NEW ORLEANS — Entering the final stretch of the inaugural MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 Championship, the action sports world witnessed a seismic shift in the standings at the Smoothie King Center. After two days of high-stakes competition across skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X, XC New York vaulted into the overall lead of the MoonPay X Games League (XGL). The catalyst for the surge was none other than Chloe Covell, the league’s number one overall draft pick, whose gold-medal performance in the Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street event propelled her club to the summit.
With 2,280 cumulative points, XC New York holds a razor-thin 20-point advantage over XC Tokyo, which sits in second with 2,260 points. Meanwhile, XC São Paulo remains firmly in the hunt in third place with 2,120 points, and XC Los Angeles rounds out the club standings with 2,050 points heading into Sunday’s championship-deciding events. The inaugural season of the XGL has fundamentally altered the landscape of action sports, replacing traditional individual-only victories with a synchronized team format that blends geographic representation with individual brilliance.
Day Two Action: Records Broken and Dynasties Extended
Saturday’s schedule featured eight distinct marquee 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. Each event delivered high drama, innovative tricks, and crucial points for the team standings.
The competition opened with the MoonPay Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, showcasing an extraordinarily young field with an average age of just 16. Eleven-year-old Mia Kretzer of XC Los Angeles continued her historic run, capturing her fourth X Games gold and seventh overall medal. Kretzer, who entered the league as the 39th of 40 draft picks, proved to be the ultimate value selection by landing a never-before-seen fakie body varial 720. Her 420 accumulated points account for roughly 26 percent of XC Los Angeles’s total team score.
Free agent Asahi Kaihara secured the silver medal with a technical switch front foot impossible tailgrab, while XC Tokyo’s Mizuho Hasegawa took bronze with an alley-oop body varial 540. Hasegawa’s podium finish brought her career total to 12 X Games medals, tying the historic record held by Brazilian skateboarding icon Leticia Bufoni for the most medals won by any female competitor in summer disciplines.
In the Stake Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick, Ryan "R-Willy" Williams of XC São Paulo earned his 14th X Games gold medal and the 17th of his career. Performing in front of the largest social media following in the sport, Williams honored his late friend Oliver Tree by executing "The Oliver Twist"—an alley-oop frontflip 540 flair—while wearing Tree’s signature bright pink and purple jacket. Justin Dowell took silver with a 360 Twix to tailwhip, and Kieran Reilly secured bronze with a flair double tailwhip to barspin.
Vert Dominance and Street Masterclasses
The MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick showcased the peerless dominance of Gui Khury. Representing XC São Paulo, the young Brazilian secured his eighth consecutive gold medal in the discipline and his ninth overall Vert Best Trick title. Relying on his signature kickflip body varial 900, Khury pushed his career X Games gold tally to 13 and total medals to 20, cementing his status as the most decorated teenager in X Games history. Tom Schaar of XC Los Angeles claimed silver with an alley-oop kickflip lipslide backside revert, marking his 21st career medal, while JD Sanchez took bronze.
In the Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street final, 16-year-old Ginwoo Onodera of XC New York matched a historic milestone. By securing his third consecutive gold medal in the event, Onodera became only the second athlete in X Games history to win three Street golds in a single calendar year, a feat previously accomplished solely by skateboarding legend Nyjah Huston in 2013. Onodera sealed the victory on his final trick, landing a difficult kickflip front blunt fakie down a non-rounded rail. Toa Sasaki of XC Tokyo captured silver, earning his first career X Games podium, while injured free agent Juni Kang took bronze.
Moto X and BMX Dirt Thrills
Moto X Best Trick delivered edge-of-your-seat excitement as 23-year-old Spanish rider Jose Canosa captured gold on his final jump. Competing in only his second X Games appearance, Canosa scored a 97.00 with a never-before-seen frontflip double seatgrab Indian air. Rob Adelberg earned silver with a frontflip seatgrab dead body, extending his remarkable streak to 14 podiums in his last 15 appearances and bringing his career tally to 23 medals—the most by any Australian athlete in X Games history. Patrick Evans claimed bronze while competing on an electric bike, executing a frontflip Superman seatgrab Indy.
In the Stake Men’s BMX Dirt competition, Brady Baker of XC Los Angeles wrote his name into the record books. With his victory, Baker became the first four-time gold medalist in X Games BMX Dirt history, utilizing a dynamic run featuring a Twister tailwhip, 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 secured bronze, marking his 18th overall X Games medal.
Skateboard Park and the Covell Climax
Tom Schaar added to his legendary status in the Stake Men’s Skateboard Park final. Overcoming a fall on his opening run, the 26-year-old veteran executed a flawless recovery to claim his third Park gold and sixth overall gold medal. Schaar now owns 22 career X Games medals, placing him fourth all-time in skateboarding medal counts. Keegan Palmer took silver, and 15-year-old Spanish rookie Egoitz Bijueska rounded out the podium with a bronze, continuing Spain’s ascension in park skateboarding.
The pinnacle of the day arrived with the Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street event. Chloe Covell delivered a clutch performance under intense pressure, capturing the gold medal and sealing XC New York’s rise to the top of the XGL leaderboard. Covell’s victory not only solidified her status as the league’s premier talent but also tied Leticia Bufoni’s historic record of 12 medals for women in summer disciplines. Teammate Momiji Nishiya added a silver medal to bolster XC New York’s point haul, while Yumeka Oda of XC Tokyo took bronze.
Reflecting on her landmark victory and team success, Covell shared her enthusiasm for the collective effort. "I’m so stoked, so happy to do it for my team, especially," Covell said. "We were so close to getting into the number one spot and Momiji and I did so good. I’m so happy to be in first place! All us girls are such good friends and are trying to have a good time and push each other. It’s so crazy I don’t even think about things like that [tying Bufoni] until I’m told. Leticia means so much to the sport and I’ve been hanging out with her all weekend. I have the best team ever. Let’s go win more medals!"
Implications for the XGL Championship Sunday
As the MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 Championship enters its final day, the battle for individual MVP honors and the inaugural XGL team title remains wide open. In the individual MVP race, Mizuho Hasegawa leads with 600 points, closely pursued by Gui Khury with 550 points. If Khury captures gold in Sunday’s Men’s Skateboard Vert, he will finish with 650 points, requiring Hasegawa to secure at least a bronze medal in Women’s Skateboard Park to claim the MVP crown. Should Khury settle for silver, Hasegawa would only need a fourth-place finish or better to secure the title.
The structural evolution of the X Games through the XGL format has successfully introduced a multi-layered narrative to action sports, bridging regional fanbases with elite global competition. With broadcast coverage spanning ABC, ESPN, the ESPN App, Disney+, and global streaming partners including the Roku Sports Channel, X Games YouTube, Kick, and Amazon FAST, millions of viewers are tuned in to witness history unfold in New Orleans. As Sunday’s final events approach, the inaugural XGL champions are prepared to cement their legacies in the annals of action sports history.
