Words & photos by Nadia Samer

Video by Zac Moxley

The AFP World Championship Slopestyle Finals during the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival concluded today in Whistler, BC. Competitors woke up to 20cm's of fresh powder blanketing the mountains and blue skies, a welcome change from yesterday's unforgiving bulletproof hard pack and flat light. The Whistler Blackcomb events crew and grooming staff had the course immaculately shaped and groomed so that the competition went off without any delays or setbacks. Eliminations took place first thing in the morning, with the top 20 AFP ranked skiers joining the top 10 men from Qualifiers yesterday. Entertaining highlights included Phil Casabon losing a ski and competing over half the course on one ski, and Alexis Godbout throwing some pretty sick double screamin' seamens off the cannon rails and channel gap. 10 men would eventually move on to finals in the afternoon, which saw some clouds roll in, but nevertheless the guys threw down and held nothing back. This event is a AFP platinum-level event worth 1100 points total towards the AFP rankings, which is only a mere 100 points less than X Games.

Alexis Godbout throwin' screamin' seamens all day long.

Slopestyle Eliminations Results

1) James Woods - 90.4

2) Russ Henshaw - 89.6

3) Joss Christensen - 88.4

4) Tom Wallisch - 87.4

5) Torin Yater-wallace - 80.2

6) Noah Morrison - 78.6

7) Henrik Harlaut - 78.2

8) PK Hunder - 77.4

9) Bobby Brown - 76.8

10) Gus Kenworthy -75.0

cut-off

11) Vincent Gagnier - 74.8

12) Anti Ollila - 74.2

13) Alex Beaulieu-Marchand - 72.4

14) Joe Shuster - 71.6

15) Willie Borm - 68.2

16) Tim Mcchesney - 68.0

17) Charles Gagnier - 65.8

18) Aaron Blunk - 64.8

19) Jamieson Irvine - 63.0

20) Andy Partridge - 60.6

21) Carson Lehouillier - 59.4

22) Alexis Godbout - 57.0

23) Jossi Wells - 53.6

24) Nick Goepper - 50.0

25) Phil Casabon - 26.4

26) Max Heard - 26.2

27) Erik Hughes - 18.4

28) Kai Mahier - 6.6

Gus Kenworthy was the first to drop in for Slopestyle Finals and coincidentally won the event on his first run, impressing the judges with high caliber skiing on both the jumps and the rails. Out of the gate he threw a lip backside switch-up and back 270 out of the double kink rail, followed up by a massive switch right side double flatspin 1080 japan over the shack jump. On the large up rail he switch 270'd on and misty 450'd off with a japan grab followed by a switch-up 450 on the cannon with a 270 off. Many riders were hitting the channel gap straight on, but Gus transferred it with a left side double cork 1260 mute grab, then a switch double flatspin 900 over the bottom booter and a finishing with a 900 tail on the quarterpipe at the bottom. In a nutshell, he annihilated the jumps and the rails with a vengeance.

Gus Kenworthy

James Woods skied the hardest rail lines out of all the riders, picking the most difficult features and throwing down the most technical tricks on them, including a switch 270 on to the long rail with a pretzel 450 off and a 270 on, 450 off the big up rail which out of all the athletes only he and Gus hit. And don't let his prowess on rails fool you, as he also threw down hard on the jumps, including a switch right side double cork 1080 octograb over the shack jump and a left side double cork 1080 mute while transferring over the channel gap which he promptly followed up with a right side 1260 mute on the last booter.

James Woods greasing the top rail

Joss Christensen landed himself in 3rd place, which coincidentally was the same position he found himself in after Eliminations. His second run in finals featured a switch lip slide on the first rail with a 270 off followed by a left side double cork 1260 mute over the shack jump. He then front 450'd off the long flat rail, and back 450'd off the cannon rail. And like Kenworthy and Woods, he also transferred the channel gap, throwing a switch right side 1080 japan, followed by a switch left side double cork 1080 mute the final booter and finished with a switch 720 on the quarterpipe.

Joss Christensen

Men's Slopestyle Finals Results

1) Gus Kenworthy - 92.4

2) James Woods - 89.4

3) Joss Christensen - 88.8

4) Russ Henshaw - 88.0

5) Tom Wallisch - 87.8

6) Bobby Brown - 84.0

7) Torin Yater-Wallace - 78.6

8) Noah Morrison - 78.6

9) PK Hunder - 43.6

10) Henrik Harlaut - 33.0

To see how this event affects the AFP World Rankings, go to afpworldtour.com.

Russ Henshaw

Tom Wallisch

Bobby Brown

The AFP World Championships Ladies Slopestyle Finals also took place today, and despite some unfamiliar and challenging features the ladies rose to the occasion and impressed not only the judges but all the onlookers by surpassing expectations and throwing down hard today. Some of the girls were greasing and spinning off the rails as good or better than some of their male counterparts.

Anna Segal would take home the win by skiing strong and aggressive on both the jumps and rails, much like Gus Kenworthy. She absolutely attacked the course, and highlights from her run include spins on and off with grabs over all the rail features, along with a flatspin 360 over the channel gap and a left side 720 mute grab on the quarterpipe.

Anna Segal charging her way to victory.

Emilia Wint took second place with her strong spins and consistent grabs. Her run featured a left side 720 mute grab over the shack jump and a left 900 mute on the quarterpipe at the bottom, a feature most girls were initially timid of.

Emilia Wint launching off one of the cannon rails.

Local girl Yuki Tsubota took home third place today during her first AFP World Championship appearance and impressed the judges with her cork 720 mute over the shack jump, and gnarly right side front 450 off the cannon up rail.

Yuki Tsubota preparing to 450 off the cannon rail.

Women's Slopestyle Finals

1) Anna Segal - 90.0

2) Emilia Wint - 86.4

3) Yuki Tsubota - 83.0

4) Ashley Battersby - 78.2

5) Eveline Bhend - 77.4

6) Dara Howell - 74.8

7) Emma Dahlstrorm - 58.0

8) Annalisa Drew - 57.6

9) Keri Herman - 50.4

10) Devin Logan - 29.8

11) Rose Battersby - 26.6

To see how this event affects the AFP World Rankings, go to afpworldtour.com.

AFP World Championships Slopestyle Finals Highlights

Stay tuned for more coverage from the AFP World Championships, including

Big Air tomorrow night and Halfpipe Eliminations and Finals on Sunday!