Another podium finish! Monster Energy congratulates Alex Hall on taking second place in Tom Wallisch’s Steel City Showdown 2022 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Pennsylvania, this weekend. In the progressive freeski event contested on rail obstacles, the 23-year-old Olympic gold medalist from Park City, Utah, rose all the way to the podium in an elite field of invited riders.
From March 18-19, Tom Wallisch’s Steel City Showdown featured more than 50 of the world’s best freeskiers on a technical contest course in Seven Springs. The qualifiers, semifinals, and finals were broadcast live to a global audience on the official X Games YouTube channel.
The invite-only event was created by pro skier Tom Wallisch, multiple gold medalist in Dew Tour, X Games, and FIS (International Ski Federation) competitions and broadcast announcer. With the Showdown event, Wallisch returns the focus on ‘rail jam’ contests that reward the best technical tricks on rail obstacles and invites the best of the best riders to throw down.
Throwing down is exactly what Monster Energy’s Alex Hall has been doing this season. At X Games Aspen 2022, the Park City local took gold with a never-been-done 2160-degree aerial and medaled in three events. He carried the momentum into the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and claimed Ski Slopestyle gold for Team USA.
Hall is also no stranger to technical rail tricks and clinched the win in the previous iteration of Tom Wallisch’s Steel City Showdown in 2020. After the event took a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hall and his peers were fired up for another rail jam.
Hall coasted through the qualifiers and semifinals in the invite-only contest. In Saturday’s final, the ten highest ranked men competed in a live scoring format for cash prizes. Plus, the judges handed out awards for the best trick, creativity, biggest send and more.
As the final unfolded under the lights on Saturday night, each rider received eight hits at the course. The best three scores counted as the final score for each rider. Setting the tone for the night, Hall opened with a switch 270 on the diving board rail to transfer into a pretzel 450 the down-flat-down rail for 94.00 points.
On his next run, Hall followed up with a stylish 450 on tail press pretzel on the middle rail feature for 83.00 points and an early lead. As American Mac Forehand took over the top spot, Hall fired back by getting creative with a wallie 270 on front-swap pretzel 270 off on the middle feature for 88.7 points to reclaim the lead.
But when Forehand returned to reclaim the top spot, Hall found himself catching up. He put down more technical moves like a 450 on swap to pretzel, but lost crucial points for early dismounts. With Forehand’s lead expanding, even Hall’s technical 450 on backswap 270 out the middle rail for 92.00 points could not shake up the final standings. When all was said and done, Hall took home the trophy for second place on the strength of 274.7 points, only 0.9 points behind Forehand in first.
Regarded as one of the pacesetters of freeski progression, Hall is the current Olympic gold medalist in Men’s Ski Slopestyle. Hall also holds 9 X Games medals (5 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze) and has achieved the rare feat of earning X Games gold medals in four disciplines: Big Air, Slopestyle, Knuckle Huck, and the Real Ski video competition.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans.
The authored article shared with Prittle Prattle News exclusively
