Preview: Freeski and Snowboard Athletes Competing at X Games Aspen 2025
Monster Energy, official energy drink partner of X Games, is proud to bring some of its biggest freeski and snowboard athletes to compete in Aspen.
X Games Aspen returns bigger and better than ever! Monster Energy, the official energy drink partner of X Games, is proud to bring some of the world’s most competitive athletes in freeski and snowboarding to X Games Aspen 2025. The global boardsports community will be watching closely when the winter edition of X Games heads back to Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado, for the 24th consecutive year from January 23-25, 2025.
This year, 110 of the world’s best action sports athletes from 20 countries will compete in ski and snowboard events. X Games Aspen 2025 marks the 72nd edition of X Games since the contest’s inception in 1995. Aspen has hosted the winter edition of X Games since 2002.
In addition to elite competitions, X Games Aspen 2025 welcomes the return of music appearances each night, including acts such as ILLENIUM, Deadmau5, and Daily Bread. X Games Aspen 2025 will be broadcast live on ABC and ESPN and streamed on YouTube, X Games social channels, Twitch, and an exclusive digital live stream on The Roku Channel.
As the official drink sponsor of X Games Aspen 2025, Monster Energy is ready to bring the stoke with a stacked team of riders, including rising young talent and defending gold medalists.
Heading into X Games Aspen 2025, keep an eye on the following key Monster Energy athletes and competitions:
The epic weekend kicks off on Thursday night with the Women’s Ski Knuckle Huck event. Contested for the first time last year at Aspen 2024, the creative showcase of snowboard tricks over the Big Air ramp’s ‘knuckle’ saw 20-year-old Olivia Asselin from Quebec City, Canada, clinch the gold medal in a breakout performance. Can she repeat the feat? Not if last year’s bronze medalist, 34-year-old Sarah Hoefflin from Geneva, Switzerland, or 20-year-old Monster Army ripper Ruby Star Andrews find their groove.
Creative tricks remain the focus when the action shifts to Men’s Ski Knuckle Huck. Last year, 26-year-old Colby Stevenson from Park City, Utah, made history as the first rider to win the discipline twice in his career. Can he get a threepeat? It’s going to be a tall order, considering freeski virtuoso Alex Hall and Austria’s Daniel Bacher will bring their A-game to the knuckle. Anything can happen!
Next up, prepare for an epic showdown in Women’s Snowboard Big Air: Last year’s gold medalist, 20-year-old Kokomo Murase from Gifu, Japan, will go trick-for-trick with18-year-old Mia Brookes from Sandbach, United Kingdom. Brookes settled for fourth place at Aspen 2024 but has been stacking wins on the World Cup circuit recently – sparks will fly! On that note, if you think you’re ready for the return to competition of 23-year-old Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from Wānaka, New Zealand, think again! After missing X Games Aspen 2024, Zoi wants to expand on her nine X Games medals, five of them gold. And with Australia’s Tess Coady and Monster Army rider Yura Murase sending their biggest airs, the crowd on Buttermilk Mountain is in for a progressive showcase.
Shutting down the first day of X Games Aspen 2025 in style, the Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe has all the ingredients for a classic. Olympic gold medalist Ayumu Hirano from Murakami, Japan, left the last two editions of X Games Aspen empty-handed – but just clinched the win at the FIS World Cup in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Ayumu will face down his younger brother and last year’s bronze medal winner Kaishu Hirano on the SuperPipe. And with 25-year-old Monster Army rider Lucas Foster from Telluride, Colorado, gunning for his first medal at X Games, it’s on!
Friday at X Games Aspen starts with a showcase of rail and aerial moves in the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle. Much like in Big Air, the rivalry to watch will unfold between last year’s gold medalist Mia Brookes and second-place finisher Kokomo Murase. Then again, let’s not forget that Kiwi ripper Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is back on board, and already owns four(!) X Games gold medals in the discipline. Also, a contender, 22-year-old Olympic snowboarder Annika Morgan from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, clinched second place in Slopestyle at LAAX Open 2024 and Australia’s Tess Coady and Monster Army rider Yura Murase have the matching bag of tricks for a big obstacle course.
Speaking of tricks, all eyes in Men’s Ski Slopestyle will be on defending gold medalist, 23-year-old Birk Ruud from Oslo, Norway. Ruud will revisit his rivalry with Park City’s Alex Hall, who took second place by fractions of a point in 2024 and now wants his 12th X Games medal. On that note, fellow Park City resident Colby Stevenson owns two Slopestyle gold medals while Canada’s Evan McEachran already has silver and bronze. But with hungry young upstarts such as Canadian Édouard Therriault and Monster Army rider Luca Harrington digging for their first medals, it’s anyone’s game!
In a historic first, Women’s Ski Street Style will make its debut at X Games Aspen on a tight freestyle course that rewards technical control as well as finding big gaps and transfers. Sounds like the perfect match for Monster Energy athlete Megan Oldham from Parry Sound, Canada, to make her mark. Also hitting the rails and wallrides: Olivia Asselin from Quebec City, Canada, and Swiss freeski icon Sarah Hoefflin are ready to send it in true street style!
Keeping the action on the street course, the premiere of Men’s Ski Street Style features Colby Stevenson as the rider to beat after winning the inaugural X Games Street Style Pro in December. His closest competition will be courtesy of Park City’s Alex Hall, with Evan McEachran bringing extra skills to the battle. Tune in for street riding at its finest!
