Colorado Springs, Colo. – Fans lined the shores of Memorial Park today to catch the final rounds of action at the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour stop in Colorado Springs. Riders in the Pro Men and Jr. Pro Men division spent the day battling it out on the water behind the MasterCraft X-Star in hopes of winning the fourth stop of the 2010 season.
The pros kicked off the day with their quarterfinal round of action, where 20 riders hit the water in five heats of four to battle for a spot in the semifinals. Only the top two pros from each heat advanced, cutting the field of riders in half and creating some massive upsets in the process, as top seeds Rusty Malinoski (#2) and Austin Hair (#4) both failed to advance past the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, the Aussies paved the way, as former Australia Pro Tour champs Dean Smith and Harley Clifford each won their respective heats. Brothers Phillip and Bob Soven also advanced to the six-man final, along with Olivier Derome and Andrew Adkison.
In the final round of action, all eyes were on Tour leader Phillip Soven, but younger brother Bob Soven came from behind to take the win. Adkison and Derome rounded out the podium, respectively.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for while,” said Bob Soven. “I got to give it up to my competition, they’re all amazing, but I’m stoked to come out with the win.”
Today’s victory marks Bob Soven’s first Pro Tour win in the Pro Men’s division.
Though older brother Phillip didn’t win today, he remains the points leader in the standings at 345 points. Clifford trails in second place at 330 points, while Rusty Malinoski rounds out the top three with 246 points.
Following the Pro Men’s finals today, the Pro Tour went right into the Indmar Double Up contest where Rusty Malinoski was declared the winner.
Next, the Pro Tour hosted its Rockstar Energy Drink Big-Air Challenge where Bob Soven took top honors.
Malinoski and Soven each took home $1,000 for winning their respective events.
In the Jr. Pro Men division, 10 top amateur rippers hit the water in two heats of five for their semifinal round of action. With only the top two riders from each heat advancing, the field of riders was quickly narrowed down to Kyle Evans, Daniel Powers, Raphael Derome and current Tour leader Nick Galotifore for the four-man final.
All four rippers laid down some serious runs, but Powers proved to be unstoppable to win his first Jr. Pro Tour stop. Galotifore and Derome rounded out the Jr. Pro Men podium, respectively.
Powers’ win now places him second overall in the standings with 340 points. Nick Galotifore remains the Tour leader with 370 points, while Steel Lafferty rounds out the top three with 310 points.
With Colorado Springs in the books, the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour will now head to its final stop of the 2010 season in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 13-14. Other venues included Acworth, Ga., Fort Worth, Tex. and Elizabethtown, Ky.
To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the Colorado Springs Pro Tour stop on television, tune in to FUEL TV on Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. EST.
For more information on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, including news, daily schedules, tickets, TV info, photos, videos, athlete bios, results, standings and more, visit www.allisports.com.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: MasterCraft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Indmar, Peavey, MonaVie, Billabong, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, Sayiwon’t, Epiphone, WakeBoarding magazine, Fuel TV and Allisports.com.
About MasterCraft
MasterCraft is the exclusive tow boat for the Pro Wakeboard Tour, as it has been since the tour’s wakeboarding events began in 1992. Indmar Marine engines will provide the power for MasterCraft’s X Series line of competition tow boats.
About FUEL TV
FUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross, and wakeboarding. Through its original and commissioned series and specials, short-form content, films, and prestigious event coverage, the channel features action sports athletes, emerging musicians, celebrities, and breaking news. FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in more than 30 million U.S. homes. FUEL TV has networks in Australia (FUEL TV Australia) and Portugal (FUEL TV Portugal) and its content is viewed in more than 50 countries around the world.
About WakeBoarding Magazine
WakeBoarding, published by Bonnier Corp., is the official magazine of the Pro Tour. Read about all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and news.
About King of Wake
The King of Wake is the world’s elite pro wakeboarding series, attracting the sport’s top athletes from throughout the globe. Over the course of a season, athletes compete for the ultimate wakeboarding crown in a series points race of eight events throughout the United States to see who rules the wake. The 2010 series consists of the Wake Games, the WWA Wakeboard National Championships, the WWA Wakeboard World Championships and all five stops on the Pro Wakeboard Tour. The King of Wake is organized by World Sports & Marketing – the leading wake-events producer since 1988.
About Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports
Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, is a global business that encompasses national and international action-sports tours and events, multimedia production and a consumer-facing lifestyle brand. The Alliance includes: the King of Wake series, Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, China Invitational, Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship and Gatorade Free Flow Tour. Alli Productions creates original content, produces and presents content with partners and distributes Alli content through a variety of channels. Alli is owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks and represents a network of athletes, fans, brands and properties. Its mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports, through competition and lifestyle, for a new generation of fans and athletes.
Saturday, July 24 – Final Results:
Pro Men
Finals: Heat #: 1
1. Bob Soven 83.33
2. Andrew Adkison 71.67
3. Olivier Derome 65.00
4. Phillip Soven 60.00
5. Harley Clifford 48.33
6. Dean Smith 40.00
Junior Pro Men
Finals: Heat #: 1
1. Daniel Powers 90.00
2. Nick Galotifore 86.50
3. Raphael Derome 86.00
4. Kyle Evans 77.50
