Congratulations to the LAAX OPEN winners 2023: Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZL), Marcus Kleveland (NOR), Ono Mitsuki (JPN), and Ruka Hirano (JPN) take snowboard titles in LAAX

Slopestyle – Freestyle at its finest

The slopestyle final, which was postponed on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions, was rescheduled for Sunday. Norway's Marcus Kleveland is delighted with his first LAAX OPEN title: "I've been coming to LAAX for many years, but I've never made it to the top of the podium. It's incredible that I've finally done it. The course is great, we all had fun today, and it was a good show." As in the preliminary rounds, he pulled off his signature trick, the Nose Butter Back 14 Indy, in the final today, which none of his competitors have up their sleeves. Dusty Henricksen (USA) and Sven Thorgren (SWE) completed the podium in 2nd and 3rd place.

In the women's competition, New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott dominated and secured the World Cup victory in LAAX ahead of Mia Brookes (GBR) and Anna Gasser (AUT). Beaming, she said: "I'm totally happy with my run and really excited to win here. I can hardly believe it!" The sensation of the week was provided by young Mia Brookes, who celebrated her 16th birthday during the LAAX OPEN and gave herself the best present ever: in her very first Slopestyle World Cup, she made it straight into the top 3 with a lot of style and crazy tricks on the rails: "Anna and Zoi are my role models, sharing the podium with them feels incredible. I'm totally happy!" Completely understandable – the young Brit, who has been training in Laax for years, beams from the winner's photo with two Olympic champions.

Halfpipe – Flying high

Thousands of fans lined the halfpipe on Saturday evening, eagerly anticipating the riders' spectacular aerial show. After all, the halfpipe night final under floodlights is rightly considered the absolute highlight of the LAAX OPEN. Everyone was ready, but the weather didn't cooperate. In consultation with the riders, the eagerly awaited night final had to be canceled because wind and fog prevented normal conditions. Nevertheless, the audience got their money's worth, as the pipe specialists offered them what were probably the highest and most stylish method and frontside airs ever seen in an improvised pipe session.

The results of the semi-finals were counted as World Cup results. Thanks to their strong performances in the semi-finals, Japanese riders Ono Mitsuki and Ruka Hirano won their first LAAX OPEN titles, with Ono securing the first World Cup victory of her career. Scotty James (2nd/AUS) and Yuto Totsuka (3rd/JPN) took second and third place in the men's competition, while Wu Shaotong (2nd/CHN) and Maddie Mastro (3rd/USA) took second and third place in the women's competition. Two-time LAAX OPEN winner (2019 + 2020) Scotty James said: "Snowboarding is a winter sport. That's what I chose: the cold, the wind, the snow and everything that goes with it." So, although there was no exciting Laax duel for first and second place between Scotty James and Yuto Totsuka as in 2019, 2020, and 2021, it was still a pleasure to watch them.

We must also mention the exceptional Australian talent Valentino Guseli. The 2022/23 FIS Big Air discipline winner is at home in LAAX during the winter and takes advantage of the wide range of training opportunities on offer. The results of this were evident at the LAAX OPEN 2023: he was the only (!) rider to reach the finals in both competitions, finishing with a very good fourth (halfpipe) and fifth (slopestyle) place.

Best-of edit halfpipe

Best-of edit slopestyle

#LAAXOPEN

@laax @snowparklaax @fissnowboard @swisssnowboard @fisfreestyle @swissfreeski