Broby Leeds Takes the Freeski Superpipe Championship in His Return to Finals

By the time the skiers took to the pipe at Snowbasin, the snow was starting to really come down in Ogden. The powder just kept coming harder and harder as the contest progressed, adding another element to the challenge of conquering the 615-foot superpipe.

Putting together a run that started off with a 900 into an alley-oop 900, a left 720 tailgrab, switch alley-oop right 720, 540, and right 540, Broby Leeds capped it off with a big 1080, taking the lead away from Hunter Visser with just one rider left in the contest. Leeds, making his first appearance in superpipe finals since 2010, held on to take the win and claim the championship and the spot in next year's Winter Dew Tour.

Broby Leeds

The 17-year-old Leeds had been going for a similar run on his first drop-in, but washed out on the second of his back-to-back 540's. "I added a couple hits," Leeds said of adapting his run to the contest. "I didn’t have to add in anything new, but worked on performing them better."

At Leeds' first superpipe final in 2010, the contest was won by a young kid named Torin Yater-Wallace. Just two years later, Torin has become one of the biggest names in the sport. Leeds will now have a chance to take advantage of a similar opportunity, as his pre-qualified spot in next season's Winter Dew Tour is secure. "I’m very excited!" he said. "I have a lot to learn I think, but it should be lots of fun."

Hunter Visser's 2nd-place run was pretty stellar in its own right. The Canadian skier dropped in and executed a 900, right 540, another 900, back-to-back 720's and an alley-oop flatspin 540 to top it off. Visser held the lead for a good portion of the contest before giving way to Leeds. While he didn't top the podium, Visser established himself as the most consistent rider of the contest, posting 2 of the 3 highest single-run scores of the contest with an 85.75 and an 85.25.

Hudson Knoll rounded out the podium in 3rd, landing an alley-oop flatspin 540, back-to-back 540s, and a flair in his run. You also gotta give it up for Conor Garrecht-Connelly, who competed with a broken right thumb that forced him to ski with one pole. CGC put down a solid 2nd run, throwing a combination of 900's, alley-oop flatspin 540's and flairs to finish one spot outside the podium.

Freeski Superpipe Results
1. Broby Leeds, 91.00
2. Hunter Visser, 85.75
3. Hudson Knoll, 82.50
4. Conor Garrecht-Connelly, 80.50
5. Logan Dobson, 79.00
6. Cody Buchalter, 69,75
7. Ty Wellman, 67.75

Broby Leeds