The Men’s Big Air at this year’s X Games delivered a show packed with banger tricks and unforgettable moments. The format was once again different from what we knew—8 invited riders had 3 runs, with only one trick counting. The top 4 advanced to the final, where they had 2 runs, and again, only one trick counted.
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Miro Tabanelli wins X Games Big Air with a 2340
Qualifications
Run 1 already offered high spins and big scores. Dylan Deschamps opened with a switch triple bio 16, Miro Tabanelli stomped an insanely clean double 21 lead Cuban, Slopestyle champ Luca Harrington laced a triple 19 blunt, and Mac Forehand did the same but “only” grabbed mute. Birk Ruud and Matej Švancer struggled with errors in their runs and didn’t score well. It was refreshing to see Alex Hall throw a huuuuge zero spin—it made us miss last year’s format with one mandatory stylish trick. Troy Podmilsak closed Run 1 with a massive triple 21 mute. Luca, Troy, Miro, and Mac were in the top 4 spots, and each of them already had more than 90 points.
In Run 2, Dylan tried to add an extra 180 but couldn’t land his switch triple bio 18. Miro also aimed for an extra rotation but wasn’t successful—although it looked like he had some room. Luca laced his signature switch triple 18 Esco, while Mac crashed on his 19. Birk finally landed a switch triple 19 mute, but the judges didn’t give him enough points to crack the top 4. Matej stepped up with a nose butter triple 19, scoring 93 and putting himself in the finals for now. Ahall kept it relatively mellow with a switch butter dub 14, and Troy, confident he was in, did a double 14 to save energy for the big final.
In Run 3, Miro stole the show with the first-ever 2340 in freeskiing, earning a staggering 98 points. Dylan, Mac, and Alex crashed and missed out on the finals. Matej landed another buttery trick—a switch butter triple 18—but it didn’t score higher than his earlier run. Troy and Luca played it safe with set-up tricks to prepare for the finals.
Finals
The night show escalated with 2 final rounds, where once again, only one trick counted. The scores from qualification were reset, and everyone had to throw down again. Matej kicked things off with a breathtaking NBD—switch butter triple 21—earning a 96 and setting the bar high. Troy answered with a triple 21, possibly the best one he has ever done, scoring 94 points. Luca landed a triple 19 tail grab, scoring 95 and sliding into 2nd place. Miro came in hot with another double 23 lead Cuban, capped perfectly, scoring a 98 despite a slight over-rotation.
In the final round, despite being in 2nd, Matej surprised everyone with a switch frontflip—a move that seemed so typical of his personality and style. Of course, it didn’t improve his score, but the crowd loved it. Troy attempted a triple 23 but crashed, unable to stick the landing. Luca stepped it up with a triple 21 tail grab, falling just one point short of Miro’s score and putting Matej in 3rd. The last to drop was Miro, who enjoyed his victory lap with a cork 3 blunt, securing a second X Games gold for the Tabanelli family after his sister Flora won Women’s Big Air the night before.
What a show it was! The skiers once again pushed the limits, landed NBDs, and thrilled the crowds. The only thing that wasn’t on point, in our opinion, was the questionable format. Because of it, we didn’t see much variety or stylish tricks (except for Alex’s zero—thank you for that!).
