The MoonPay X Games Chiba 2026 officially commenced its high-octane weekend schedule today, drawing an electrifying, sold-out crowd to the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, Japan. Returning to the country after the X Games successfully took over Osaka in 2025, this year’s competition marks the second major stop of the newly established MoonPay X Games League (XGL). Featuring more than 80 of the world’s elite action sports athletes representing 16 nations across the globe, Day One delivered a masterclass in progression, resilience, and boundary-pushing athleticism across eight distinct BMX, skateboard, and Moto X disciplines.
As the dust settled on the opening day of competition, the team standings in the XGL championship race shifted dramatically. X Games Club (XC) Tokyo capitalized on a stellar slate of performances from its home-turf roster, extending its overall lead built during the season opener in Sacramento. XC Tokyo finished Day One sitting comfortably at the summit of the leaderboard with 1,450 points. Meanwhile, XC New York kept the pressure on in second place with 1,310 points, closely pursued by XC São Paulo, which rounded out the top tier with 1,300 points. XC Los Angeles currently sits in fourth place in the standings with 1,150 points, setting the stage for a fiercely contested battle as the weekend progresses.
The opening day’s slate was packed with high-stakes finals, featuring the Men’s BMX Street, Women’s BMX Park, Women’s Skateboard Street, Women’s Skateboard Vert, Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick, Men’s BMX Park, Men’s Skateboard Vert, and Moto X Best Trick. From veteran icons cementing their legacy in the record books to teenage prodigies rewriting what is physically possible on wheels and engines, Saturday’s events proved that the evolution of action sports is accelerating at an unprecedented pace.
Reigning Legends and Historic Milestones in BMX Street and Park
In the Monster Energy Men’s BMX Street competition, veteran powerhouse Garrett Reynolds, representing XC São Paulo, added another monumental chapter to his legendary career. Reynolds secured his 18th career X Games gold medal, extending his record for the most gold medals in X Games history and putting three clear of sports icons like Nyjah Huston and Shaun White. Maintaining a staggering career trajectory, Reynolds has medaled in 23 of the 25 Street competitions held throughout X Games history, capturing gold in 16 of them—including the inaugural Street event at X Games 2008 and the latest showcase in Chiba.
Reynolds established his dominance right out of the gate, posting the two highest scores of the competition during his opening runs. His routines seamlessly blended high-risk execution with extreme technical difficulty, highlighted by a clean pegs-to-over 360, a 180 backward grind up the ledge to Cab out, and a difficult inward 180 to backward grind down the ledge. With this victory, Reynolds pushed his total career X Games medal count to 26, moving him into sole possession of third place on the all-time X Games medal list. Furthermore, he extended his unprecedented streak to 19 consecutive Street medals—the longest active podium streak in a single discipline in X Games history.
In the battle for the remaining podium spots, Jordan Godwin (Free Agent) secured the silver medal with a run characterized by supreme technical precision and intricate grind combinations, punctuated by an icepick grind to hard 180. Devon Smillie (Free Agent) captured the bronze—his eighth career X Games medal—by opening his run with a risky hardway barspin to manual icepick grind crankflip and capping it off with a double peg to hardway over 180 Cab out. Smillie now holds the second-most Street medals in X Games history, trailing only Reynolds.
Meanwhile, the Stake Women’s BMX Park competition witnessed a continuation of a burgeoning rivalry between youth and experience. Sixteen-year-old Miharu Ozawa of XC Tokyo delivered a stunning walk-off victory to repeat her gold-medal success from Sacramento. Entering the final run sitting in second place, the young X Games rookie put down the best trick of the contest—a backflip tailwhip over the box—to edge out two-time X Games champion and Olympic silver medalist Hannah Roberts (XC New York).
Roberts, who led the competition for the majority of the day with a diverse run featuring a backflip barspin, flair, and a unique 270 no-hander over the hip, fell just 0.33 points short of Ozawa’s winning score. Roberts’ performance was all the more remarkable considering she was competing while managing an injured left shoulder sustained during practice in Sacramento and battling a cold acquired during international travel. Kim Mueller claimed the bronze medal, her second podium finish in less than a week, highlighted by an impressive backflip can-can to tailwhip and a stylish 360 can-can tire grab.
