, cab 1080 melon

Ayumu Hirano:

frontside dub 1440 indy, cab dub 1440 weddle, frontside dub 1260 indy, backside dub 1260 weddle, frontside dub 1080 truck driver

Ergebnisse Laax Open Halfpipe Finals 2022

Women's Finals:

1. Chloe Kim (USA), 90.25

2. Mitsuki Ono (JPN), 89.00

3. Queralt Castellet (ESP), 80.00

4. Sena Tomita (JPN), 74.50

5. Haruna Matsumoto (JPN), 51.00

6. Shaotong Wu (CHN), 38.00

7. Xuetong Cai (CHN), 27.50

8. Jiayu Liu (CHN), 12.00

Men's Finals:

1. Ayumu Hirano (JPN), 93.25

2. Jan Scherrer (SUI), 90.00

3. Shaun White (USA), 84.00

4. Joshua Bowman (USA), 81.75

5. Valentino Guseli (AUS), 80.50

6. Pat Burgener (SUI), 75.50

7. Lucas Foster (USA), 73.75

8. Kaishu Hirano (JPN), 71.50

Alle Infos: www.laax.com/open