The 2014 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB Super Crown World Championship made history at the Prudential Center on Sunday as the Top Eight of the world’s elite street skateboarders battled for the coveted title of Champ, $200,000 first place prize and the handmade Nixon watch and ring set. In a season finale of the most incredible street skateboarding ever witnessed, Nyjah Huston emerged victorious as the undisputable and undefeated SLS Super Crown World Champion for 2014.
In descending order of Season Standings, the final eight going into the Championship were Nyjah Huston, Luan Oliveira, Tory Pudwill, Shane O’Neill, Paul Rodriguez, Chaz Ortiz, Matt Berger and Ishod Wair as New Jersey’s hometown favorite. Notable within the Championship contenders was Matt Berger, breaking onto the SLS scene at the beginning of the season during the SLS Monster Energy Pro Open that allowed three newcomers to earn their spot into Street League. From there the pressure was on for each of the 25 SLS Pros to give what it takes to be one of the Top Eight in the Super Crown – the contest that matters the most.
The increased energy and excitement at each event has been matched by the progressive difficulty of each custom-designed concrete skate plaza, crowned by this World Championship course that challenged the Pros to push it well beyond their comfort zone and into new levels of street skateboarding. To the crowd of the Prudential Center, the mismatching of oversized drops, gaps, banks and rails presented the obvious risk of serious injury, but to the eight SLS athletes that made the cut from the initial 25 it presented a serious opportunity for high-scoring tricks to give what it takes to become Champ.
As the Super Crown World Championship went live on FOX Sports 1, the Top Eight skating the Flow Section in which they each have two runs of 45 seconds to skate the entire course. With the lowest-scoring skater being eliminated from the contest, the pressure was on for consistent and creative skating. Highlights of the Flow Section included:
- Fan favorite Luan Oliveira came out strong and delivered two smooth runs, showing his skills on all obstacles of the course. His first run earned him an impressive score of 8.9 with a fast Kickflip off the bank and over the gap to Nose Manual on the upper ledge, followed later by a repeat with a Nollie Kickflip out.
- Master of tech Torey Pudwill stayed true to form with two strong runs filled with tricks more commonly seen in the Impact Section, including a Backside Tailslide on the bump to close-out rail, Nollie Backside Kickflip over the bump and Backside 360 Ollie down the Impact Section 3-Block.
The Impact Section followed, with each of the remaining seven SLS Pros throwing it down on the biggest features of the course. Highlights of the Impact Section included:
- Nyjah Huston started the evening’s 9 Club action with a flawless Caballerial Backside Noseblunt to Fakie from the bank to the upper ledge. Not to be left out, newcomer Matt Berger stepped up to earn his first-ever 9 Club trick with a Backside Tailslide up the gap to ledge with a Bigspin Kickflip out for 9.2.
- Keeping himself towards the top of the Leader Board, Ishod Wair played it safe with a solid Frontside Kickflip down the 3-block. Working hard for it but unsuccessfully in the end, Luan Oliveira made four attempts at a massive Fakie Kickflip down the Impact Section’s big three block, which saw him eliminated from the contest.
Each of the remaining six SLS Pros began going big moving into the final and decisive Control Section, including highlights such as:
- As the first time making it to the Control Section, Matt Berger earned his second 9 Club honor with a bold Frontside Tailslide on close-out rail, popping out over the end bringing him up the leaderboard. Hometown hero Ishod Wair impressed the crowd when he decided to Frontside Kickflip right over the close-out rail feature, earning himself a well deserved 9.1 and jump to the top of the leaderboard.
- Torey Pudwill quickly bumped Ishod back down with a perfect 9 Club Kickflip Backside Lipslide to Backside Tailslide on the upper ledge, putting him at the top of the leaderboard and set for the win. Then, for the final trick of the contest, Nyjah Huston pulled all the stops and blasted a Caballerial Kickflip over the garden gap and into the step-up, scoring just enough to bump Torey out of leading position and take the win for the 2014 SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship.
“I am stoked to win this one – it’s one of the best contests I have ever skated”, said Nyjah Huston, winner of the 2014 Super Crown World Championship. “The Cab Kickflip I had landed multiple times in practice and it was a trick that was already on my mind and I knew I could do it.”
Nyjah Huston not only won his first Super Crown World Championship, but swept the entire season to remain undefeated in 2014. Although leading the pack until the final trick, Torey Pudwill came in second place just ahead of New Jersey local Ishod Wair. Not only does Nyjan walk away with $200,000 – the biggest first place cash prize in the history of the sport – but most importantly the ultimate and honorable title of Street League Skateboarding Nike SB Super Crown World Champion.
If you missed the action, you can watch the re-air of the entire season starting with the SLS Monster Energy Pro Open on August 26th at 8:30am ET on FOX Sports 2. Go to www.streetleague.com for all tune-in information.
For more information visit www.streetleague.com. For all media inquiries contact Sarah Bronilla at VOCAL: sarah@VOCALnyc.com or John Stouffer at FOX Sports: john.stouffer@FOX.com.
