Laax, January 21, 2021. At the LAAX OPEN 2021, the impressive superpipe at Crap Sogn Gion was the focus of attention today during the women's and men's semi-finals. The top stars of the halfpipe scene were at the start to compete in a contest again after months. Two-time LAAX OPEN winner Chloe Kim (USA) emerged victorious in the women's competition, while young Valentino Guseli from Australia surprised everyone in the men's competition.
The women kicked things off in their bid to secure one of the six tickets to the final. Olympic champion Chloe Kim (USA) returned to competition for the first time after taking a season off to focus on her studies. She dominated the women's field and secured a clear victory in the semi-final with a score of 94 points in her first run. Last year's winner Queralt Castellet showed that she is still a force to be reckoned with in her 16th contest season, finishing in third place. They were joined by three Japanese women – Mitsuki Ono, Sena Tomita, and Haruna Matsumoto. Leilani Ettel from Germany completed the field of six finalists with a fifth-place finish.
After the women, the men took over the superpipe. The sensation of the day was 15-year-old Australian Valentino Guseli, who is competing in his very first World Cup here in LAAX and scored 95 points in the first heat, beating top favorites such as two-time LAAX winner Scotty James (AUS). In the second heat, no rider came close to his score, and Guseli was able to celebrate the day's victory. Co-favorite Yuto Totsuka (JAP) achieved the second-highest score of the day with 84.75 points. David Hablützel was the best Swiss rider.
The night final on Saturday, January 23, 2021, promises plenty of excitement and action. Snowboard fans can watch itlive online or on TVstarting at 5:45 p.m.
Tomorrow, the first highlight is on the agenda: the women's and men's slopestyle finals.
All information about the event can be found atlaax.com/open. The complete results are availablehereand in the pressDropbox, where you will also find additional images and media information for editorial publication.