Semi-finals wrap up at the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge
The semi-finals of the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge wrapped up on February 18 in Oslo, Norway. The men’s semi-final turned out to be a real nail biter, with Germany’s Ethan Morgan earning the highest score in the showdown and the favourite from Canada,
Mark Morris, barely making it into the finals.
In the female finals, America’s Jamie Anderson continued to assert her dominance in the world of snowboarding, confirming herself as the undisputed world’s best female rider. The finals will be held on February 19 at the Tryvann Vinterpark.
The men’s semi-final consisted of two heats. The top four riders from each of the two heats qualified directly to the finals. These finalists included Ethan Morgan and America’s Tylar Flanagan. Also included in the list was America’s Sage Kotsenburg, who
had managed to leave the announcers and riders speechless with his Cab 1260 double cork. Two spots still remained vacant for the finals. These spots were to be occupied by the two riders with the next best score after the top four in each of the two heats.
This meant that both the spots could be filled by riders from the same heat, or from different heats. The riders were not simply competing for the slot in the final with their heat line up anymore.
Zack Stone and Sven Thorgren were sitting at the fourth and fifth place after heat one, giving them hope of earning the final slots. However, they had to wait and see if their scores were good enough to hold up against their rivals after the conclusion
of heat two. Sven Thorgren’s hope got shattered after Sage Kotsenburg was done with his run and securing the ninth place in the finals. However, Stone’s score remained high enough to keep his chances at the last final slot alive. Unfortunately for him, Mark
McMorris chose that moment to pull off an impressive run without giving in to the pressure of the do-or-die situation. Morris landed himself the last slot, bringing Stone’s title pursuit to an end.
In the women’s semi-finals, America’s pride, Jamie Anderson, continued to live up to her legend status by adding yet another sensational performance to her name. This time she enchanted the judges with a switch backside 180 and following it up with a switch
backside 540. Canada’s Spencer O’Brien and Britain’s Jenny Jones did not trail too far behind as far as impressive display of skills was concerned.
After such a gripping contest in the semi-finals, an even more electrifying final is expected. The world’s best will be going against each other and one can expect a heavy dose of action that would be nothing short of epic. All the finalists will be determined
to prevail in order to walk away with a heavy share of the $100,000 prize purse along with up to 1000 priceless Swatch Tour Ranking points.
The complete list of women and men finalist is as follows:
Top 6 women – ready for the finals:
1. Jamie Anderson (USA)
2. Spencer O`Brien (CAN)
3. Jenny Jones (UK)
4. Cheryl Maas (NED)
5. Kjersti Buaas (NOR)
6. Thea Stenshagen (NOR)
Men’s finalists:
1. Ethan Morgan (GER)
2. Tyler Flanagan
(USA)
3. Eric Willett
(USA)
4. Ulrik Badertscher (NOR)
5. Chas Guldemond (USA)
6. Gjermund Braaten (NOR)
7. Per iver Grimsrud (NOR)
8. Sage Kotsenburg (USA)
9. Seppe Smits (BEL)
10. Mark Mcmorris (CAN)
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