The technical trick showcase will continue in Women’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck. At X Games Aspen 2024, Kokomo Murase took the gold medal on a show-stopping backside Miller Flip 540 hand drag, edging ahead of Germany’s Annika Morgan in the silver medal position. Another rider equipped with the right tricks – but still looking for a Knuckle Huck medal – is 18-year-old Mia Brookes from Sandbach, United Kingdom. She will hit the knuckle alongside 14-year-old Monster Army rider Jessica Perlmutter from Killington, Vermont, and 15-year-old Monster Army rider Lily Dhawornvej from Frisco, Colorado, in what promises to go down as an explosive session.
The game is wide open in the Women’s Ski SuperPipe final on Saturday night. First, prepare for the return of bronze medalist, 20-year-old Hanna Faulhaber from Aspen, Colorado, after a knee injury. Second, 32-year-old Cassie Sharpe from Comox, Canada, has not medaled at X Games since 2021 but just claimed third place in the Copper Mountain World Cup. The field is on notice! Plus, Monster Army rider Svea Irving from Winter Park, Colorado already earned a breakout bronze in 2023, so keep a close eye on this one!
The crowd on Buttermilk is in for a spectacular show under the floodlights in the Women’s Ski Big Air final. Will Canadian team rider Megan Oldham repeat her surprise gold from 2023, when she clinched victories in Big Air and Slopestyle? She will face heat from Olivia Asselin as well as Swiss Big Air veteran Sarah Hoefflin and Monster Army ripper Ruby Star Andrews find their groove in a throwdown for the ages.
Talking about throwing down, the Men’s Snowboard Big Air revolves around a rider known for pushing the boundaries of the sport despite his young age: At Aspen 2024, 19-year-old Taiga Hasegawa from Iwakura, Japan, took a dominant victory with 1980-degree aerials and has been on a roll ever since. Then again, 18-year-old Monster Army rider Rocco Jamieson from Wānaka, New Zealand, just took second place in Men’s Snowboard Big Air in Chur. What’s more, Big Air trailblazer Rene Rinnekangas are headed to Aspen with fresh tricks up their sleeves. Watch them Unleash the Beast!
Wrapping up the biggest day at X Games Aspen 2025 with a crowd favorite, the Men’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck promises unexpected pops, butters, and hand slides from the best on the circuit. Make no mistake: When Monster Army rider Rocco Jamieson, Austria’s Patrick Hofmann, gold medalist Dusty Henricksen, and Icelandic ripper Halldor Helgason finish hitting the knuckle, it’s lights out in Aspen!
Saturday marks the final day of X Games, starting with a high-stakes event: The Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle is known for a wildly fluctuating podium, with the lineup of medalists changing every year. Can Swedish powerhouse Sven Thorgren return to the top three after finishing fourth in 2024? Will this be the year for 21-year-old Dusty Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes, California, to get his second Slopestyle gold medal? Or, will Japanese star Taiga Hasegawa claim his first podium spot in the event? Prepare to be surprised when Slopestyle vet Rene Rinnekangas from Finland throws down alongside young gun Rocco Jamieson in this instant classic.
Placing the focus on tech-forward riding, the Men’s Snowboard Street Style battle features Dusty Henricksen as a favorite after finishing closely off the podium in the X Games Street Style Pro at Copper. He will brandish his technical riding skills in a free-flowing session.
Switching gears back to big booters and massive rails, the Women’s Ski Slopestyle includes Megan Oldham as a crowd favorite. After clinching double gold medals at X Games Aspen 2023, Oldham returns with the nerves and a bag of tricks to go all the way up – just watch! Closely on her heels, fellow Canadian Olivia Asselin, two-time Slopestyle silver medalist Sarah Hoefflin, and Monster Army ripper Ruby Star Andrews are ready to stoke the crowd on the final day of X Games Aspen.
For another highlight, don’t miss the Women’s Snowboard Street Style. The underdog story of the contest: 15-year-old Monster Army rider Lily Dhawornvej claimed third place at the X Games Street Style Pro at Copper as well as an invite to compete at X Games Aspen 2025. She will go toe-to-toe against rail expert Mia Brookes and tech virtuoso Kokomo Murase.
Next on the roster, the Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe is all about the Queen of the Superpipe, 24-year-old Chloe Kim from Los Angeles. In 2024, the nine-time X Games medalist returned to competition to claim a dominant victory. This year, she wants that tenth medal and is ready to battle her young protegee 16-year-old Gaon Choi, from Seoul, South Korea. Talk about putting the ‘super’ in SuperPipe!
The penultimate event of the night remains in the realm of vert riding in the Men’s Ski SuperPipe final. With the world’s best riders dropping in, keep an eye on 34-year-old Nevada native David Wise, who owns five(!) X Games gold medals in the discipline. The level of competition will be off the charts when 27-year-old Brendan Mackay from Calgary, Canada brings his signature blend of technicality and high airs to the pipe. All bets are off for this one!
For the final X Games Aspen 2025 contest, the world’s premium aerialists lace up their boots for the Men’s Ski Big Air final. Remember? Last year, 19-year-old Monster Army rider Troy Podmilsak from Park City, Utah, shocked the world by claiming gold with an NBD trick. And following close behind, 25-year-old Park City rider Alex Hall took silver in a full podium sweep for Team Monster Energy when Daniel Bacher took bronze. Also ready to up the ante, Birk Ruud is looking for his third gold medal in the discipline, while Canadian Édouard Therriault and Monster Army’s Luca Harrington are shooting for their first medals. Get ready for the kind of stories that only unfold at X Games Aspen!
Make sure to tune in when the action kicks off on Buttermilk Mountain! X Games is live all weekend, available to watch your way globally across XGames.com, YouTube, Twitch, and in the US on ESPN, ABC, and exclusive digital live stream on The Roku Channel.
