Alex Hall and Rell Harwood win X Games Knuckle Huck

Women’s Knuckle Huck kicked off this year’s X Games as the first ski discipline, with a lineup of eight invited riders promising an epic show. The roster included competition heavyweights such as Olivia Asselin, Rell Harwood, Anni Karava, Sarah Hoefflin, and Marin Hamill, while Tereza Korábová, Grace Elden, and Taylor Lundquist held it down for the filming scene. Both the women and men had 20 minutes to showcase their tricks and no scores were given, judges made their decisions based on overall impression.

The event took place on a Big Air knuckle with a perfect long landing, but the mellow shape of the knuckle made the speed a bit tricky. Marin kicked things off with a proper switch butter 3, dragging her tails for what seemed like an eternity and going impressively deep. X Games rookie Grace Elden stomped a creative Tokyo drift 1 to 5, while Taylor, Tereza, and Sarah played it safe with smaller butters. Anni Karava went bigger with a nosebutter 5, even grabbing safety, and defending gold medalist Olivia started with a beautiful hand drag 5, which she stomped perfectly. Meanwhile, Rell struggled to land her opening trick.

Highlights from the second round included Marin’s floaty 1 on the knuckle to a 1 out, Tereza’s stylish hand drag 3, Sarah’s proper switch butter 5 with a touch of cork, and Anni’s flawless nosebutter 7. In the third round, Grace tried to step up her game with a Tokyo drift 1 to 7, coming close to riding it out before her ski released. Taylor did a switch butter 5, but the lack of amplitude hurt her overall standing. Sarah went for an interesting one – switch butter 7 blunt but slightly underrotated and crashed. Olivia tried a switch 1 to flat 5 combo but underrotated as well. Rell went full speed and executed a perfect nosebutter 9 safety to the bottom and stomped it like it’s nothing. She moved from 5th to 1st place instantly.

Before the final round, Anni was sitting in 2nd place and Olivia in 3rd. The last round delivered bangers, starting with Marin’s zero spin—a trick we always love to see. However, compared to the other riders, her tricks lacked the technicality to secure a podium spot. Grace stomped another Tokyo drift 1 to 5, while Taylor and Sarah couldn’t stick their switch butters. Anni was caught by a snowsnake and failed to improve her score. Then Tereza pulled off what was arguably the most mind-blowing trick of the night: a backflip Japan. Given how mellow the top of the knuckle was, the takeoff was insanely difficult, but she stomped it like a boss, moving from 5th to 2nd place.

Rell tried to step her game up and did NBD in women’s skiing—a nosebutter 12 safety, the heaviest trick of the night. Olivia couldn’t land her switch 1 to flat 5, leaving the podium as follows: Anni in bronze, Tereza with silver, and Rell earning a well-deserved gold.

The men’s rider field was stacked with heavy hitters, including former Knuckle Huck gold medalists Colby Stevenson and Alex Hall, as well as Jesper Tjäder, Matej Svancer, Daniel Bacher, Tormod Frostad, Juho Saastamoinen, and Mikkel Brusletto Kaupang. Predicting the podium was nearly impossible—any guess could have felt right given the talent on display.

Tormod started with a switch butter 3 bring-back but slammed hard. Although he appeared fine, he didn’t take any additional runs, which unfortunately meant that was it for him. Hope you’re okay, Torm! Dani stomped a huge switch butter double 9, while Juho spun like a maniac with a 1 to switch misty 12. Mikkel BK brought his signature style on fat freeride skis, landing a 3 to a nollie misty 7. Alex Hall thought outside the box with a creative switch carve lazyboy body slide 5—or, as Tom Wallisch called it, a “turtle slide.” Matej went deep down the landing with a hand drag double 9, Jesper amazed us with a switch nose press to switch backflip, and Colby delivered impeccable style with a perfect switch butter 5.

In round 2 Dani laid down a beautiful hand drag 3, but Juho crashed attempting a nose butter double. Mikkel somehow broke his ski but still managed to land a trick. A-Hall stomped a massive switch butter 10, while Matej stepped it up with an even bigger switch butter double 10. Jesper attempted a nose butter 10 but couldn’t quite get the grab. Colby stomped a creative combo – nose butter 5 to a switch 7.

In round 3, Dani flipped off the man-made ramp, Juho landed a stylish tail press to misty 7, and A-Hall delivered a clean, massive nose butter 7. Matej stomped a forward nose butter double 10 this time, looking like he almost had time for yet another flip. A-Hall and Matej’s consistency earned them the top two provisional spots, with Alex in 1st and Matej in 2nd. Colby’s smooth nose butter 9 blunt secured him 3rd after Round 3.

Dani started things off in the final round with the very definition of a butter—dragging his tips across the entire knuckle into a 5, but it wasn’t enough for a podium spot. Juho followed with a wild Tokyo drift on one ski, while the other ski was in a crazy screaming seamen position, landing it into a misty 7 that moved him to 3rd place. Mikkel looked effortless with another buttery trick but ended his first X Games appearance by completely breaking his ski, and the crowd loved it. Alex then solidified his 1st place finish with an insane switch butter bring-back 3. Matej’s final attempt—a switch butter double 14—wasn’t enough to move him up the rankings. Jesper stomped a 12, tapping the knuckle during the first 3, but he had to settle for 6th place. Colby was the last to drop, lacing a switch butter to nose butter 10, but he couldn’t overtake Juho and finished in 4th.

What a contest it was! Knuckle Huck is such a refreshing discipline to see at the X Games. The creative approach of all the skiers was incredible, and while judging must have been challenging, I think the final rankings were well-deserved.