NEW ORLEANS — The inaugural MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 Championship reached a dramatic boiling point on Saturday inside the Caesars Superdome, setting the stage for a historic conclusion to the first-ever season of the MoonPay X Games League (XGL). With a grueling schedule of skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X events dominating the second day of competition, the team standings underwent a massive seismic shift. XC New York vaulted into the overall lead, courtesy of a clutch gold-medal performance by top draft pick Chloe Covell, narrowly edging out rival XC Tokyo as the weekend races toward its Sunday finale.
The launch of the XGL in 2026 marked a fundamental paradigm shift for action sports, transforming historically individual disciplines into a structured, team-based, coed league format. Spearheaded by MSP Sports Capital, the league features eight distinct clubs—four dedicated to winter disciplines and four to summer—fusing localized geographic pride with a global roster of elite talent. This innovative framework has created season-long narratives, expanded compensation frameworks for athletes beyond traditional prize purses, and heightened fan engagement across global broadcast and streaming platforms. As the inaugural summer season nears its conclusion in Louisiana, the high-stakes team championship has validated the structural evolution of the sport.
XC New York Claims the Pole Position in a Tightening Leaderboard
Heading into the final day of the New Orleans championship, the race for the XGL team title is razor-thin. XC New York currently sits atop the standings with 2,280 points, holding a precarious 20-point advantage over XC Tokyo, which sits closely behind at 2,260 points. Meanwhile, XC São Paulo remains firmly in the hunt in third place with 2,120 points, while XC Los Angeles rounds out the competitive quartet with 2,050 points entering Sunday’s events.
The individual MVP race mirrors the tight team battle. Mizuho Hasegawa of XC Tokyo paces the field with 600 points, closely pursued by Gui Khury of XC São Paulo with 550 points. The mathematical scenarios for Sunday’s finale add immense pressure to the closing events: if Khury captures gold in the Men’s Skateboard Vert competition, he will finish with 650 points, requiring Hasegawa to secure at least a bronze medal in Women’s Skateboard Park to clinch the MVP crown. Should Khury take silver, Hasegawa’s threshold drops to a fourth-place finish or better to secure the individual honor.
Saturday’s action-packed slate featured eight high-intensity disciplines: the MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, Stake Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick, MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street, Moto X Best Trick, Stake Men’s BMX Dirt, Stake Men’s Skateboard Park, and Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street.
Historic Breakthroughs Define Vert and Park Disciplines
The women’s action began with the MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, an exceptionally youthful final featuring competitors with an average age of just 16, ranging from 11 to 19 years old. Eleven-year-old Mia Kretzer of XC Los Angeles continued her meteoric rise in the sport. Already the most decorated tween in X Games history, Kretzer captured her fourth career gold and seventh overall medal—five of which have come during the 2026 season—by landing a never-before-seen fakie body varial 720. Drafted 39th out of 40 total picks in the XGL draft, Kretzer has proven to be an exceptional value selection, amassing 420 points and accounting for roughly 26% of XC Los Angeles’s total team score.
Free agent Asahi Kaihara claimed the silver medal with a technical switch front foot impossible tailgrab, adding to her vert bronze medals secured earlier in the year in New Orleans and Sacramento. Meanwhile, XC Tokyo’s Mizuho Hasegawa earned the bronze with an alley-oop body varial 540. With this podium finish, Hasegawa reached 600 career points and secured her 12th career X Games medal, tying the historic record held by skateboarding legend Leticia Bufoni for the most medals won by any female competitor in summer disciplines.
In the MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, Gui Khury of XC São Paulo extended his unprecedented dominance in the event, capturing his eighth consecutive gold medal in the discipline and his ninth overall vert title. Relying on his signature kickflip body varial 900, the young Brazilian secured his 13th X Games gold and 20th overall medal, cementing his status as the most decorated teenager in X Games history. Khury sits just one victory shy of the all-time record for consecutive golds in a single discipline, a benchmark currently co-owned by BMX vert legend Jamie Bestwick and snowmobile star Tucker Hibbert.