Skateboarding Excellence: From Vert Breakthroughs to Street Dominance
Skateboarding action at Makuhari Messe delivered immense drama and historical firsts. In the Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street final, Chloe Covell (XC New York) claimed her fifth career X Games gold medal, tying women’s skateboarding legend Leticia Bufoni for the most gold medals in the discipline’s history. Covell’s path to the top of the podium was far from straightforward; after a fall in Run 1 and a frustrating interruption in Run 2 due to a follow-cam operator issue, she was granted a rebate run. Capitalizing on the opportunity, she posted a solid 89.00 before upgrading her routine in Run 3 to secure a decisive victory with a score of 93.33, winning by a commanding 8.33-point margin.
Japanese standouts Coco Yoshizawa (XC Tokyo) and Ibuki Matsumoto (XC São Paulo) rounded out the podium. Yoshizawa, the reigning 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist, earned her first X Games medal in her third career appearance, while 14-year-old Matsumoto claimed her second bronze in the discipline and fourth overall X Games medal.
In the MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert competition, 15-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa (XC Tokyo) triumphed in front of her home crowd. Having secured silver in Sacramento, Hasegawa inverted the standings by defeating 11-year-old Mia Kretzer (XC LA). Hasegawa’s run was anchored by three distinct 540 variations, culminating in a historic fakie-to-fakie 540—making her the only female skater executing the trick within a full vert run. With this performance, Hasegawa boasts eight total X Games medals, including two gold and two silver in Vert. Kretzer captured the silver, securing vital points for XC Los Angeles, while Free Agent Juno Matsuoka took home the bronze after setting an early benchmark with an 85.00 score in Run 1.
The progression continued into the Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick event, where Free Agent Juni Kang defended his gold medal from Sacramento. Kang made history by landing two tricks that judges officially classified as "Never Been Done" (NBD) in competition: a switch heelflip backside tailslide to backside bigspin out on the hubba ledge during Run 6, and a switch 180 crooked grind to nollie heelflip out in Run 3. Filipe Mota (XC LA) claimed silver with another judges-certified NBD—a nollie backside bigspin heelflip to backside tailslide to backside bigspin out—while Ginwoo Onodera (XC New York) secured bronze with a switch heelflip frontside noseslide 270 shuv-it back to switch.
Power and Progression: Men’s BMX Park, Men’s Vert, and Moto X
Power and amplitude dominated the Stake Men’s BMX Park final, where Marcus Christopher (XC Los Angeles) earned his second career X Games gold and seventh overall medal. Christopher’s run was defined by raw aggression, featuring a triple downside tailwhip and a massive flair tuck no-hander to downwhip. Logan Martin (XC New York), the oldest rider in the field at 32, claimed silver to maintain his incredible consistency, having medaled in four of his last five X Games starts. Martin’s performance propelled him to the top of the individual XGL championship race with 330 points. Rim Nakamura (XC Tokyo) electrified the home audience by capturing the bronze, his fifth BMX Park medal, continuing a stellar streak that includes gold in Osaka 2025 and silver in Chiba 2024.
In the MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert, 11-year-old Ema Kawakami (Free Agent) made history by becoming the youngest male gold medalist in X Games history. Kawakami captivated the audience with back-to-back 720s—a forward-to-fakie "McKenzie" Indy 720 directly into a fakie-to-forward Indy 720—thereby snapping Gui Khury’s four-event win streak in Vert. Khury (XC São Paulo) took silver after stomping a massive 900 and a body varial 900 in the first round, while Moto Shibata (XC Tokyo) claimed bronze following a standout mid-run kickflip McTwist and a switch front foot impossible 540.
Day One concluded with the high-adrenaline Moto X Best Trick final. Australian icon Rob Adelberg secured his seventh Moto X Best Trick gold and his 22nd overall X Games medal, breaking a tie with Nate Adams for the most Moto X medals in history. Adelberg executed a flawless frontflip Shaolin seat grab barhop, displaying immense technical control where his hands were the sole point of contact with the motorcycle. Jose Canosa earned a remarkable silver in his X Games debut with a lazyboy frontflip to no-footer, while Ben Richards captured bronze with a body varial flip to double-grab Hart Attack, marking his fourth consecutive podium finish in the discipline.
As the MoonPay X Games Chiba 2026 heads into its final day at Makuhari Messe, athletes will return to the course to contest the Men’s Skateboard Park Final, MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick, MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, Monster Energy Women’s SKB Street Best Trick, Women’s Skateboard Park Final, Men’s Skateboard Street, and a special Moto X demonstration, promising a thrilling conclusion to the second stop of the XGL season.
