Eric Willett walks away with Billabong Ante Up Big Air title
The second annual Billabong Ante Up Big Air competition went down at the Whistler Mountain in Blackcomb, Canada, on Friday, July 1.
America’s Eric Willett walked away from the event with the first 5Star Big Air title of the 2011/12 Swatch Ticket to Ride (TTR) World Tour season to his name. Canada’s Sebastien Toutant settled for runner-up place after remaining threatening throughout
the contest. America’s Dash Kamp rounded out the podium after finishing in third place.
The weather atop Whistler Mountain was ideal for the contest that was about to get underway. The second annual Billabong Ante Up had attracted a handful of talented international riders, which included the Willett, Toutant, Canada’s Mark McMorris, America’s
Sage Kotsenburg and Chas Guldemond and Belgium’s Seppe Smits. These names had turned out to be a formidable force to be reckoned with at the big air events during the last season.
With such an impressive line up, the battle for the 850 TTR Big Air ranking points and a slice of the $50,000 USD prize purse was expected to be real intense. Naturally, the promising contest lived up to all the expectations.
The competition started off with 30 riders in the qualifiers, but was narrowed down to the Top 10 by the time the event reached the final stage. While most of the top guns were able to make it to the final 10, others such as Guldemond and Smits were unable
to impress the judges while making the 90-foot gap jump.
With a few intimidating opponents removed from the competition, other top guns, such as Willett and Toutant, found themselves in a comfortable position to go all the way.
The 23-year-old Willett went hard during the final in order to capitalise on the opportunity. His determination was rewarded with success after a switch backside double cork 1260 carried him to victory, earning him the coveted Swatch TTR ranking points and
a $20,000 USD prize cheque.
Talking to a reporter after the fate of the contest was determined, the Breckenridge resident said, “I’m stoked. It’s always weird to come out here in July and do a competition in the middle of summer, but it’s really fun and crucial to come out for the
start of the season and get those points especially with the new ranking system to get the big air points.”
Toutant landed a Cab double cork 1260 to clinch the second position and a $12,500 USD prize cheque. Kamp’s backside double cork 1080 allowed him to finish third and take home a $8,000.
With the 5Star Billabong Ante Up wrapped up, the Swatch TTR Tour will bring the snowboarders to Southern Hemisphere after a short break for the various competitions in New Zealand and Australia.
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