SLS Tokyo Delivers High-Stakes Showdown Ahead of 2024 Super Crown in São Paulo

Street League Skateboarding’s final stop before the 2024 Super Crown World Championship brought the world’s top skaters to Tokyo’s iconic Ariake Arena for a high-stakes showdown presented by Nikon. With pressure at an all-time high, the remaining six men and six women, trimmed down from an original field of 20 men and 10 women, battled for crucial points towards the series standings ahead of the climactic finale in São Paulo, Brazil on December 14-15. Competing in front of an electric crowd on a course inspired by Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya Crossing, skaters delivered some of the most intense performances of the season. The competition followed a format that included two lines and five single-trick attempts, with final scores calculated from the top four scores across all seven attempts. With four of the six podium skaters representing Japan, the crowd erupted in support, setting the tone for an unforgettable final.

Coming off of a first place win in Sydney, Japan’s Sora Shirai took another first place victory with a total score of 36.8, driven by a strong 9.2 in his second line and a flawless 9.4 trick that sealed his spot at the top of the podium. In one of the tightest battles of the 2024 Tour, fellow Japanese skater, Yuto Horigome had the night’s highest line score of 9.3 with impressive 9 Club tricks that secured him in second place with a total score of 36.3. American Chris Joslin rounded out the podium with a total score of 36.2, showcasing his consistency with back-to-back 9.1 scoring tricks and a 9.0 on his second line. With the top total scores all being within 0.6 points, the fans were on their seats for the entirety of the final. Heading into Tokyo, Giovanni Vianna, Nyjah Huston, and Felipe Gustavo held the top three spots in the championship standings, but strong performances from Chris Joslin, Sora Shirai, and Yuto Horigome have added intensity to the race for the Super Crown.

Said Sora Shirai: “Last time I was in SLS Brazil I got injured pretty bad, so it’s not the best memory. I want to go back and change that this time. The Super Crown is the holy grail of the street leagues, so it is obviously a dream of mine to go in and win.”

In the Women’s final, Brazil’s Rayssa Leal clinched an impressive first-place victory with a total of 30.7 points, edging out Japan’s Liz Akama in a thrilling finish. Leal’s 7.5 scoring line, the highest of the women’s competition, combined with her standout tricks scoring 8.2 and 7.9, secured her a narrow win and an important boost leading into her hometown event, the Super Crown in Brazil. Akama, who led for most of the competition, scored an impressive 8.4 trick and finished with a total score of 30.1 to take second place. Coco Yoshizawa, another standout Japanese skater, landed the night’s highest trick score of 9.1 with a Bigspin Frontside Boardslide Shuv Out, propelling her to third with a total score of 29.4. Heading into Tokyo, Akama, Chloe Covell, and Leal held the top three spots in the championship standings, making this result a key moment in the race for the Super Crown.

Said Rayssa Leal: “I’m really excited and it feels great to win SLS Tokyo. I continue to grow with the contest and the final. I’m feeling happy to be in the final for the Super Crown and my goal is to be happy there with family, friends, and my special team. I want to have another 9 Club because in Brazil it’s different. It’s my home town, that’s the real thing.”

SLS closes out the season from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil on December 14-15 for the 2024 SLS Super Crown World Championship which can be streamed live and free on Rumble Sports at https://rumble.com/sls. For more Street League Skateboarding news, including the Championship Tour updates, and more, go to www.streetleague.com and follow Street League Skateboarding on Instagram and Facebook.

Since its inception in 2010, Street League Skateboarding (SLS) has propelled street skateboarding from a collection of independent standalone events to a renowned global series. As pioneers of street skateboarding’s premium qualification system and competition format, SLS offers an amateur-to-professional pathway and creates thrilling live events across the globe. The SLS Championship Tour is recognized as the world’s premier professional street skateboarding competition. Events take place on custom-built, one-of-a-kind, SLS-certified plazas in major cities around the world, with the best in the sport competing for the highest stakes. For more information, visit www.streetleague.com.

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