The iconic Caesars Superdome in New Orleans transformed into a high-octane arena of elite athleticism as the inaugural MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 Championship officially commenced. Gathering more than 80 of the globe’s premier action sports athletes representing 16 countries, the three-day festival of speed, precision, and gravity-defying tricks kicked off with a historic opening day. Featuring twenty distinct medal events spanning skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and the debut of competitive scooter disciplines, the event marks a milestone for the sport as the first championship under the newly minted MoonPay X Games League (XGL) team format.
Opening day at the Superdome set a blistering pace, highlighted by hometown glory, record-breaking gold medal hauls, and intense positioning in the early league standings. As Day One concluded, X Games Club (XC) Tokyo seized the top spot in the XGL championship standings with 1,970 points. Hot on their heels is XC New York, holding second place with 1,880 points, while XC São Paulo sits in third with 1,710 points. XC Los Angeles rounds out the current standings with 1,610 points, though with two full days of competition remaining, the team championship remains entirely up for grabs.
Day One Action and Standout Performances
Friday’s slate featured five highly competitive events: Monster Energy Men’s BMX Street, Moto X Best Whip, Bluff Scooter Park Best Trick, MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert, and Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick. Each event delivered high-stakes drama, pushing veterans and newcomers alike to the absolute limit of their physical capabilities.
BMX Street: Reynolds Extends Historic Legacy
In the Monster Energy Men’s BMX Street competition, living legend Garrett Reynolds, representing XC São Paulo, added another monumental chapter to his storied career. At 35 years old, Reynolds captured his 19th career X Games gold medal, further extending his record for the most gold medals in X Games history—now sitting four clear of legendary peers Nyjah Huston and Shaun White.
Reynolds’ latest victory also marks his 27th overall X Games medal, tying him with Huston for second place all-time, trailing only his XC São Paulo General Manager, Bob Burnquist, who holds 30. Displaying remarkable consistency, Reynolds has now medaled in 24 of his 26 career appearances in BMX Street. Free agents Devon Smille and Boyd Hilder rounded out the podium in second and third places, respectively, both putting down their highest-scoring runs during their second attempts.
Reflecting on his historic win and the electric atmosphere inside the venue, Reynolds noted the unexpected energy of the New Orleans audience. "I was just thinking not to go too hard off the beginning and was hoping to land a run. A lot of mental toughness," Reynolds said. "I loved hearing the Superdome crowd! I wasn’t expecting that for the first event for them to be so lively and engaged… It feels crazy to have consecutive wins."
Moto X Best Whip: A Hometown Fairy Tale
The Moto X Best Whip competition delivered one of the most emotional moments of the weekend when Louisiana native Wyatt Fontenot captured the gold medal in front of an adoring home-state crowd. Following his breakthrough bronze medal performance in Sacramento earlier in the year, Fontenot was the final rider to take to the course, dropping to his knees in celebration after securing the top step of the podium.
The podium also highlighted the remarkable longevity of veteran athletes in extreme sports. Tom Parsons, competing at 44 years old, secured the silver medal, adding to a career tally that includes six medals earned after turning 40—an unmatched record within the Moto X demographic. Belgian rider Julien Vanstippen completed the podium with a strong bronze-winning performance.
An overwhelmed Fontenot shared the grueling journey behind his victory: "I worked my butt off to get here. I mean, the sacrifice… everybody works hard, but the blood, sweat, and tears, I got to this point. It is unreal. From working full-time jobs, going through my second year at X Games, so now I can say, I’m a professional dirt bike rider. It’s amazing, and to do it in my home state, I’m blessed."
Scooter Park Best Trick: A Historic Debut
Making its long-awaited debut as an X Games Spotlight Event, the Bluff Scooter Park Best Trick competition brought a fresh dynamic to the championship. Jack Ward electrified the packed arena, clinching the inaugural gold medal with a breathtaking backflip double front scooter flip. Cody Flom secured the silver medal with a complex frontflip flair tailwhip rewind kickless rewind, while Matis Neyroud took home the bronze after successfully landing a 360 frontflip.
Fans attending the Superdome throughout the weekend are being given a unique voice in the sport’s future, with interactive voting opportunities to determine whether the scooter discipline will secure a permanent spot on future X Games rosters.
"I don’t think I can really put it into words," Ward said following his victory. "I grew up watching the X Games with my brother and just to be here is unreal. So to win it, I honestly can’t put it into words. The crowd was insane. It’s definitely the biggest crowd I’ve ever competed in front of."
Women’s Skateboard Vert: Hasegawa’s Historic Quest Continues
Fifteen-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa of XC Tokyo continued her dominant 2026 campaign by capturing gold in the MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert competition. The victory marks her second consecutive Vert gold and the 11th X Games medal of her young career. More importantly, it represents her sixth medal of the 2026 calendar year, making her the first person in history to achieve this milestone within a single year.
Hasegawa, who entered the New Orleans stop leading the XGL Most Valuable Player (MVP) race with 440 points, successfully extended her advantage while bolstering XC Tokyo’s lead in the team standings. She still has two remaining disciplines—Park and Vert Best Trick—as she aims to become the first female athlete to sweep three gold medals at a single X Games event since 2006.
Mia Kretzer of XC Los Angeles, who will not turn 12 until October, continued to rewrite the record books by securing her sixth career X Games medal, holding nearly every youth milestone in the competition’s history. Independent free agent Asahi Kaihara rounded out the podium in third place.
Skateboard Street Best Trick: Kang Completes the Sweep
In the Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick, independent free agent Juni Kang completed a flawless 2026 sweep, capturing gold in all three Street Best Trick competitions held this year utilizing a different winning trick each time. Entering the event as the top-ranked undrafted free agent, Kang’s victory propelled him into second place overall in the individual rankings. He remains the only Korean athlete to secure a gold medal in an X Games summer discipline and has now medaled in all six of his career X Games appearances.
Braden Hoban and Julian Agliardi—called up to represent XC New York in place of the injured Nyjah Huston—claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively, both executing flawless kickflip frontside feeble grinds over the gap from the bump-to-rail.
Background and Context of the XGL Format
The 2026 New Orleans Championship serves as a showcase for the MoonPay X Games League, a structural evolution launched earlier this year. As the world’s first year-round, team-based, coed league in action sports, XGL features eight dedicated clubs—four winter and four summer franchises—designed to blend geographic representation with individual athletic prowess.
This team-oriented model represents a fundamental departure from traditional, isolated action sports competitions. By introducing a structured season complete with standings, team general managers, and synchronized scoring, XGL aims to foster deeper fan engagement, establish long-term narrative storylines across broadcast platforms, and expand professional compensation opportunities for athletes beyond standard event prize purses.
Broader Impact and Implications
The success of Day One in New Orleans underscores the commercial and cultural viability of the league format. By anchoring individual accolades to team standings, athletes are competing not only for personal glory and historical records—as demonstrated by Garrett Reynolds and Mizuho Hasegawa—but also for the collective success of their respective city-affiliated franchises.
Industry analysts note that this shift provides traditional media partners, sponsors, and global streaming platforms with a predictable, serialized sports product that mirrors traditional major league sports. With live broadcasts spanning traditional networks like ABC and ESPN alongside digital platforms such as YouTube, the Roku Sports Channel, and Disney+, the X Games are successfully capturing a broader, digitally native demographic while retaining their core enthusiast base.
As competition resumes for Days Two and Three inside the Caesars Superdome, attention will turn to whether XC Tokyo can fend off surging challengers like XC New York and XC São Paulo, and whether rising stars and established icons can cement their legacies in the history books of action sports.