Tom Schaar of XC Los Angeles, the oldest competitor in the field at 26, utilized an alley-oop kickflip lipslide backside revert to claim his first-ever medal in the vert best trick discipline and the 21st of his illustrious career. Schaar is steadily climbing the all-time participation charts, moving closer to Andy Macdonald’s record of 59 career X Games competition starts. JD Sanchez rounded out the podium with a bronze after landing a varial double kickflip Indy 540, successfully rebounding from an injury sustained during practice ahead of the Chiba stop.
BMX and Moto X Icons Push Technical Boundaries
The Stake Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick showcase delivered high-flying drama, with veteran star Ryan Williams (XC São Paulo) securing his 14th X Games gold medal and the 17th of his career. Paying tribute to his late friend Oliver Tree, Williams executed "The Oliver Twist"—an innovative alley-oop frontflip 540 flair—while wearing a bright pink and purple jacket belonging to the late musician. Boasting 6.5 million followers on social media, Williams remains a massive fan favorite and kept his XGL MVP aspirations alive with the victory. Justin Dowell took silver with a 360 Twix-to-tailwhip, while British rider Kieran Reilly secured the bronze with a flair double tailwhip to barspin.
In the Moto X Best Trick final, 23-year-old Spanish rider Jose Canosa captured gold on his final jump with a breathtaking, never-before-seen frontflip double seatgrab Indian air, earning a stellar score of 97.00. Competing in only his second X Games following a silver-medal debut in Chiba, Canosa has rapidly transitioned from motocross racing to freestyle dominance. Australian veteran Rob Adelberg clinched silver with a frontflip seatgrab dead body, notching the 23rd medal of his legendary career to remain the most decorated Australian in X Games history. Patrick Evans took bronze, making history as the only rider competing on an electric bike, which provided predictable power delivery and eliminated stall risks as he executed a frontflip Superman seatgrab Indy.
The Stake Men’s BMX Dirt competition witnessed history as 23-year-old Brady Baker (XC Los Angeles) became the first rider ever to capture four gold medals in the discipline. Baker punctuated his victory inside the Superdome with a complex sequence featuring a Twister tailwhip, a cash roll-to-tail windshield wiper, and a 360 kickless rewind superman tailwhip. Mike Varga claimed silver with a score of 93.00, while Ryan Williams collected his 18th career medal by securing the bronze.
Schaar and Covell Deliver Decisive Victories for Their Clubs
Tom Schaar added to his legendary status later in the day during the Stake Men’s Skateboard Park final. Overcoming a fall on his opening run, the 26-year-old executed a stellar recovery to capture his third gold medal in the park discipline and the sixth of his career. Schaar now boasts 22 overall X Games medals, representing the fourth-most skateboard podium finishes in history. Two-time gold medalist Keegan Palmer earned silver, while 15-year-old Spanish rookie Egoitz Bijueska rounded out the podium with a bronze, marking another historic milestone for Spanish skateboarding on the international stage.
The narrative of the weekend, however, ultimately belonged to Chloe Covell. Representing XC New York, the top overall draft pick in the XGL Summer League delivered a masterclass in the Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street final. Under intense pressure to secure vital points for her club, Covell delivered a golden performance that propelled XC New York past XC Tokyo into the top spot of the championship standings.
The victory marked Covell’s 12th career X Games medal—consisting of seven gold, two silver, and three bronze—and tied her with Leticia Bufoni for the most medals won by any female athlete in summer disciplines. Covell will have the opportunity to outright surpass Bufoni’s record during Sunday’s concluding events. Teammate Momiji Nishiya added a crucial silver medal to the tally, ensuring a massive points haul for the New York club.
Broadcast Information and Outlook
With the inaugural MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 Championship concluding on Sunday, fans in the United States can watch all live coverage on ABC and ESPN, with simultaneous streaming available through the ESPN App and Disney+ for Unlimited plan subscribers. International audiences can access global live streams via the Roku Sports Channel, X Games YouTube, Kick, and Amazon FAST platforms. As the final points are calculated and the first-ever XGL club and individual MVP champions are crowned, the 2026 season will officially cement a transformative era for the world of action sports.
